A Long Time in Politics....

Managed to steal a few moments of time today . In between ferrying Amy ( girl child ) to a party , and nipping to the supermarket ( cock-up on the internet catering front ) , we also called at my mum's . 

Bike's cooking nicely in the hastily constructed booth . Actually properly warm in there . 

I'd plopped on a couple of parts the other day . 

A rolling chassis , of sorts. 

Not sure about that seat . Looks a bit ' racey ' .

Only a week to go to the big day out in the Peak District . Can't wait .

So whilst my mum and Mandy were discussing Elsie's pelvic floor over a cuppa , I set about getting a few more things sorted .  

Not entirely without issue . Eagle eyes can spot the BB spindle fitted in the top pic . I put it in the other day . One I had kicking around . Really good condition , silky smooth . Shimano cartridge . So sue me . I compared it width wise , with the one that had come out of the courier and it was literally a few mil' shorter . 

To compound the potential for compatibility issues , I am also using a different crankset . I have a ' spare ' Shimano XT one . Ever so slightly ' less old ' than the stock one , but , it's in a much more useable 175mm length . Still got the dinnerplate gear ratios . It mustn't ' kick-out' as much as the Sugino stock one , so when I offered it onto the spindle , it was just about fouling on the frame . Doh . 

A minor irritation . I removed the silky smooth one , and fitted the other , with no mechanical issues . It is nice and smooth , but it isn't quite as shiny . Ah , well . 

I actually have the absolute original ' cup + cone ' one as well , but..... 

So it goes ... 

Here . A little later . Tyres are on . Panaracer Smokes . Plenty of tread , but look a bit skanky. I considered a new set . There's a pair on Ebay . Brand new retro re-issues . £130 . It's not happening . A guy in the states has remanufactured skinwall comp IIIs . Technically a BMX tyre , but look ace . Not silly money , but a bit of a faff  , and not enough time . The other option is a pair of the Charge splashback tyres . Alan has them in . There's a pair on my other DB , but in all honesty I think these will suffice . I just noticed a mate has a pair of Halo choir masters on a 26" cruiser he just did . Look pretty good in skinwall , and the tread looks good too . A blocky MX type , so maybe ......

Next up , I set about cabling the brakes . Nipples greased for winter .

 Eagle eyes will again spot the front brake pads . They're a modern trials compound . They do work OK , but they're actually a bit too grabby , and they scream a bit too . I picked up a pair of Aztec pads from Alans , along with all the relevant cable doofery , so I'm fitting them . There must be a difference in the height of the pad to where it abuts the brake binder thingy , because the pads seem to contact the rim a lot better compared to the others. 

Anyway , there are Aztecs on the back , and as I moved to that end , I could see they are pretty worn . So I should've got another pair . Hmm . 

Hopefully I wont have any major problems . Tomorrow I'll set up the gears . I have some simply elegant Campagnolo thumbshifters . I took them apart last week . Dead simple inside , with an industrial strength cog ratchet internal . Theyre indexed for 7 gears , so hopefully they'll just plop on . 

Yea , right . 

Pretty knackered after all that , so I thought I'd dye my hair really red ,and have a sit down in my chino jeans , chunky knit jumper and some original Air Pegasus .