Got another "yes" vote.... thanks for the input, those of you who voted. The rest of you should be ashamed, but will have the opportunity to redeem yourselves by voting for the IFG when the time comes....
So, here's the pics I'd promised:
Back from powder-
Another view:
Really pleased with the finish, although some pitting came thru on the chainstays. Next time, I'll do all the prep myself.
Kinda got ahead of myself, and hung a buncha parts beore taking more pics:
Notice the awesome headbadge decal Mark Sr sent me:
(Yeah, the picture sucks, but I'm not sweating it...)
Here's an idea of how the front-end is set-up--- disc wasn't fully installed at this point.
Gets confusing, with the other red Worksman in the background, plus the red tape on the IFG fork/hub.... sorry. The pics in my "finished" thread will be better....
I built the first (front) wheel without taking any before pics; I tried to do better with the rear wheel... Here's a shot of the spokeless hub, sitting in the stand for no good reason:
Despite the build being white/black/red, I decided the rims' stickers were too garish, and had to go:
(I found I had accidentally cracked the lid on my high-tem grease, so I patched it with the checker tape.
) I yanked the stickers off before lacing; makes it a l'il easier.
In my zeal to build the wheels, I failed to take any "during" shots. Once I get lacing, it's hard to stop.... I start to lace feverishly, and my wife/cats sorta just leave the area....
Once the wheels were built, I installed some Newbaum's cloth rim strips:
The black tap, in the front, is for the handlebars. The white stuff goes into the rims. It's basically the same sort of thing as Velox; the cloth is much tougher than rubber strips, and the adhesive prevents it from shifting around and causing pinch flats. At 21mm wide, this is the widest they make, and it fit the mtx-33 rims nicely:
Just a quick plug for Newbaum's: I tried my best to use US-sourced products on this build, and even tried to keep it contemporary, with current-production stuff being used where I could. So, being made just across the bridge in Philly, PA, Newbaum's was a shoe-in for my build. However, even if it weren't local, I'd still want it, b/c it's the best. The rim strips aren't groundbreaking, but they're every bit as rugged as the Velox, cost a little less, and the glue is extra grippy. The handlebar tape, on the other hand, literally DESTROYS the competition; it's several inches longer (very important for when you're wrapping real dropbars; also helpful when you're using one roll for both sides, as I did with this project.) And, the many colors are very rich-looking.... but mostly, they nailed the
feel of the tape; it's thick enough to be ultra-deluxe to the touch, but thin enough to wrap smoothly. Love it.
http://www.niagaracycle.com/categories/newbaums-cloth-rim-tape-21mm-box-10
http://www.niagaracycle.com/categories/newbaums-cloth-tape-black
Back to the build. Yeah, I 'd be a horrible journalist or photographer, b/c I kinda just kept building without snapping photos, but I got her all together and rode to work; stopped on the way a few times b/c the sun looked so nice:
(gas station)
(convenience store; stopped for 1/2n1/2 and a banana)
Upon arrival at work; I had to take the obligatory "white garage door" shot, and my garage at home is blue/off-white and very patinated (pretty sure the structure is about 150years old) but the one at the group home is more traditional/boring. I'll prolly work a shot of my personal garage into the "finished" thread.
So, all I've got to do is shellac the handlebar tape, and shorten the chain a smidge. I got chain tensioners on it, but the axle is too far back for them to even touch the ends, so they're just for "show" for now. I wanna shorten it up so I can count on them to keep the chain snug, PLUS I think it'd be cool to shorten the wheelbase a smidge.
Then, I'll be DONE.
I learned a lot in this build.... well, not really. But I learned some important stuff, like:
-blue Loctite goes bad if it's been sitting in the basement for a few years.
-even after spoiling, blue Loctite tastes sweet and delicious, and it's not entirely poisonous, I guess, b/c I'm still alive.
-I'm a lot more patient/mature than I was last time I laced wheels, BITD when I worked at a shop. I could lace'm easy, but never had the emotional stability to true them after. This time, yeah, it took me a while and I was sweating a lot and cussing a little, but I got them done and it seemed so much easier than last I'd tried.
-disc brakes are a total PITA. I can install them and tune them quite easily, but they're super-annoying. V-Brakes, side-pulls, center-pulls, cantis: all superior in my opinion. U-Brakes are as much of a hassle to set-up, but once they're set, they're dialed forever, aside from changing pads. Disc brakes are needy little whiners. So glad I don't have to deal with the hydro hassles: bleeding, trimming housing, etc.
-RRB's community of bike enthusiasts is an awesome group of supportive ppl, but I guess I already knew that, of course. The build off just kinda reaffirmed it.
I'm going to put the final parts list in the next post, then probably won't be putting any more build content into this thread. To be sure, I'll be on here discussing it if anyone comments, but future pics will most likely be restricted to the "finished" thread, or other threads where applicable.
-Rob
