I built it!!!!and rode it!!!!

Well the time came, my Trek fuel has cracked, and in the weekend I brazed on the guides and stops.Richie came round also and I ran the reamer down the St till the post fitted. So I was standing in the work shop as it ticked over in my head, then in a 2hr strip and build frenzy it was pretty much ready to ride!


The plan for the E type front derailleur didn't work, there was more sticking out the back of the derailleur (the parallelogram parts) than I worked out, so there wasn't enough room for it.
Damn! On to the single ring programme!Which made life pretty easy on the build up as I just bolted up my spare Balfa pulley wheel and put a Black spire tensioner under the BB cup.


Pressed my FSA pig pro that I bought especially for the job, when I thought that I brazed in the HT to high!Damn! So I needed something that had a reasonable amount of stack at the bottom. It also will support the HT being a Dh headset.


It all went together really well with no major alignment/interference isses.
Then I pushed it out the door, got on and rolled down the street. It passed the curb test and the out of the seat climb test, so all is good.
The next day I bought a 28.6mm QR collar for the post, and the next morning I rode it to and from work.
The ride is really good being a high pivot it rides real nice through the rocks here, and maintains alot of momentum through the rough.It climbed really well up Rapaki which is cool.
Only thing is it had the 190mm shock from my fuel in there and I built around the 200mm/2.25" shock so it was very low and slack! I mashed quite a few rocks with my cranks! But it railled round the turns. The rear suspension is very efficient it was "pushing" the bike forward as the fork was pushing backwards strange feeling?! I think theres a little to much air in the fork and I need to valve the shock properly.
So I'm stoked to ride it, I'll give it a few weeks make sure its all good (no more naked flames required!) and then get some color on it.Will keep you posted.Rossco.

Other bits I forgot.......

Hmmm I am getting ahead of myself here! Before heading to Wanaka I also put some face plates on the tube that connects the BB to the DT, and the end of the TT.
I had to put a little relief on the end of the TT as the swing arm is very close and actually hit at full travel, so now it has a little cut away there for that purpose, here's the bits......
It was funny sealing up that tube as the gases built up and was blowing molten brass back at me!The OSH man would have been stoked to see that in action! I had to drill a little hole in the middle to vent it then fill that over after.

Small lathe job

We had a small holiday down in Wanaka last week, that gave me a change to catch up with Al and Rick and to use the lathe at Als place, so I made the tube that spaces the linkage plates apart. Turned it down to 12.40mm and then shaped the end at 45 degrees, faced it off to 100.50mm then drilled and tapped it to M8.This was number 2 as I screwed the first one up by tapping it M9 DOH!!was trying to get it done to quick!!Any ways here it is, don't get to excited!!
Its the little alloy part in the middle, pretty exciting!
While I was down I also dropped in on Doug and used his HT facer and reamer to finish the HT up so I could put the PIG Pro in.
It also soaked in a bath for 36hrs to dissolve the residual flux inside the tubing before it does any permanent damage.