My "not so ideal" commuter, *finished*
Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 8:23 pm
Hi all,
I have come to the conclusion that I need to build myself a dedicated commuter bike.
I have set myself some basic criteria, which I think should be easy to meet.
- 26" wheels with 1.5" road tyres
- Fully enclosed drive train
- Gears (this will obviously need to be a geared hub, which I already have)
- Full length mud guards
- Rear carry rack
- Disk brakes
- Kick stand
- Lights
To this end I have so far aquired a Gazell commuter frame, which had some 26" Aero rims fitted to a Shimano Nexus three speed hub with coaster brake. Full length guards and a rear rack, plus a mostly enclosed chain case.... so I have a starting point.
I also had an old Sturmey Archer AW 3 speed hub lying around, this has been modified to fit a disk brake rotor. (photo's coming soon)
Next on my list of things to do is to fabricate disk mounts for the frame and forks... I feel that the frame shouldn't present me with too many drama's however I might need to fit a chain tensioner of some sort to eliminate the need to adjust wheel position to set the chain tnsion, as that would then upset the disk alignment.
One thing I am not sure about yet, is what type of handle bars I want one this bike... I like drop bars, but I also like flat bars... and then I'm also quite comfy with the north road bars on my shopper bike.
Another thing that may give me some grief is the spokes for the rear wheel. The Gazell had 13 guage spoke fitted...and the holes in the rear rim have been drilled to suit the larger nipples. The AW hub will accept 13 gauge spokes, so I figured that I may as well build the wheel with 13 guage spokes, but am not sure where to go to get them (and I want stainless... )
anyway, thats it for now... I'll take some pics tomorrow of where I'm up to so far with the project.
I have come to the conclusion that I need to build myself a dedicated commuter bike.
I have set myself some basic criteria, which I think should be easy to meet.
- 26" wheels with 1.5" road tyres
- Fully enclosed drive train
- Gears (this will obviously need to be a geared hub, which I already have)
- Full length mud guards
- Rear carry rack
- Disk brakes
- Kick stand
- Lights
To this end I have so far aquired a Gazell commuter frame, which had some 26" Aero rims fitted to a Shimano Nexus three speed hub with coaster brake. Full length guards and a rear rack, plus a mostly enclosed chain case.... so I have a starting point.
I also had an old Sturmey Archer AW 3 speed hub lying around, this has been modified to fit a disk brake rotor. (photo's coming soon)
Next on my list of things to do is to fabricate disk mounts for the frame and forks... I feel that the frame shouldn't present me with too many drama's however I might need to fit a chain tensioner of some sort to eliminate the need to adjust wheel position to set the chain tnsion, as that would then upset the disk alignment.
One thing I am not sure about yet, is what type of handle bars I want one this bike... I like drop bars, but I also like flat bars... and then I'm also quite comfy with the north road bars on my shopper bike.
Another thing that may give me some grief is the spokes for the rear wheel. The Gazell had 13 guage spoke fitted...and the holes in the rear rim have been drilled to suit the larger nipples. The AW hub will accept 13 gauge spokes, so I figured that I may as well build the wheel with 13 guage spokes, but am not sure where to go to get them (and I want stainless... )
anyway, thats it for now... I'll take some pics tomorrow of where I'm up to so far with the project.