The shift handle got drilled and the click ball removed.
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The freewheel space got made.
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Pulls the freewheel out nicely, and not too much, even thought it looks like a huge gap here. The derailleur will have to be adjusted correctly to keep that chain from flying off. That’s supposed to the spike protector’s job of last realtor, but it’s just decorative at this point.
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I was going to start setting up shifting, but something was “off”. Things weren’t aligning right. I hadn’t actually checked the frames alignment. I thought it was good, but maybe not? So I tore everything off and checked.
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A 1/4” off on one side, so I broke out my alignment tool…
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Got it even/straight. Then aligned the dropouts again.
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Put it back together and found 2 new problems. With everything aligned, the rear wheel isn’t fitting. It’s too far forward. And the chain is rubbing the 3rd bar in 5th gear.
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So I tore it all down again…
Oh by the way, I have to pump up then deflate the rear tire each time I do this. Pain in the rear, but I can’t the tire on/off if it’s inflated.
For the chain I heated the tube with a torch and pounded it. Then ground it. Then sanded it smooth.
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For the wheel placement I decided to extend the dropout slot about 5mm so the derailleur and ultimately the axle can pull father back.
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So I tested, and the tire is still rubbing the fender. You may recall that I replaced the seat stay brace and moved it up, and I bent the fender brace clamp to fit. But was that enough? It sits pretty far from the brace. So… I tore it all down, removed the fender mounting clamp to see how it might look/fit pushed up. See how much that clamp was pushing it toward the tire?
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So this is a good mourning distance for clearance.
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The causal observer can’t tell much of a difference. So I marked holes to drill. Then I noticed one of the new holes wasn’t too far from the mark. So i made some adjustments to try. I put the rear hole of the fender and the front hole of the clamp together.
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It looked fine there, so mission accomplished. I tweaked the clamp a bit, and marked it for cutting
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Made a note to my welder so he doesn’t fill in the wrong hole
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And put it all back together and pumped up the tire for like the 8th time today.
Improved fender mount looks good.
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The chain has clearance from the 3rd bar in 5th gear.
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And the rear fat tire has complete clearance from the frame and fender, and the chain doesn’t hit the tire in 1st gear.
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