Repco Olympic 12 into SS Build

[BLU_FZ!]

Just a tip,,,,,if you can still smell the paint on the frame,its to early to sand.Give it a full week for the paint to fully cure

Glenn

[aaron]

I wish you hadn't posted all the pics of filing things off.
I did that once and regretted it for a long time.

Painted stems look weird in my opinion.

B43s are really heavy and only needed for tricking.

Nice red colour though.

[BRLVR.v2]

I wish you hadn't posted all the pics of filing things off.
I did that once and regretted it for a long time.

.

Bit of adifference in drewing a low end repco frame and a cecil walker though!

[christianeh]

Wet sanded the base coat with 2000 grit.




During the week I went in to Games Workshop and bought some gold paint and a paint brush to do the pin-striping.



I've been using acrylic paint all along which was lucky as when I came to do the pin-striping I could easily wipe the gold paint off if I made any mistakes. Had a hangover so my hand wasn't as steady as I would have liked. I found it really hard to get the pin-striping even, but as long as you're not too close it looks fine. I painted around all the lugs except for the internal brake guides as I figure it would stand out too much and the main purpose for the them was to get a cleaner/minimalist look.








A wipe down with wax 'n' grease remover and a tack cloth and then it was back in the spray booth for some clear coat. I used two big cans of Power Plus from Supercheap. They cost about $20 each so they were fairly expensive. I laid down a good 5 or 6 layers of clear so that I won't go through it when I do the cut 'n' polish. I got my first 'paint run' due to a lapse in concentration Other than that it came out really good and I can't wait until next weekend to cut 'n' polish and wax the sucker! The photos don't really do it any justice but will hopefully give you some idea.













Wheels, cogs and chain will hopefully arrive some time this week. Really excited about that.

Been thinking about brake systems. I'm going to get a set of silver Miche brakes. They're el cheapo but from the reviews I've read they seem to do the job just fine. Also pretty sure my bro has a set on his fixie and he's still alive which is a good sign.




Now, the thing that's got me thinking is what levers to get. I'm going to get some track bars which won't allow much room for levers so I have been contemplating getting a duplex lever (http://www.paulcomp.com/duplexlever.html) that pulls on both brakes simultaneously. I'm still a bit iffy as to how they would look and their effectiveness. Anyone had any experience with this?



Over and out.

[jaseyjase]

paint looks good, well done. For the lining, a paint pen wouldve made things much easier

[christianeh]

paint looks good, well done. For the lining, a paint pen wouldve made things much easier

Thanks pal. Just after I started painting the pin-striping I realised that the pen would have been a better idea haha. Oh well, maybe next time

[emilmh]

I got my first 'paint run' due to a lapse in concentration Other than that it came out really good and I can't wait until next weekend to cut 'n' polish and wax the sucker! The photos don't really do it any justice but will hopefully give you some idea.

You make it sound so much worse than it is. The paint is absolutely awesome. It looks better than some "professional" spray booth and air gun jobs ive seen.

Been thinking about brake systems. I'm going to get a set of silver Miche brakes. They're el cheapo but from the reviews I've read they seem to do the job just fine.

It's no Dura Ace but I couldn't find any better value! Have a close look at mine for quality/finish and performance. Maybe others have found better options though.

I'm going to get some track bars which won't allow much room for levers so I have been contemplating getting a duplex lever ([url]<a href="http://www.paulcomp.com/duplexlever.html[/url" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink" class="vglnk">http://www.paulcomp.com/duplexlever.html[/url</a>]) that pulls on both brakes simultaneously. I'm still a bit iffy as to how they would look and their effectiveness. Anyone had any experience with this?

I saw these today as i was looking for what you were talking about. I don't seem much of an advantage.
Things to consider:
It saves you having another lever (weight + aesthetics), and allows better braking with one hand.
Less brake control. Front and back cant be controlled separately, ie if surface is wet its safer to use less front, if straight line braking you want more front (typically, without getting into massive discussion)
I (personally) think they look kind of cheap and crappy. (I realise they probably are very high quality, but i'm just talking about how I think they look design wise, possibly because of the photography)
If you end up running just fixed with a front brake, it serves no additional purpose.
They seem pretty expensive (add freight to cost as well?)
Limited colours?
They appear to slide on and don't clamp (less versatile)

If you get the right size "normal" bmx style levers
More brake control
can remove unused lever if you end up fixed with just front brake
more options in terms of styles, costs, colours, quality
You can brake with either hand
extra weight of additional lever
aesthetics/symmetry of an extra lever?

If i understand correctly you can get levers that clamp onto the thicker diameter of the bars, right next to where the stem clamps. This would seem to offer the most "room" if you think the track bars limit you.
There are heaps of people on this forum who have bmx style levers on track bars, maybe browse the gallery and PM them if you like their set up?
There are single/double finger levers you might want to consider?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dia-compe-tech-99-gold-finger-brake-levers/ single finger style
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tektro-rl720-series-brake-levers/ less bulky look (I have these on my Fuji if you want to see what they look and feel like)
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dia-compe-tech-99-dirty-harry-brake-levers/ Dirty harry's. They seem popular. If fact the size seems like it will fit around the normal bar thickness, and the thicker clamping section (I think it comes with a shim for the clamp) (I have similar traditional type bmx on my Centurion you can see what they look and feel like)
(sorry for crap linking, i d don't know how to hyperlink from just some text.)

I'm sure more experienced people can correct me and give more opinions.

[BRLVR.v2]

wadda ya need a back brake for? Didn't you drew of the cable guides for clean look, and now you want to run a cable and rear brake on a fixed?

[munga]

define! 'drew'

[christianeh]

wadda ya need a back brake for? Didn't you drew of the cable guides for clean look, and now you want to run a cable and rear brake on a fixed?

I took the cable guides off the top tube because they were rusted to hell (see photos from my first post) and having internal brake guides entering from the side makes for a cleaner look. Plus, lets face it, it's just fun grinding s#!t. I wanted the option of riding SS or fixed and as such will require a rear brake. Also, considering I've never ridden fixed before I think it's best for all parties involved that I have brakes.

[aaron]

Track bars are a pain to use street riding.

They look AWESOME but are quite impractical!!

Find nice road instead.

I use a dual level on my polo bike and it's fantastic. Using one for road riding etc is not a good idea at all.

I'm pretty sure that they aren't designed for that.

I ride fixed and brakeless. If you want to ride fixed and want a a brake just go for a front one.

If you want single speed you'd be better have having a rear too.

[BRLVR.v2]

define! 'drew'

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Drewed

[munga]

understood the context, but where's it from?
break it down for me, yo

[BRLVR.v2]

Dunno, seen itin use in yank forums and fgg. Just sounds cool.

[familyguy]

Schooled: The origin of the word Drew.

Jim

[Chrisaus]

Awesome paint job! I can't wai tto see it finally built up!

[christianeh]

There was a bit of orange peel from the clear coat so I started off by wet sanding the tubes with 2000 grit. I decided not to go near the lugs as they turned out really shiny and I didn't want to f#(K the edges. I pretty much sanded the tubes until they were totally matte and couldn't see any shiny low points. Then I hit it up with some cut and polish followed by a 3 phase wax.






Got out an old sock and buffed the s#!t out of it.




Ended up with what I reckon is on par with a pro job. Once again, the photos don't really do it justice but you get the idea.










All up it took about a month, a lot of elbow grease and patience and cost about $150 to paint. It's definitely not a cheap alternative but it was a great experience and learned a fair bit in the process. It also feels good to breathe new life into an old bike. Would love to do it again some time.

Still waiting on my rims, cogs and chain from the US. It's been over 2 weeks and I just want them already! I'll hopefully be able to put the bike together this weekend so that I can take it on its maiden voyage and break her in. Been thinking of sewing some leather handle grips and restoring an old saddle with the same leather. Would look nice and be another cool project.

[.isaac.]

If this has been posted already(I'm just too lazy too go through posts today) sorry. What wheelset and wheel size are you using with this frame?

Isaac.

EDIT- Found the B43 silver post.

EDIT- Also, the way the frame turned out looks quite similar to Jim's red/gold pinstriped.
http://www.boutiquecycles.com/bikes/det ... dys_track/
without the white.

[christianeh]

Wheels finally came in the the mail

[beachbum]

any more progress?

[christianeh]

EDIT- Also, the way the frame turned out looks quite similar to Jim's red/gold pinstriped.
http://www.boutiquecycles.com/bikes/det ... edys_track
without the white

His bike looks sweet. He must have great taste

any more progress?

My bro and I assembled the bike on the weekend using the wheels, cogs, and chain I had ordered and then used spare parts we had lying around to make up the rest of it. So at the moment it's ridable, but not very photogenic - although, I have to say that the gold chain against the red frame looks a million bucks! I took it for a ride around the neighbourhood just to test it out and it feels pretty nice and solid. I'm still waiting on a second hand Shimano 600 crankset, pedals, Nitto track bars (I couldn't resist - they look so beautiful), Tektro brake levers, and some braided brake cable. I will keep the old saddle on for the time being as I'm looking to find a cheap second hand saddle that I can restore (if anyone has a cheap one or they want to give me a freebie let me know ). I want to have the seat, grips and toe straps all in the same coloured leather.

Also been thinking of making a leather saddle bag for fun.

As soon as it's put together with all the proper components I'll take some photos and post them up.

[HappyHumber]

Also been thinking of making a leather saddle bag for fun.

Do you have a saddle ready for the bike? why not source a cheap/sad old example of a good saddle and recover it in leather to match as well?

[christianeh]

Also been thinking of making a leather saddle bag for fun.

Do you have a saddle ready for the bike? why not source a cheap/sad old example of a good saddle and recover it in leather to match as well?

That's the plan. The grips and toe straps will be easy to make. Upholstering the saddle will be a bit harder but I think it's doable - I've seen it done on a few sites. I have a saddle already but it's in good condition and I reckon it's a bit of a shame to wreck it. I’d love to get a saddle that looks like the Selle San Marco Rolls.

[munga]

brown rolls saddle





check your pm's

[HappyHumber]

Do you have a saddle ready for the bike? why not source a cheap/sad old example of a good saddle and recover it in leather to match as well?

That's the plan. The grips and toe straps will be easy to make. Upholstering the saddle will be a bit harder but I think it's doable - I've seen it done on a few sites. I have a saddle already but it's in good condition and I reckon it's a bit of a shame to wreck it. I’d love to get a saddle that looks like the Selle San Marco Rolls.

Sniff around a bit. Place a WTB on here.. say condition of upholestry not important.. just neat rails & under side.. someone who's not as handy as you are might want to move an oldie on. Use your present one in the meantime.

I have one of the later repro Rolls.. they are nice... but there are other nice classic models being remade. Some of the names escape me though
concors? regal?

I have an NJS marked Kashimax saddle from some old roadie (back when the stamp didn't mean much outside of Japan in the 80s) which looks a bit worse for wear. Might ride it a bit and if it's kind enough on my butt give it a new lease of life one day.