a franken bike build

that or we call it how a bike can be built based on 18+ years of accumulated bike stuff.

Start with a frame, then begin measuring. BB shell width vs what not good enough to use when you are working in a shop but not toasted enough to throw away BBs ya got laying around.

Hmmm this nice REAL components BB might work. A 103 square taper set up with 100% adjustable drive line. And, look, cool I can install it with this crappy plastic shimano BB tool I have. Bearings are a bit crunchy, but it works.

Which crank to use. This Sugino mighty 900 has a 36 44 on there, 94 bolt center 5 arm... it is a 180 mm. Ah but it has that triple crank nubs. Not so good with dropped chains and the chain line on this with that BB isn't so great. Lets try something else. 177.5 Mavic? nah. Too short. 180 XC Pro? Bingo. Lets see what rings I have. 50, 38, both 110... perfect. Chain ring bolts. I KNOW i have some somewhere. Where.

Each part requires lots of digging. The Sugino crank was on top, the XC Pro was burried in the blue tub. The chain ring bolts, well. I knew I'd seen a handful around. Through the craftsmen, the tool box, gave up on the blue tub (only tires and big stuff goes in there) then just before I started to scavenge the bolts off the Sugino crank I thought, ya know, i bet there are bolts in the XC Pro box. Sure'nuff. Nice unopened set. Steel, chrome plated and heavy. But for this initial build. It is about making it work. Tim Gunn Style. Work with what you have. I can't run out to Mood, or Casters or the Hub every time I don't have exactly what i might need. That would defeat the purpose of using what is available.

Okay. Good. Wait - i should probably grease these bolts before putting the chainrings on. Damnit. Where's the grease. Long search ensues. Come up with a small sample tube of Tri-Flow grease, and some 100% Dupot Teflon in a syringe like tube. Lets use the Tri-Flow. But wait, no i didn't use grease on the BB. I used liquid pipe dope.

Okay. Put crank on, need to tweak chain line. Okay there.

Well this goes on... and on... that was part of monday night...

tuesday night? nope - looked at it, passed. Didn't have headset spacers or top nut. Looked at it a bit but didn't cannibalize the P-mount's wheels and seat post for the TCX, well till last night at least.

Pretty fancy stuff. And no

no pictures, still.

Solobreak has mentioned it before. The process if finding what you know you should have because you've managed to save every last bit of stuff.

Last night I discovered a handful of mostly too short cut ends of the old Gore housing. Might be able to use it and some extra liners. I know quite a few mechanics who've installed enough gore ride on cables to have accumulated enough what would have been waste to equip their own bike. I might be there with this one. But I found the holy grail for non-gore cable users.

Esp key for those with all top tube cable routing (me not big fan of it but hey - somethings you just have to deal with).

It basically does a pretty damn good job of keeping water and junk from running down into the last section of der-housing. And since I don't have a long enough piece (it seems at the moment) to run it solid from top to bottom, i'm going with the grub/earthworm or what ever SRAM called it back in the gripshift hey days of the 90s.

But it is to the point where I just need to run the cables... true and tension the rear wheel install tires, set seat height and... should be good to go tomorrow.

Whoo Hooo the Giant Frankenbike is almost ALIVE!

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