Thinking of building a Pashley-alike

[FunkyStickman]

Well, I've been bike commuting for the last 6 months or so, and have lost about 40 pounds (yes, really!) When I go on group rides now, I'm keeping up with guys on carbon bikes on my steel mountain bike with rack, fenders, lights, and saddlebags (yes, I can... I don't ride with the fast group, but still...) and everybody says "You should get a faster bike, I bet you'd fly!"

So, on their sound advice, I'm going to try to build a Rat Rod 700C road bike with my income tax return, hopefully.

I'm thinking something like the Pashley Guv'nor, which I'm sure you all are familiar with. I'm probably going to use the Mercier Kilo OS frame/fork combo, which, coincidentally, was inspired by a bike from right here on RRB.

I've still got my Sturmey 8-speed drum hub, which sadly, isn't getting any miles put on it, as it's on the chopper, which I never get to ride anymore. So I'm going to put a single-speed coaster wheel on the chopper, and use the Sturmey hub to build a road bike.

This frame: (using it because it has full braze-ons for racks, bottles, etc.)

These bars:

This saddle:

Probably Schwalbe cream-colored Delta cruisers, and black disk-specific rims (all black, no machined sidewall)

And use front and rear Sturmey drum hubs, with a front dynohub for commuting.

I'm thinking I can build this whole bike, all new (except for the rear hub) for less than $600, which is what the cheapest disk-brake road bike would cost. For the same price, I can get a bike that's 200% cooler, and almost as fast. I can almost see the carbon roadies sneering at me. This might be my new MS150 tour bike, too!

Who wants to see me build this sucker, and ride it every day? :mrgreen:

What kind of cool "tank" plate could I put between the top tubes? Maybe turned aluminum, with "Funky's Chop Shop" lettered on it?

 

[user 135]

Sounds like a cool project. I would rethink the seat and get a Brooks, Gyes or VeloOrange saddle. Those Rideable replica saddles are not all that great quality or comfort.

http://www.crowcycleco.com/gyes
http://store.velo-orange.com/index.php/ ... ddles.html

 

[Graylock]

Go for it FunkyStickman.

Graylock

 

[FunkyStickman]

Thanks for the link on the Crow saddles, I've never seen those (amazingly). I seriously thought about a Brooks B17, everybody who does touring uses one. It would put me a bit over budget, but it would probably be worth it.

I need to find all the bits and pieces to make this happen, but man... I would rock this on group rides every week!

Need to get a pair of goggles to wear, too!

 

[bean]

I seriously thought about a Brooks B17, everybody who does touring uses one. It would put me a bit over budget, but it would probably be worth it.

Do eeeeeeet!!!....................seriously, I have 3 B17's, am about to get a B68, and will never buy another brand saddle again. Yep, they are a little more costly, but worth every penny.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

I seriously thought about a Brooks B17, everybody who does touring uses one. It would put me a bit over budget, but it would probably be worth it.

Do eeeeeeet!!!....................seriously, I have 3 B17's, am about to get a B68, and will never buy another brand saddle again. Yep, they are a little more costly, but worth every penny.

I've never owned a brooks but I had an original Wright's saddle for a while and they are the most comfortable saddle you can get.

 

[FunkyStickman]

What I really want is a Brooks 135...

$120... sheesh, but if I'm going to spend money on a saddle, this would be the one.

 

[GreatWhite00]

Looks like a cool frame to use. I bet it would turn out nice.

 

[Pinche]

I would skip on that saddle like Cman said. Not to mention those things are kinda long. I've picked up a B67 for my wife's bike and it felt amazing. It's kind of wide though for a road like stance if your going to use those North Road style handlebars. I'd probably go with a B17 but if you want to drop some loot on the 135 then more power to you. That's a pretty nice saddle. It's just though handlebars I think are going to have you more dropped over then sitting up right and don't think the 135 is setup for that kind of stance. I love the idea of the build and will be checking this thread out for updates.

 

[FunkyStickman]

I would skip on that saddle like Cman said. Not to mention those things are kinda long. I've picked up a B67 for my wife's bike and it felt amazing. It's kind of wide though for a road like stance if your going to use those North Road style handlebars. I'd probably go with a B17 but if you want to drop some loot on the 135 then more power to you. That's a pretty nice saddle. It's just though handlebars I think are going to have you more dropped over then sitting up right and don't think the 135 is setup for that kind of stance. I love the idea of the build and will be checking this thread out for updates.

Thanks, I've been wanting to build a boardtrack/path racer for a while, and I just want to tick off the carbon roadies by keeping up with them on a bike with drum brakes.

I'm hoping the bike will be around 25 pounds, but even that would be 15 pounds lighter than my mountain bike. I may go with the B17 simply for cost. The B135 looks awesome and comfy, but holy cow, is it expensive!

 

[deorman]

I agree that the 135 is intended more for close upright or possibly flat bar applications. One of the narrow track-bike types would probably be more suitable for the build you describe. Not to mention a a pound lighter. Unless of course, you're planning to use that bar in upward mode.

 

[FunkyStickman]

Okay, I've spent (way too many) hours looking at this, and I'm leaning towards building the 8-speed drum brake wheels, and putting them on a cheap cro-mo fixie frame... as cool as the Kilo OS frame is, it's $250 and I can get a whole track bike for $300. It's very tempting, but the budget will determine which direction I go.

Maybe a Windsor Timeline (which fits 42mm tires, so 35mm and fenders shouldn't be a problem)

I already have the rear hub, so if I get the 70mm Sturmey front hub, I can build both wheels using the same length spokes, which means less $$.
I'm thinking Alex TD17 rims, they're only $22 each, and the spokes I can get for both wheels at $43 with nipples... the front hub with dynamo is $60.
That means I can build both wheels for around $150, and add $300 for the base bike, I'm still under $500 even if I get a set of cream tires, and keep the original wheels as a spare set.

This is looking pretty good so far... I will eventually replace the saddle and bars, but the main attraction I'm looking at is the wheels.

What do you guys think? (I'm not even going to discuss this on BikeForums.net, most of those guys just don't get it)

 

[Rustinkerer]

Don't forget the "Show us your Pashley Guv'nor style bikes" post over in the gallery for inspiration! -Adam

 

[FunkyStickman]

I did some research, and I found out the Brooks 67/68, 73, and 135 all use the same size top. The main difference is the frame and springs.
The B17, and Flyer share the same top as well. The Flyer has springs, the B17 does not.

Just throwing that out there. Also, the weight of the B135 is listed at 3.6 pounds! That sucker's heavy.

I haven't decided on the road bike bars yet, I may still use upright bars and the 67/135 saddle. I don't care about speed, anything would be faster than my mountain bike I'm using now.

I'm looking at several upright bars.. I have a Nashbar trekking bar on my mountain bike, and I really like it. It's not very retro looking, but it works for long distance riding. I wish I could make up my mind. This bike will get used for long-distance riding, 100+ miles at a shot, so it needs to be a comfortable riding position. I could either use road drop bars and a B17, or upright cruiser/city bars and a B67/73/135. I'm leaning towards the upright position (no pun intended) but I guess I just need to decide.