Don't Quote me

It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to work this out really .
 As the seatpost IS  attached to the San Marco Rolls , it's looking increasingly like I'll be using that , over the other brown one . I really wanted to use the old one though . Originality has nothing to do with it , it's just dead comfy . I'm still going to get some feedy stuff , but I was half late again tonight , and I half forgot .
Unforeseen circumstances have led to this development .

It chucked it down today . Biblical . Unlike most of the twaddle in the good book , ( I've read better ) ,there is sound historical evidence to support a great flood in ancient history .Forget all that Noah crap . He was just  an allegorical character , who went on to become Moses , and then Jesus , and then David Beckham.
No , It really rained . Enough to push us to the brink of extinction .The oceans rose up , and the poles shifted . All that .   Well , today was at least that bad .
 On account of my atheism slash blasphemy , god chose the garage to bear the brunt of his anger and furious wrath . It'll be me quoting Ezekial on facebook what did it .
He knows I'm atheist , but he just wont leave me alone . On the one hand , I'll announce my distinct lack of theism to the world  and all creation , and then in the next sentence , I'll acknowledge his existence. And creationism. They've got you all ways .
I believe the power of god is in man , in fact IS man , and I am man , therefore I am god . I'll be wearing a purple tracksuit next .  Did you notice I capitalised ' I' , but not god . We just made the whole Goddamn thing up.
Damn .

I'd better hide all my really cool old bike bits , cos what he did was cause it to rain so hard that a tiny crack in the roof sheet ( that wouldn't do more than a tiny drip in a normal shower)  opened up , and it fairly pissed in , BUT, only all over my box crate of bike bits for the Courier , AND only soaking the brown saddle .
 It's clearly stained .
If I hold it to the light a certain way , I can see the face of Mithra .

See , what actually happened was , I left it placed under the crack . There's a clear causal link . My cognitive dissonance at this trauma , is leading me to seek solace in spiritual mumbo jumbo . If I could just accept that it was I who caused the whole thing , I am also in fact , the rain , then I , and all of the world that I have created , for me , will be a much better one .
Peace and love .

Campag thumbshifters under 24 hr armed guard , and umbrella ......

Beyond the focal point of macro , one can  almost clearly see, a muddyfox courier in a state of build....

Not the Samuel L Jackson one .....
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel+23%3A20&version=NIV

Manic Monday....

It actually started on Sunday .

Saturday came and went like a hurricane . A tornado of empty crisp bags in the school playground .
Didn't manage anything constructive with the bike job , but , did pick up the wheels .
So Sunday . fairly early AM , where I'd normally be going out for a spin , I went to my mum's .

Just looking at this pic . As a side note my dad lives in that plant . Since he died . It would have been his birthday tomorrow . ( 12 /9/27)
My mum said he'd go mad if he could see the state of the garage , what with the ( hastily constructed ) spray booth , and the pile of bikes , and .....
Anyway .....

I took this pic starting out with some grey primer .
I'll back up a touch .There's a story . As per ....

I was down in Stoke a few weeks back . I got the paint there from an auto spray mix place , near to where I was working . Dead helpful . Indulged me finding a fairly correct colour . They didnt have ' 1987 Muddyfox pearl white ' in stock . Hmm
The guy mixed me up a rattle can of a Yamaha finish . Er..... Crystal white . maybe .
 He said , though , I HAD to use WHITE primer . He said it like that . Capitalised . Thing was though , they had none in . Neither did his mate " up the road , me duck "
I picked up a can of grey , filler primer , and he went on to say it HAD to be white , as the ( maybe ) crystal white was ' translucent ' , and it would affect the finish , by showing through . I was listening , but I went on to explain , I'd put a coat of grey on , then the white . You can see where you've done , see ?
I've done this before .

He said " any " generic car shop white primer would do . I said i'd deffo get some locally .

So , I did , from our local auto paint mix specialist , as it happens .


So , FFWD >>>>>.
Make that high pitched ,squeaky scrambled sound, if you wish , for effect .

I turn the heater on in the booth , and it quickly warms the space . It was already very warm , to be honest .
I hang up the frame , and separately , the fork using a strong tie -wire system . This works quite well , as you can get all round without touching .
I faff around a little , to get the frame warmed , too , using the time to polish up some trinkets .

And now I'm ready . I first apply the grey . It goes on really nice .

And relax . Probably had a brew , or something . Or some more polishing , but either way , the primer had a good 20-25 mins to dry in a v. warm place .

So now for a coat of white . It went on lovely also . I had all about done the whole frame , when I noticed classic paint cracking . I'll just point out I have sprayed loads and loads of bikes , and bits ,over many years , since childhood . Really .
First one I did was a Chopper in the 70s .
Over the years I've had mixed results . Sometimes I'm happy just to quickly flash over . That old adage about the time preparing is proportionate to the finish , is spot on . I've had ' reactions ' too , with different paints , for instance .
Back to the cracking . I can actually see it getting worse , but not all over . Just the odd bit . A prominent bit on the toptube . I instantly stop painting , and do the obvious thing these days . Google a solution .

Mum offers to make a butty and I take it as a good opportunity to chill .
I'm really thinking that I'm going to have to strip it right back again . I dont really have the time .

I browse a few painting forums , and it appears to be very common . One possible is that the grey hasn't yet fully dried , and its solvents are still bleeding out , and this is causing the white to crack . I'm not convinced . It was plenty dry enough .
The other is a simple ' different brands of paints + different solvents =reaction ' . I'm more inclined to think that was the issue , but I dunno . It was a ' filler primer ' , and one guy said that can be dodgy sometimes .

So , I had a good 45 mins off , and all the time it was in the hot booth , so it's proper dry again . Using a v.fine ( 1200 ) paper , I sanded out the crazy bits and wiped it over again , and tack ragged it .
 I went over everything again with more white primer , and it was OK .
Again , I dunno . The spray gods were favourable .

I let this have another good half hour . More polishing . My Dia Compe cantis are per-ching.
I was concerned about applying the top colour coat , as the white primer underneath was the odd brand out. Everything , the grey, the top , and the lacquer , were all the same brand .
But I did it anyway .

It went on real nice , with no issues at all . The only thing was , where It had crazy cracked a bit , and I'd re-rubbed it etc , I could kinda see . It's just not absolutely cock -on . Ahk , that said , you'd have to reeeeeally look . So , whatever .
A bit later I lacquered it over . Looks good .

You'll have to wait for some pix though , cos I did nt take any .

Thing is , I mentally justified it's lack of absolute perfection . They were never that well painted from new . I'm convinced they were so behind getting the bikes out of the factory , they were assembling them with ' soft ' paint . Mine had a very definite ring around the seattube  where the front mech clamped . Back in the day , my original one looked very very tatty in no time at all , with some bad stone chipping with very poor paint adhesion . I sprayed it twice in 2 yrs. I bet the first time it was less than a year old .
My mind's racing ....
First time , I did it yellow frame , with black forks , as a nod to the much drooled over '88 Diamond Back Arrival . Next up , I did it a custom fade job in a one -off mixed, purple and turquoise . Both time's I did graphics with letraset .

They were simple times .

Today , foam grips arrive by special delivery . Although , technically , that was now yesterday ....

It's just gone midnight . Dad's birthday . Dont tell him about that bloody garage ......

Shiny Happy People.

Something like 2 days after I dropped off my polished rims and hubs , I received a TXT from Alan to say my wheels are ready . He uses a top wheel builder bloke who builds for proteams . He's signed a vow of secrecy , though . 
Top service though , eh ? 

In other news , I was struggling for a Freewheel . I poured over the internet . All the usual places . Try and get a screw-on , ie old style, non-cassette, freewheel .
 Wait .
 It has to be in a decent range of gears . Shimano do a widely available 6 speed one , but it's 14t at the 'tall ' end , and 28t at the low . About a tenner . Looks about a fivers worth though . Nasty . Alan has them on the wall , and I nearly did , but I was hoping a better one would turn up . 

I'm sure we used to run 13-30 , but can I find one ? 

They also do that silly ' megarange ' one with a dead easy low gear . Apart from the shame and embarrassment , I'd be unable to use that with my rear derailleur . Too much raaaange.

Ebay sellers offer little more choice . At the other end of the price range , a NOS ( new old stock ) Suntour one , identical to the one I angle grindered off , are the best part of £100 . An odd Regina came up . Road ratios . 

Anyway , an exhaustive search brought up a ' SunRace ' brand one . 
13-28 . Says--- ' chrome plated '. 7 speed .
 Not a great pic online . 
OK , one tooth at the taller end is a bit better at least . I thought " in for a penny , in for a 14 quid . posted " 
A bit of an impulsive purchase , but if it wasn't quite right , it'd fit one of the kids bikes . 

Strictly speaking the Muddyfox is six speed ( ie 18 spd ) , but , the spacing's the same , and my shifters are 7spd . Non indexed Campy ones . They'd probably work with 10 speed !
I replied to an ' importance of originality ' type post the other day on the retrobike forum . Life's too short . And there's no way Jose is paying £100 for a six block .  

Anyway , it came this morning . Looks ace . Proper shiny shiny . Clicky clicky . More modern style profiled teeth . 

So , a blog post praising both the local retailer and the wonder of the internet . For that obscure hard to find stuff , It's tough to beat . That said , I'll be pointing them out to Alan as an option to stock over them nasty shimano ones . They look ten times better , for another 2 quid . 

And that said , it's hard to beat the local bike shop for a wheelbuild . 

Nipping into town later to collect them . I'll put some pix up . Deffo need to get some paint on that damn frame .

Right now , I'm building a mailorder wardrobe , which is the other , dark , depraved side of the internet .....

Wheels look superb . Plain gauge Stainless spokes , Silver brass nipples . Straight and true .
I'll have to order them overpriced Araya stickers now .

Shiny cassette . Just looks a ton better than one of those generic shimano ones .Rim tapes .

He falls into a carpet ....

So , as the page turns on another day .....

Here's something else that I first experienced in 1987 . I'm currently working in Manchester on a social housing project . A block o' flats , we used to call them . In the foyer there's a communal bookswap area . Well , I'm a sucker for books , me . A quick browse , and this jumped out . Next to Asimov's Foundation , which is , literally , another story . 

It's Weaveworld , by Clive Barker . One of his finest  ( if not the ) earlier works . Warped , and wefted , ha . Really good , from before he got all narcissistic and obsessed with homosexuality. 

It's a first edition paperback , not mint . Could probably tell a tale itself . 

Made the mistake of picking it up and opening the cover to read . 

I'm about seventy pages in already . Which is partly why my bike is still bereft of paint . It wouldn't be so bad , if I didn't know what was coming . There's this really good bit , yea ........



Right then , another ' handy ' finish today .
 Cock up on the catering front . First job was a bit of a garage tidy up . I just recently rebuilt / renovated the garage at my mum's . Outside looks good , but inside it's , er , eclectic .It's a work in progress . Tracey Emin , who lives next door , said it was ' rad ' .
 I clear a corner with some TNT , which will become my ' bike spraying corner ' . I was hoping to simply staplegun poly visqueen sheeting up . Creating a spray booth , of sorts .
Unfortunately , the roll of visqueen I'd put my name on at work , got used , so go to plan B ....

I , hastily constructed a supporting frame from 2"x2" R/S S/W from stock,and cross battened this using aluminium angle . Just a bit of light gauge stuff we use , cut to suit with tinsnips . With some short self drill ' tecscrews ' it didnt take long . Hey , it's what I do . Despite the corkscrew timber , and just eye and hand , it was fairly plumb and square  , making a space about 7' x 6' .
I had a few bits of polythene , so I gunned them to the roof battens . In the top left hand corner you can see a G'Clamp . That's pretty much holding the whole of that end up .

To the frame , determined to use the staplegun some more , I fastened ' correx' floor protection sheet . It's a corrugated plastic sheet used in construction to protect new floor coverings , or maybe doors . Stuff that could get a knock . Its in sheets of 8'x4' . It folds squarely down its length , and seeing as the garage is a smidge under 8' high , with a trim off the top , it's perfect . I laid a few on the floor , too .

 From work , obviously . What were you thinking ?

I've put a heater in there , and with the extra bit of polythene left over , I made a kind of ' door ' flap.
The whole thing was done in about an hour . On account of the EU directive on working hours , it was time for a brew . I had a Pukka Detox , with two bananas . All construction workers do this nowadays , and many have more than a passing penchant for late 80s fantasy horror .

 Here , the frame . . I'd have backed up to get a better shot , but behind me are six or seven bikes under a dust sheet . Hmm

Before I went home , I had a mad hour doing the final sand . I'm happy with it , so , with a bit of luck , chance of some paint tomorrow and then a week at gas mk6.
Mum will be getting her winter fuel payment soon , which will come in handy .

Warp and Weft

Grabbed a few minutes fettling today . I'm concerned that my wheels wont get done on time / in time , whatever . So , as tonight is ' mum shopping night ' and the wheels are at my mums , I would capitalise on available time .
One of the rims polished up a treat with some Autosol polish , but I still had one to do before I could take it for building . It's a bugger to do with the spokes in place .
I got away from work , ' handy ' , as we say in construction . Just I was leaving I phoned Mark at the shop to see what the deal is with turnaround times , and that . He said its not normally more than a few days , so in all honesty , I didnt need to rush .
 I said I'd see how it goes .

Got to my mums well in time .

Polished said rim . Dead good .
No pic , but get this . Using the detail palm sander thing , I removed the velcro backed sandpaper , and just placed a folded bit of terry towel on it . It kinda stuck to the hooky bit of the velcro . To this I applied a copious amount of Autosol . About a 1" squirt . And turned it on .
Dead good .
Probably used a bit more polish than if I'd done it normally , but in about 10 mins , possibly less , it was gleaming .
Oh , did the hubs , too . Just regular with the cloth .

My concern with the wheels is this . IF they arent ready in time , I havent really got a spare set. The other day I was looking at a similar ( little bit newer ) , ( '90 ) , pair of wheels . Real nice pair . Ooer missus . Araya rims . Black . RX-7s . Similar in profile to the 7Xs , bit narrower , 1.5s.  Stainless spokes . Dead nice Suntour XCPro hubs . Wobbly . Hmm .
Curious hubs . Early cassette . Probably in response to shimano . Get this though ... Sealed bearing on the non-drive side , loose ball behind a cone IN the cassette . By the look of them it appeared they were the problem . Another job then .

So , I get to the shop . Wheels ceremonially handed over . Pleasantries exchanged .
Shop's ready to shut . Last minute as usual , see , no need to rush . I follow mark into the back office , and there on the floor are 4 full cards of loose BBs . Mix of sizes .
OK , long story short . 38p pack of bearings fixes wheel . In fact , there's enough left to do another .
Got back to my mum's with them . 5 min job .
Brill .

Never mind the quality , feel the width .


Here , a guilty pleasure . John Tomac from before he was properly famous , test riding an SE Shocker .
Possibly my favourite magazine cover of all time .

Mr Sandman

Another  semi busy day . Few little bits of DIY , but to be honest , my heart wasn't in it. 

Tidied the shed out and liberated a few choice components . Like , 10 pairs of pedals . I dunno . 

So , Amy( girl child) has gone to her friends house . We need to pick her up at 5.00 , so there's a ' window' in which we're going to go to my mum's . The courier is there in the garage , so yet another ' two bird one stone ' thing . 

I get cracking with the sander. Whilst the frame overall doesn't look too bad , from a distance , up close it suffers from 25 yrs worth of MTB stone chips . The rear triangle is worst affected , but they're basically all over . I can't possibly just paint over it , so they need to be rubbed down . I'm using a palm style detail sander with a 120 grit paper . And mum has provided a cup of herbal tea , and some carrot cake . 

I love doing this kind of creative shit . 

Read - " The Case For Working With Your Hands...etc " , then get back to me ...

I was thinking I might get away with just t-cutting it .....

I'm about 99% there . The devil's in the detail sander , as they say . There are a couple of tricky spots I need to hand-rub , and I haven't done the fork yet . I'll wet+ dry the whole thing . Hoping to get some paint on midweek. 

The Daily Grind

Urrrgh . Bike restoration . Don't . Just don't.

 Busy today . Multiple trips to local tip following ' decorating' job upstairs . Anyway , 2 birds with one stone , methinks .

I'll load up the car , then after the first dump , I'll hightail it to my mate Rick @ Cyclehouse . I've a freewheel to remove off the Courier . I want the wheels rebuilding , but first the rims and hubs need a good buff up .The freewheel's also just worn enough to skip with a new chain ,which it definitely needs, so it's going bye bye.

 I'd tried in Alan's yesterday , but despite an impressive array of freewheel removers , none would fit . Ironically , the first ever bike specific tool I bought , was a Suntour two pin remover . But I cant find it .
So , Rick thinks they might have one . To be fair it's a 25yr old , obsolete freewheel , but it's worth a try .

I'm busting a gut to get there . Even though its only about 5 miles from the tip , I seem to catch every traffic light , and it being Saturday , all the shoppers are out .
Unfortunately , Rick's tool was also deficient.

And I've got another 2 or 3 trips to make to the tip, at least .

So , I get home . Dinnerish time . Whilst waiting for lunch , I get the big hammer out and an old chiseldriver . You know ?
You cant normally go wrong with a bit of violence . I've got the block lifted up on a piece of timber , so that as I whack it , the impact does n't damage the rim .

Still no joy .

It's funny how things go . Back at the tip , like an old magpie , a piece of shiny shiny catches my eye . It's a socket . One of the long sparkplug remover type . On the floor . Just there . I instantly think . I can fabricate a tool from this . Maybe .

So , FFWD>>>> a good hour or so . I've done another trip , and gone straight from there , to my mums . The angle grinder is there . It only takes a few minutes, with a dead thin cut-off disc, to cut some slots in the end of the socket , and then some cuts in the side , to leave two stand up lugs . It's kinda right as I offer it into the slots in the freewheel . I've got a big 18" Stilson wrench on the end , but the lugs aren't strong enough , deform , and slip out .
I'm pissed off .

I'm looking at the freewheel .

I'm looking at the grinder .

Freewheel . Grinder .

Grinder . Freewheel .




Definitive 'after ' pic . You can see the fabbed socket thingy .



In for a penny .....
One-handed power tool photography not recommended . Don't try this at home kids , I'm a trained professional.

Minutes later I had the Autosol out . One rim and hub are gleaming . I'll try to get the others done tomorrow.

"Tackle , is half the battle " as my old dad used to say .