Today I bought, or it got delivered, or I fitted...

[Mikku]

may be cold... but that is one hell of a house!!!!!!!....

Well you'd better hurry up and visit before I move!!

[Mikku]

Have just pulled the trigger on some chrome S&M Hoder bars for my Sunday park bike. I’ve been after some bigger bars and these are certainly that, being the super high model with a 9.75” rise. Possibly a bit too big but if necessary, I can lower the bar height a bit by removing a spacer from under the stem. Size concerns aside, they were reasonably-priced and have also been cut down a bit, which saves me a job!

[Midschoolfool]

OK so the last attempt at fitting gears to the feather went south. Turns out I have a cassette body that has not been made for over 30 years. Works great with single speed cogs but not full on cassettes. I was going to try and modify the 7 speed one I bought but tbh it would have ended in tears no doubt.

There's no getting around it, it's time to say goodbye to the HED rear wheel. It's served me very well and has done hundreds of miles but yeah....

So, I bought a rear wheel. China, from Aliexpress. I had some stipulations. 1. Clincher. I want a 28c tyre not the 25 I have now, and tubulars are becoming impossible to find and ludicrously expensive in 28c. Like, about 150 pounds for a tyre. I already have a Pirelli to match the front so it is on with that. I also wanted rim brakes. The final stipulation was QR. I prefer a solid axle (makes it hard to steal) but to get the cassette off means removing the entire axle and bearings and I am sick of doing it. The tool I have slots into a QR axle, meaning it can stay put.



Right so that is the same depth as the front then (88mm).

I then had to buy a new cassette.



And of course a new shifter as the others I bought were both 7 speed.



And that should be me all sorted for this summer. The rear deralieur is fine and I upgraded that too.

Bike in case you forgot what it looks like.



I am also praying that infection that ruined my entire summer stays F-ed off.

[Midschoolfool]

Forgot to mention. I have fitted two tracker tags to the bastud too. I've never ever left it anywhere, but I want to be prepared just in case.

[Mikku]

My S&M bars arrived yesterday and very nice and shiny they are too!

I removed the Haro race bars from the Sunday and comparing them to the Hoders, it was not just the size difference that was obvious but also the backsweep, with the Haros being much flatter. Grips and brake lever switched over, I fitted the Hoders and took the Sunday out for a shakedown spin around the rice fields. The first thing I noticed was how easy it was the pull the front up end, so much so that I nearly looped out!   The bike felt okay to ride but I will reserve judgment until I take it to the skate park. Then I can decide whether I need to play around with spacers.

[Midschoolfool]

That's cool !. My 6 piece TNT should arrive next week.

[Mikku]

Fitted a new Rant Squad tyre to the front of my Sunday park bike today. I only got the one, as I wanted to check tyre clearance on both the frame and fork before buying a second. It's only a 2.2" but both frame and fork were made before the current era of wider tyres. After a quick test-fit, it looks like the 2.2 will fit the rear okay, so I can definitely buy a second one BUT... now I'm wondering if a 2.35 Rant will fit the fork...

[Midschoolfool]

The TNTs arrived. Going back over on Monday.

Hit a couple of stumbling blocks on the road bike.

Firstly that shifter I bought that RRP for 80 quid does not come with a bracket to fit it to your bars. SRAM want 35 quid for it. And no I’m not joking. Thankfully the Chinese make them for 6 quid.

I fitted it after lots of head scratching and then found out SRAM shifters do not work with shimano mechs and vice versa ffs. I’ve bought a sram derralieur for 19 quid.

Annoying. It’s all just very annoying.

[Mikku]

I don't think I've ever built a bike that hasn't had its problems along the way. I guess that's part of the "fun" of custom builds otherwise we'd all be buying completes!

[Midschoolfool]

It’s not fun when you end up with a pile of useless parts lol.

I’m hoping it’s worth the pain. Should be!

[Midschoolfool]

Everything inside me is saying cut them to merry hell but I am going to resist. At least for now. I have ordered some gold barends, should be here soon.

[Midschoolfool]

Yeah to be fair they look terrible stock. No idea why they made them that wide tbh.

[Mikku]

Resistance is futile! Didn't think it would last long!

[Midschoolfool]

Even on modern grips they’re like 6 inches too wide ffs.

They look proper mid school now.

[Midschoolfool]

Grips are a hard no.



Went back to the roots. ODI longneck in black.



I need to cut down the seat post shims as they are so long they jam and poke out. I also want to drop the seat but again they need cutting first.

Back to the road bike. Tracking didn't work and I was wondering if it was a scam, but sure enough DPD yesterday morning...



I now want to store the HED wheel as I am keeping it, so I got a single bag. Already got a double for the bike itself.

[Midschoolfool]

OK so I should really break my silence.

My mum passed away about a week ago.

She had been poorly for 15 years. Mostly bone problems and etc. Around two years ago she started to become short of breath easy. At the end half of her heart was not working. We knew that. What she did not tell us was that she also had emphysema, COPD, lung scarring and god knows what else. But that was just how she was.

So yeah. I went over about 3 weeks ago and was due to come back after about 4 days. Problem is she was so ill she could not even cook for herself or much else. So I stayed on longer, but on the Tuesday she was so bad I called an ambulance. She passed about a week later very peacefully.

The Ti bike is now complete. Ended up having to ditch the SRAM gear as I just could not get it working, and use the Shimano rear mech with the grip shifter and 7 speed sprocket. Thankfully I found spacers so it did not move around.

Bit of a godsend when you desperately need something to escape reality with.

So, here she is.











Oh yeah the Gatorskins. I found a set of really nice Continental 28c tyres. I couldn't believe my luck, or remember why I did not use them. Turns out they hit the brakes on the yellow bike I had, and the brakes on this. So I got Gators. Why? because they are fully kevlar jacket and almost impossible to puncture. They're also transparent and really sexy so that is a nice bonus.

[Mikku]

Mate, am really sorry to hear about your mum. Puts everything into perspective, I know, but am glad you’ve still got projects to work on and give your mind something else to think about.

[Taipan]

So sorry to here of your loss fella.