So, the new project. As some of you have already seen in the Fresh Finds subforum I got a Felt Haribo:
Haribo is a candy producer. They make all sorts of candy, but they are most known for the gummy bears, hence that particular paint:
They were made to celebrate some Haribo event, probably 90 years of Haribo, since the company was founded in 1920 and I think these bikes came out in 2010.
I only needed a frame, but couldn't find any. Anything available was gone before I could say "Felt".
This was a good price and once I got there I knew why - it was a small village with streets like San Francisco - two directions only, up and down. Obviously no-one there would want to buy a 3sp bike. And of course the paint is far from the cool paint of the Red Barons, or the Cafe 750s, or the 1903 and such.
I just want to reassemble it the way I like it, now the hadlebars are too low for my short arms, it doesn't have any suspension and I don't want ti with a coaster brake.
I chaged the rear wheel - I put another one with the same rim model, but with a freewheel and a roller brake. I put a Berm Master on, but it's not a final decision.
I have this wonderful fork, RockShoxx XC32 with air suspension:
I tried to remove the Felt fork and of course it wasn't as quick and easy as I hoped. There is that centering cone and I tried to hold the frame and hammer the fork a bit out with a rubber mallet. No, I don't have a bike stand, as some of you already know I am not the smartest when it comes to bikes (it took me years to get tire levers).
From removing the BB cups from my Cafe I know that a rubber mallet wouldn't really do it since it absorbs much of the impact. Indeed 15 minutes of hammering was for nothing. I knew that a hammer will ruin the fork and I already learned not to ruin parts stupidly believeing I will never need them again.
So laugh all you want, but I put the frame part between the downtube and the headtube over the back of a chair and put an expendable stem on the fork. Then I used the metal hammer on the stem and after a few blows I had the fork out half an inch and the cone came out.
I have to remove that crown cone cause I used mine on the DH fork, I hope it will come out easy with the knife trick.
Now I can't use a Thick brick on the front wheel because the fork is too tight. I have a few other options:
1. Use the original 24" wheel with a narrower tire - 24x 2.0, 2,125, or 2,35.
2. Use a 26" front wheel I had built for the Cafe, Felt moped rim with a disk (180mm) - the problem is I don't really like the 24/26 combo. Also the hub has a quick release and I hate the look of it.
3. Use 26" front wheel with a narrower rim (30mm I think) and a drum brake I have. This will require a clamp for the brake arm on the fork leg.
Haribo is a candy producer. They make all sorts of candy, but they are most known for the gummy bears, hence that particular paint:
They were made to celebrate some Haribo event, probably 90 years of Haribo, since the company was founded in 1920 and I think these bikes came out in 2010.
I only needed a frame, but couldn't find any. Anything available was gone before I could say "Felt".
This was a good price and once I got there I knew why - it was a small village with streets like San Francisco - two directions only, up and down. Obviously no-one there would want to buy a 3sp bike. And of course the paint is far from the cool paint of the Red Barons, or the Cafe 750s, or the 1903 and such.
I just want to reassemble it the way I like it, now the hadlebars are too low for my short arms, it doesn't have any suspension and I don't want ti with a coaster brake.
I chaged the rear wheel - I put another one with the same rim model, but with a freewheel and a roller brake. I put a Berm Master on, but it's not a final decision.
I have this wonderful fork, RockShoxx XC32 with air suspension:
I tried to remove the Felt fork and of course it wasn't as quick and easy as I hoped. There is that centering cone and I tried to hold the frame and hammer the fork a bit out with a rubber mallet. No, I don't have a bike stand, as some of you already know I am not the smartest when it comes to bikes (it took me years to get tire levers).
From removing the BB cups from my Cafe I know that a rubber mallet wouldn't really do it since it absorbs much of the impact. Indeed 15 minutes of hammering was for nothing. I knew that a hammer will ruin the fork and I already learned not to ruin parts stupidly believeing I will never need them again.
So laugh all you want, but I put the frame part between the downtube and the headtube over the back of a chair and put an expendable stem on the fork. Then I used the metal hammer on the stem and after a few blows I had the fork out half an inch and the cone came out.
I have to remove that crown cone cause I used mine on the DH fork, I hope it will come out easy with the knife trick.
Now I can't use a Thick brick on the front wheel because the fork is too tight. I have a few other options:
1. Use the original 24" wheel with a narrower tire - 24x 2.0, 2,125, or 2,35.
2. Use a 26" front wheel I had built for the Cafe, Felt moped rim with a disk (180mm) - the problem is I don't really like the 24/26 combo. Also the hub has a quick release and I hate the look of it.
3. Use 26" front wheel with a narrower rim (30mm I think) and a drum brake I have. This will require a clamp for the brake arm on the fork leg.