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Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 8:36 pm
by MattyK
Only took 2 years... :lol:

Gumtree find Reid Harrier in ok knick. A bit of scratching and rust but most things straight.

Have commenced cleanup:
Wipe down and remove grime
Freed the stuck seatpost
Removed rear brake
Trimmed the front brake cable
Adjusted wheel bearings (too tight)
Lubed the chain and bearings
Trued the wheels back to straight
Replaced the rusty bottle cage screws with ss.
Destickered the wheels and cranks

Image
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Runs super quietly. Heavy as though, the complete wheels with tyres are over 4.1 kg... :shock:
Commuted yesterday, a good challenge up the hills :)

Some toe straps would be good, and the bars are awful on the wrists

Future plans are to:
Fit some bullhorn bars
Maybe some matching bar tape and saddle (thinking tan/brown)
Find the socket set and adjust the pedal bearings.

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 10:58 pm
by mikesbytes
Nice. Your a tough man to ride without clips, pretty much limits you to quads. The hills will get easier as you adapt to different cadences

What gearing did you go with?

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 7:08 am
by bychosis
Good pickup.

Fixed or SS? I quite enjoy the mechanical silence of the fixie. It's also a good wet weather bike with less drivetrain to clean.

Few years time you'll be ready for the current fad of a gravel grinder :twisted:

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 7:53 am
by MattyK
Gearing is 46/18. Might get some toe straps but don’t really want to go for clips because it's just not that sort of bike for me. The pedals are what came on it. But who knows, I have some spare A520s...

Currently it’s just SS, not fixed, but the freewheel was so gummy it was silent anyway :D. A few drops of lube has got it clicking again. Not sure if I’ll go fixed as the hills to work had me spinning out

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 9:46 am
by P!N20
MattyK wrote:Only took 12 years... :lol:
FTFY
bychosis wrote:Few years time you'll be ready for the current fad of a gravel grinder :twisted:
CX first.

MattyK - I've got some toe clips for sale if you're in need: http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 25&t=96384
I can probably find some straps, too, but they'll be in average condition.

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 10:19 am
by cancan64
P!N20 wrote:CX first.
and then bike packing :D

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 10:32 am
by MattyK
P!N20 wrote: CX first.

MattyK - I've got some toe clips for sale if you're in need: http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 25&t=96384
I can probably find some straps, too, but they'll be in average condition.
Need to get some moustache wax first...

No toe clips please. but maybe some fat velcro straps a la:
Image

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 11:03 am
by P!N20
^ Ah, gotcha.

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 1:16 pm
by slidetaker
Definitely worth getting good fixed wheels if you like riding it.

Good thing is these Quando no name wheels are bottomed priced, so you won't lose too much money...

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 1:44 pm
by MattyK
slidetaker wrote:Definitely worth getting good fixed wheels if you like riding it.

Good thing is these Quando no name wheels are bottomed priced, so you won't lose too much money...
I’m amazed at how heavy single speed wheels are. Even into decent money territory. It would be not hard to build a wheel and tyre combo at about 2.5kg, but it would probably cost about $500. Which is over 3x what I paid for the bike.

So as it stands, wheels are unlikely to get upgraded unless they die.

Some fatter rubber (~28c) is tempting, I hopped a speed hump today and the landing was pretty harsh!

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 2:00 pm
by bychosis
MattyK wrote:
slidetaker wrote:Definitely worth getting good fixed wheels if you like riding it.

Good thing is these Quando no name wheels are bottomed priced, so you won't lose too much money...
I’m amazed at how heavy single speed wheels are. Even into decent money territory. It would be not hard to build a wheel and tyre combo at about 2.5kg, but it would probably cost about $500. Which is over 3x what I paid for the bike.
I had some of the Reid wheels, same as Quando - heavy. After a while I shelled out and bought rims, hubs, good spokes and built them up, then got them trued at the LBS. Total cost $390. The rims were a run out special, but other stuff was the usual price. Dropped about 1kg from memory and made a big difference to the ride, especially being easier to slow the rear wheel by back pedalling.

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 5:14 pm
by MattyK
If I buy better wheels they're going on my road bike :D

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 9:49 pm
by mikesbytes
I agree, stick with the heavy wheels, the bike isn't about being the fastest bike in the shed.

One problem with the single speed is that your got no rear braking. It doesn't take too long to learn to spin downhill when its fixed

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 10:03 pm
by MattyK
Well I could add the rear brake on but... aesthetics...

On my commute I’m freewheeling down the first hill at 45kmh. That would be 140rpm at the cranks...

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 10:55 pm
by bychosis
MattyK wrote:Well I could add the rear brake on but... aesthetics...

On my commute I’m freewheeling down the first hill at 45kmh. That would be 140rpm at the cranks...
I’ve hit over 60 on my fixie, particularly on the hill on the way to work. It gets crazy fast on the cadence. I find there are a couple of particularl cadence points where I feel like I’m about to shake myself off the bike, but I can get past it and smooth out again. Fixed ear just adds an extra dimension - and you get to keep a ‘rear brake’ without installing one.

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 1:31 pm
by slidetaker
bychosis wrote:
MattyK wrote:
slidetaker wrote:Definitely worth getting good fixed wheels if you like riding it.

Good thing is these Quando no name wheels are bottomed priced, so you won't lose too much money...
I’m amazed at how heavy single speed wheels are. Even into decent money territory. It would be not hard to build a wheel and tyre combo at about 2.5kg, but it would probably cost about $500. Which is over 3x what I paid for the bike.
I had some of the Reid wheels, same as Quando - heavy. After a while I shelled out and bought rims, hubs, good spokes and built them up, then got them trued at the LBS. Total cost $390. The rims were a run out special, but other stuff was the usual price. Dropped about 1kg from memory and made a big difference to the ride, especially being easier to slow the rear wheel by back pedalling.
When you think deeper about it, it is really the rear wheel. You can run any cheap front wheel from flebay.

With the rear wheel, it is a long term investment as you do not wear your rim, no freebody nor freewheel. Fresh grease every year, the rear wheel can run years.

What I did, buy and salvage good rim from broken hub rusted spokes $20, new DT DB spokes online shipped $60, Formula rear hub online shipped $35. Total $115 for a long lasting wheel. You cannot beat that.

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 10:29 am
by P!N20
^ I stripped the thread on the hub on my Kona's stock rear wheel (too many whip skidz ;P). Bought a second hand replacement rear wheel and set about swapping the sprocket over...dear god, it was so hard getting the sprocket to budge - I could have kept running that rear wheel without a lockring and it wouldn't have come loose.

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 4:24 pm
by slidetaker
P!N20 wrote:^ I stripped the thread on the hub on my Kona's stock rear wheel (too many whip skidz ;P). Bought a second hand replacement rear wheel and set about swapping the sprocket over...dear god, it was so hard getting the sprocket to budge - I could have kept running that rear wheel without a lockring and it wouldn't have come loose.
No/not enough/not proper grease when first installed the cog. In my opinion, it ain't worth damaging the hub or the tool to get it out. Get a new cog for the new hub. Cog is cheap.

Re: Finally joined the clan...

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 4:30 pm
by P!N20
slidetaker wrote:No/not enough/not proper grease when first installed the cog. In my opinion, it ain't worth damaging the hub or the tool to get it out. Get a new cog for the new hub. Cog is cheap.
Maybe...this was years ago. Been through several sprockets since then.