Heavy Metal Cyclist

Build Day! Well, the first part of it, anyway. I didn’t really think we were going to get the entire bike built today, but I was cautiously optimistic.

My buddy Layne picked me up on the way to Michael’s house (and, of course, his shop), and we unloaded all my stuff and almost immediately got to work. We installed the seatpost and saddle (Layne’s cast-off WTB SST from his Surly), bottom bracket eccentric, Michael fixed some issues with the Alfine hub (which was not centered properly), and I hung the disc brake calipers on the frame. We figured out that, while I _could_ keep the full 120mm worth of spacers that would have gone on the uncut steer tube, in order to preserve the same type of setup as on my LHT (the handlebars are 1cm higher than the saddle), that a little bit of handlebar drop would be fine for this bike’s purposes. So we settled on about 72mm of spacers (which includes spacers for the decaleur and bell that I have).

We also found out that the chainring that I bought was a 130 bcd ring, when I should have bought 110 bcd. I suck! And a couple other things that I didn’t have, and either forgot about or didn’t know that I needed, such as crank bolts. So we started to get ready to head to a bike shop. We made sure that the Centerlock rotors fit the hubs. The Alfine one was fine (go figure), but the $250 Schmidt hub would not fit either CL rotor that I had. That was a problem. So we brought the wheel with us along with the fork on the way to the shop.

We also needed food. Layne carted us over to the U District, where we got some cheap pho, which is excellent fuel. It was rainy and windy (when we left, anyway!), so some hot, spicy broth was just what we needed. From there, we dropped by Recycled Cycles, a pretty great Seattle bike shop. They have a lot of used stuff, and a number of mechanics on staff. I waited for awhile in the queue while Michael and Layne browsed. They found the Axiom road/disc rack that I had wanted to buy off Amazon, but was out of stock for some reason. So I added that to the pile.

After trying some options out on the Schmidt hub without success, the mechanic tried the Centerlock to ISO adapter as a last ditch effort. Of course that worked just fine. I wasn’t excited about having to get those bolts in (one of the reasons I decided not to use adapters in the first place is that CL doesn’t require a torque wrench), but I was grateful that I didn’t have to send the hub back for warranty, which would have required tearing down that wheel and building it back up again when I got a replacement.

They also cut the steer tube (a little longer than we asked for, but oh well) and installed the star nut, and I got my crank bolts and spacers (all different diameters and finishes, but oh well), along with the rack. We headed back to Michael’s, feeling a lot better about the build now that we had most of the bases covered.

When we got back to the shop, we installed the spacers, Michael installed the crank bolts and fixed the wheel alignment while I set up the brake levers. We got the rotors on, with lockrings, although the Schmidt, with the adapter, was hard because we didn’t have a torque wrench to get each bolt on exactly. That made the rotor out of true as we set up the calipers, but I’ll borrow one from a shop and make sure it’s on good and tight (but not too too tight!). The Avid BB7s are really easy to set up. I don’t know why anyone would buy BB5s over the BB7s, as they barely cost more and are easier to adjust.

We were running out of time, so we decided to venture into unknown territory for anyone present and look at the Alfine hub. We wrestled with the vague directions and parts for awhile, and consulted YouTube videos for proper setup. The snap ring is, in no uncertain terms, a bitch-ass motherfucker. We gave up after awhile when my partner and son showed up to escort me home.

In the end, I left with something that looks a hell of a lot like a bike, and with not too terribly much difficult work left. My homework is to try to get that hub setup and ready for a shifter cable. I am also going to swap the Nitto M12 from my LHT to the Tweed (I will buy a VO Pass Hunter rack with integrated decaleur to replace it), set up the decaleur and VO brass bell, hopefully fit the fenders as close as I can and install the Axiom Streamliner DLX disc rack that I picked up at the shop. I also need to procure that chainring. Then, all that should be left is to run all of the cables and housing back at Michael’s place, adjust everything, put on bar tape and ride! (we’ll see how much of that stuff I actually get done this week)

Soundtrack to Build Day brought to you by Emperor.