Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

by **squeakywheel** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 4:46 pm

HI

Ive begun stripping all the bits and pieces of my single speed candidate prior to sandblasting and powdercoating. There's a few bits that I'm not sure what to do with.

The first one is where the down tube shifters were. I've taken the shifters off but am left with the two bosses with an axle-ey thing sticking out (see below). Is the axle-ey thing meant to come out or is it there to stay?

Any tips on what to do with the shifter bosses once its converted to SS? Put the shifters back on maybe? I've seen some covers on eBay but with postage and all they end up being pretty pricey:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Problem-Solvers- ... 3cb4dad176

Also there is ring thingy on the fork - does this come off?

and another on the head tube.

Is there a nice safe way of getting them off without damaging them? I dont want to try and force these things off if they're not meant to come off!

by **BNA** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:57 pm

by **wookie661** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:57 pm

dont know about hte shifters, but the rings do, when i took mine off, i lightly tapped them with a hammer working my way around till they came loose. But they will eventually come off.

by **ghettro** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 8:20 pm

You can remove the silver bits on the shifter bosses, use a screwdriver or similar to pry them off. There is the option of grinding them off, but I probably wouldn't if it was my bike, just if you ever want to put on gears. The ring around the fork steerer is the crown race, this is what the bearings run on , so it's very important to keep hold of it because it is part of the headset - it's an interference fit so you can easily just lightly tap it off with the fork upside down and the steerer on the ground. Be careful not to damage the bearing surface.

The last shot shows the upper bearing cup, i'm assuming you haven't removed the bottom cup either, these two cups hold the ball bearings for the headset and can be removed by using a punch to tap the inside lip inside the head tube. Alternate from either side of the cup so it doesn't come out !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !! eyed.

by **squeakywheel** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:07 am

ghettro wrote:You can remove the silver bits on the shifter bosses, use a screwdriver or similar to pry them off. There is the option of grinding them off, but I probably wouldn't if it was my bike, just if you ever want to put on gears. The ring around the fork steerer is the crown race, this is what the bearings run on , so it's very important to keep hold of it because it is part of the headset - it's an interference fit so you can easily just lightly tap it off with the fork upside down and the steerer on the ground. Be careful not to damage the bearing surface.

The last shot shows the upper bearing cup, i'm assuming you haven't removed the bottom cup either, these two cups hold the ball bearings for the headset and can be removed by using a punch to tap the inside lip inside the head tube. Alternate from either side of the cup so it doesn't come out courier eyed.

Thank you!

Ive gotten off the crown race and the bearing cups, but till havent figured out how to remove the shifter axle thing. Tempted to bash it with a hammer...

by **PeteV** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 3:39 pm

Bashing it with a hammer will more than likely damabe the tube itself. Personally I would put caps over the bosses. Some people chose to grind them off, probably fine if it's a generic frame unlikely to be of value in the future. Other option it to use an oxy torch, heat up the weld til it melts and pull them off.

by **ghettro** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 4:59 pm

The little silver round bits over the bosses shouldn't be too hard to remove, just lever them off. They are made of chrome plated brass if they are the shimano style ones (which is what they appear to be).

by **munga** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:46 pm

dude, the axle thingys are called bosses. they are little keyed threaded bits of steel carefully 'welded' to each side of your downtube. theres no axle concept in play. bash it and you'll dent your downtube and be on ebay looking for another frame.

by **squeakywheel** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 11:15 am

munga wrote:dude, the axle thingys are called bosses. they are little keyed threaded bits of steel carefully 'welded' to each side of your downtube. theres no axle concept in play. bash it and you'll dent your downtube and be on ebay looking for another frame.

Dudette actually

Sorry I'm not very up with the terminology - I thought the bosses were the circular parts that attached to the frame and the "axle-ey thing" was something else altogether (and removable). :oops:

I'll let the hammer stay in the shed then and find another alternative.

Thanks for the advice

by **ghettro** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:04 pm

The bit you can remove is the silver bit, the base of the downtube shifter sits on top of this and uses it as a stop. see below for what they look like removed

This is what the boss looks like when you have removed it:

by **squeakywheel** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:45 pm

ghettro wrote:The bit you can remove is the silver bit, the base of the downtube shifter sits on top of this and uses it as a stop. see below for what they look like removed

This is what the boss looks like when you have removed it:

Thank you! The pics help a lot

by **yehuwdiy** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:15 pm

Actually, the shifter bosses are great for attaching things to. I've seen bottle openers, key hooks, lights, water bottle holders, mobile phone holders...all sorts of things!

What brand/model of frame is it? Regardless, I tend to only make changes to my single speeds that are reversible; it kills me to see nice frames with all of their 'ugly' braze-ons ground off. :evil:

Hope your having fun with the build!

by **squeakywheel** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:21 pm

yehuwdiy wrote:Actually, the shifter bosses are great for attaching things to. I've seen bottle openers, key hooks, lights, water bottle holders, mobile phone holders...all sorts of things!

What brand/model of frame is it? Regardless, I tend to only make changes to my single speeds that are reversible; it kills me to see nice frames with all of their 'ugly' braze-ons ground off.

Hope your having fun with the build!

That's some good ideas. At the risk of sounding like a right poseur, I'd like to attach a coffee cup holder somewhere.

The frame I am using is an old malvern star kinetic, and I agree, I'd prefer not to do anything that cant be undone. I'll be masking those bosses prior to powdercoating so hopefully the shifters will fit back on ok if need be.

The frame itself is a little big for me but I figure it wont matter as I wont be travelling any great distances.

I'm curious about the bike in the pictures ghettro posted. Is the work on the bike complete? May we see it?

by **metalrideroz** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:57 pm

nikkie wrote:The frame itself is a little big for me but I figure it wont matter as I wont be travelling any great distances.

If you can stand over it comfortably then no problems but if "a little big" means your having trouble standing flat footed over the top tube then you might need to reconsider.