My "not so ideal" commuter, *finished*

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Lark2004
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My "not so ideal" commuter, *finished*

Postby Lark2004 » 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.
Last edited by Lark2004 on Sun Mar 13, 2011 6:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Andrew

Rek
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Re: My ideal commuter

Postby Rek » Sun Aug 29, 2010 10:48 pm

Lark2004 wrote:fabricate disk mounts for the frame and forks
Are you sure you want to do this? Adding disc mounts to a frame that wasn't designed for it is asking for trouble due to the severe bending moment (compared to rim brakes). There's a post in the shed somewhere with the details, my quick search didn't find it.

Nobody
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Re: My ideal commuter

Postby Nobody » Sun Aug 29, 2010 11:10 pm

Rek wrote:
Lark2004 wrote:fabricate disk mounts for the frame and forks
Are you sure you want to do this? Adding disc mounts to a frame that wasn't designed for it is asking for trouble due to the severe bending moment (compared to rim brakes). There's a post in the shed somewhere with the details, my quick search didn't find it.
+1


It will also likely be very difficult to get the alignment spot on.
Another option would be to get a 26" rigid fork with disc mount. They are usually cheap enough. You don't really need a disc on the back for road use.

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Lark2004
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Location: Lawnton, 25k north of Brisbane

Re: My ideal commuter

Postby Lark2004 » Mon Aug 30, 2010 5:25 am

Forks I was going to buy anyway... so no problem there, and as for the rear, well, the way I'm planniong on making the bracket shouldn't upset things at all. It's not a weight weenie bike, and the stays are quite strong. I don't think that there will be any issues with it at all. As far as alignment is concerned, I have alraedy fabricated a jig that will maintain the alignment of the bracket while I weld it on.
Andrew

Nobody
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Re: My ideal commuter

Postby Nobody » Mon Aug 30, 2010 5:29 pm

Although I'm no metallurgy expert, I'm pretty sure alloy frames would be heat treated to harden the alloy. If you weld it, won't you be reducing the alloy's strength? Or are we talking about steel?

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Lark2004
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Re: My ideal commuter

Postby Lark2004 » Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:32 pm

Steel...
Andrew

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ghettro
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Re: My ideal commuter

Postby ghettro » Tue Dec 07, 2010 11:58 pm

Slight thread revival but have you considered drum brakes? No need for disc mounts on the frame you just have to strap on a reactor arm to the chainstay/fork. Sturmey Archer makes front dynamo hubs which also have a drum brake - they also make rear internal gear hubs with built in drums as well... They are OEM on Pashley and Velorbis bikes.
http://www.sturmey-archer.com/products/hubs/cid/2/id/48

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Lark2004
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Location: Lawnton, 25k north of Brisbane

Re: My ideal commuter

Postby Lark2004 » Sun Feb 20, 2011 7:55 pm

okey dokey.... small update time, I've decided against the disks as I just can't be bothered with modifying the frame anymore.

It's not using the Gazell frame either, but an old Univega frame repainted in yellow. Wheels are 700c Alesa rims fitted to old Exage hubs. Tyres are 700x32 Maxxis Overdrive. Brakes are still in the post, Shifters will be the RX100 8x2 STI's that currently sit on my Hillbrick, I have a set of Ultegra's coming to swap over.

Cranks.... still not sure, waiting to see what pops up at a price I am prepared to pay.
Mud guards still to be sourced, as the 26" items won't quite fit round the 700c wheels and the range at the LBS's around Pine Rivers suck. I'm going to see what Ridgeway's have this week.

Image
Andrew

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Lark2004
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Re: My ideal commuter

Postby Lark2004 » Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:05 pm

Another little update, no pics yet, but they will be coming.
Full length Guards have been fitted, brakes arrived and look good :)
I won some cranks with 40/53 teeth chainrings on Evilbay, and they will hopefully be here by the end of the week.
The RX100 levers are now sitting on the handle bars, but I'm not sure about the stem, it's very long.... :?
The rear rack has been trial fitted (there were some mods that needed doing to get it to fit the way I wanted), and now needs to be stripped and re-painted

Other sundries are still to be sorted out like a chain, seat, cables, bottle cages seatpost bolt etc.... but they should be mostly taken care of in the next few weeks.
Andrew

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Lark2004
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Location: Lawnton, 25k north of Brisbane

Re: My ideal commuter

Postby Lark2004 » Thu Feb 24, 2011 6:19 pm

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Andrew

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Lark2004
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Re: My ideal commuter

Postby Lark2004 » Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:14 pm

I got my Pannier Bags today....
I'm only in a small amount of trouble over that :lol: . I wasn't going to get them for a few more weeks, but the bike shop did me a really good deal on a set of Tioga Deluxe bags.
They're going to go into immediate service on my MTB until I get the last few bits for the Commuter (chain, shifter cables, brake pads, bottle cages, lights)
Andrew

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Lark2004
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Location: Lawnton, 25k north of Brisbane

Re: My "not so ideal" commuter, *finished*

Postby Lark2004 » Sun Mar 13, 2011 7:04 pm

Finished.... wellllll....... for now :wink:

I had to move the seat forward a fair bit due to the rather relaxed geometry, and if I end up being happy with that positioning I'll go and find a decent seatpost. I don't think I'm going to have many options though as it's 25.8mm :? I'm guessing that a basic Kalloy post will be my only realistic option.
Image

Still love how close fitting the brakes are
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First real outing tomorrow. Fingers crossed I don't find anything else that needs tweaking, as I have just spent the last ~20mins going up and down my street checking and adjusting all the little bits....
Andrew

lunar_c
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Re: My "not so ideal" commuter, *finished*

Postby lunar_c » Mon Oct 17, 2011 12:24 pm

Nice build. How'd it work out?

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