Seat Tube

I need an 18" seat tube. You have to cut off more than your going to use, I say by a couple inches. Then you miter the bottom of the tube to contour where it's going to meet the bottom bracket.
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I can make the miter with a hacksaw file, but I have a Joint Jigger. A bottom bracket has a diameter of 1-1/2". Set the angle of the joint Jigger to 90 degrees, then put on a 1-1/2" hole saw, and then get to cutt'n.


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With a little filing you can get what you want. A nice clean miter.

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I've decided to have a 74 degree seat tube angle. I've always liked the forward position. Most people like them 72.5 - 73.0 . . . or it seems the manufactures do.
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Setting this angle doesn't set anything in stone. 99% of seats have rails that allow you to move the seat back and forth a few inches either way. What matters most is the the combination of the frame, seatpost, and seat allow you to get your seat in the relationship to the bottom bracket that you like. For example some people like the front of the seat to be 7cm behind the centerline of the bottom bracket. . . . and the seat post brings up an interesting component to this equation . They make straight seat posts where the seat clamp sitts straigh on top the seat post tube, most popular being the Thomson. Most manufactures make their seat posts with the clamping mechanision behind the seat post tube, I guess most people refer to these posts as being laid back seat posts.

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Now clamped up in the jig.

CHainstays chAINstays chainSTAYS

Once again, and I can't say it enough. There is a reason they sell pre-bent chainstays.
Besides tubing, some stuff your going to want bending 3/4" 4130.
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PlaySand: Pack those tubes full of sand so when your bending they are supported from the inside. This helps them from not buckling.

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A 3/4" tubing bender . . . Ha ha . . . very Handy!

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Draw up the design. Start with drawing the Bottom bracket, and dropout, then start marking off all your tolerances and limitations (Cranks, Gears, Tires, Rotor, etc.)

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If you've done it right, when assembled it should shadow your drawing. You will need some practice before you do this the first time. Beware this practice might cause you some heartache. As a matter of fact if done right, it should. What I'm saying is if you step right through this process the first time, you will have no idea what your limitations are. Collapes a few tubes and learn what it feel like.
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Also you have to make both pieces exactly the same, and keep the bends in the same plane.
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Also Also I bought 4' of tubing instead of the 3' needed. You need extra tubing in order to get the leverage you need to bend the tube. You can use the extra bits later.

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So I got it. Cranks clearance, Tire Clearance. ( also not shown Chainring and rotor clearance.)


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I probably could have given the tire a little more clearance, and a little less crank clearance, but it all should work fine. If I have to I still have the option of dimpling.

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Not a lot of chainring clearance (3mm), but once again no problem, I can dimple it if I have to.

CranksGiving 2008

Today Was the CranksGiving Ride. The rules are simple. You have a grocery list of 8 Items

1. Can of Green Beans, Corn, or Pea

2. Jar of Peanut Butter

3. Can of Chicken Soup

4. Box of Instant Mash Potatoes

5. Box of Cerial

6. Apple Sauce

7. Corn Bread Mix

8. Can of Tuna or Chicken

You have a List of 8 Grocery Stores in which you have to purchase 1 of those items. and you can't purchase the item more than once.

It's good to get to the start early and try to figure out where your going to go, because all you have is a list of address. I'm not that familiar with Shawnee Mission, Prairie Village, and Kansas City Kansas, but I had been to all of them, but one.

I believe I was in the top 3 with one store to go. I was with Joel and his friend they got hung up in Westport (Never take Self Check out), so I took off thinking I could just reason my way there. The next/Last stop was over in Kansas City, Kansas. It wouldn't have been a problem, and I did find it, but the thing is you need know what way through the intricate laberinth of Roads and Bridges that is "the West bottoms" that separates the two places. I rather than taking to more direct route, I wound up dead ended in a couple industrial parks before finding my way there.

The end was at ACME Bike shop, and again you have to work your way across Bridges, rail road yards, Bridges over Interstates, Bridges over the Missouri River, and Bridges over the Kansas City. I guess I lack top echelon street cred. although my way wasn't bad, just not as good as Joel and his friend's. I ended up 3rd and that's OK with me.

Here are some pictures at ACME, at the end of the race.

The side where the action is.

The famous Bike Pole

. . . and the owner of Acme right there taking a picture of me.

I suspect no less than 50 people turned up. Ths is just the beginning

Here is just a bit of the haul.

Speaking of food, we were right across from Grinder's Pizza

http://www.grinderspizza.com/

http://www.myspace.com/grinderskc

You got to be Yoking me!

If you can't bend them, Yoke'm. I shortend the stays about 5mm. I noticed at the end I didn;t have a lot of tire clearance. The drawing has 7.5mm and I was going for 15mm . . . Diameters, Radius's who's counting? . . . Well you all get the picture of what tree I'm barking up now?

Well if you don't get the picture here's a WaltWorks with a Yoke.

Damage Report! Damage Report!

So how bad is it? Do you think anybody will notice? . . . Doink!
It's just a chainstay dimple right?


Had the Crank Clearance


One issue I thought I would run into was chainring clearance. As John Bender would put it, "Not even close Bud!" I'm going to trade chainring clearance for more tire clearance.

Now back to the drawing board.

Now What! . . . Again!

Well . . . There you have it. The tire had clearance, and the crank cleared, but I just wanted a little more clearance . . . A little more tweaking . . . KINK!

Well . . . back to the drawing board. . . . Well after a little cutting, grinding, and filing. Should have left well enough alone. . . . Where I heard that before?

Lake Winter Shoes

Today I had to break out my Lake Winter Shoes. When the temperature gets down to 25 to 5 below zero, these shoes will keep your feet warm and cozy. I've had these shoes now for 4 years and I highly recommend them. Not only do they keep your feet warmer than booties, I hate peeling on and off booties.

Plus they have the BOA system. This make during ride adjustment possible. Like I said I've had the shoes now 4 years, I ride almost every day, and no problems, I also ride my mountain bike a lot, is that's any testament to their durability. They are expensive, but worth it. They are one of the few Items design to get more than one season. I don't see why I should be able to get 10 more years from them.


The padding in the bottom of the shoe looks like it's a piece of bubble insulation. You can buy bubble insulation at your hardware store. This is a great idea. Not for just cycling, but say you work outside, standing on concert all day, this will help your feet from getting cold.

Ohhhhhh Boy! . . . Chain-Stays!

Today's lesson: It's well worth the money to just buy the pre-bent chain-stays. However I am richer for the experience.

My first idea was to bend 3/4", 4130 into chain-stays. Not having experience I decided to ease into things by bending the tubing on something with a big radius. So I'll use the mandrel from the Superbee . . . and my favorite . . . Rachet straps!


I got some pretty good bends, but the radius was still too big. I replaced the wood mandrel with a 2x10Lbs. plates (Not Pictures, but the result is . . . see below)

DOE!

OK . . . so back to the metal supply store for more 3/4" (19mm), 4130. ($8).

I went to the bike shop, then flatened the entire length to 16mm x 21mm? If I flatten it some, I can gain 6mm of clearance. It was a painfull act. I paded the vise with 2 layers of inner tube rubber, then squeezed the tube (Cold Set) till it was 16mm width, then moved the tube about 3" and did it again, and again till the whole length was 16mm. Everybody at the shop was surprised how well it went.

The next step is to fill and pack the tube with sand before bending. The sand will support the inside of the tube to keep it from buckling, like the last tube did, when I put a tighter radius on it.

Flattening the tube will also make it easier to keep the bends coplanar. Well that was the idea because I'm only going to put 1 bend on each stay instead of 2.

And they are done. Tommorow it will be time to clean them up, and tack them on to ensure the tire clears, the chainrings clear, and the cranks clear. All the measurement I took suggest they will all clear, but some how when its "In Reality", things change some.

Bending 3/4" 4130 straight guage is no walk in the park. To put 2 bends in each chain-stay you will need 4 foot of tubing in order to get enough leverage and do it right. Unless you have a tubing bender of course.

Now the Chainstays

The problem with 2.7" tires is you need a frame with clearance. There are not a lot of frames that will allow you to put on 2.7" tires. So off to the design lab we go. I got together a drawing displaying the aproximations. I've got some straight guage 4130 and now I'm going to bend it to form the chainstays.
 

They're Here.

What's in? . . . The Kenda 2.7" Nevegals . . . Yep 2.7". In case your interested Crusty, they weight in at 1431 grams, or 3.15 Lbs. a piece.

Next to them are the 2.1" Nevegals. Pictures don't quite capture how much bigger they are, although it's obvious they are a lot taller, but how much?

The 2.1" measured 54mm tread/50mm casing, 670mm tall; the 2.7" measured 66mm tread/ 58mm casing, 690mm tall.

Operation Snow Bike. The design is going to look like a SE QuadAngle. Now how to get the clearance?

The Road Angle Experiement

Why have a normal looking road bike? What's the point of making a custom road bike that just falls in line with the rest.

I always liked the looks of the SE Quad Angle, so why not make a road bike that looks like the Quad Angle. The Original 1979 SE quad Angle.

Not the revision from 1983-85ish . . . The one that the seat stays attach to the seat tube . . . although it was made from Reynolds 531.

Not to be confused with the STR-1. (Stu Thompson Replica). The STR-1 actually came before the Quadangle. It was a Prototype. The downtubes actually go down and cradle the bottom bracket and become chainstays

. . . or the repro retro. although I will be going with 1-1/8" head tube, and not 1".

Let's just hope the design translates from a BMX bike to a road bike better than this . . . though I still might take it.

Yes I didn't mention the Freestyle Quad, Aluminum Quad, or any of the other "Quad" variations that came out after the Reynold 531 Quad came out . . . They don't count as far as I'm concerned. When they started attaching the seat stays to the seattube, is when they lost me.

Image of the Day

Now vision for 50 Miles in 2:15

My 50 Mile/2hr, 30 min barrier has fallen. I haven't ridden a lot this year. I think I can ride this course in 2hr, 15min or faster if I was in shape.

I switched to my TT bike for this ride and never felt comfortable. I think I might have gone faster on a road bike. It's funny the difference between drop bars and Tri/TT bars. Usually it's me and my bike against the road, today I felt not only was I fighting the road, but the bike as well. I think My bars are too far down. My position isn't right, and I never fixed it from this spring.

I think in the end the longer rides and improved fitness helped me more than anything. Normally I would have been ready to pounce and kick ass on the last 5 miles (Iggy Pop)

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but rather I felt like this guy below dreading the climb.

Who knows, with better fitness, and geting the position worked out I might be able to break 2hr, 15min for 50 miles.