Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Help! I can't stop building...



Well, I’ve been pretty bad about posting new material on the blog, but fear not, here comes another build. I hope you find this new project worth the wait!

I usually like bikes that make a statement… you know, have a little flash or scream “LOOK AT ME!” at the top of their lungs. This time, I decided to keep it simple, basic and to the point. I wanted a true track bike; something I could ride at a velodrome, should I ever actually make it to one.

I started with a Scattante SSR frame from Performance; a clean, well built steel frame. You can have any color you want as long as it’s black, and it comes without the decals applied; perfect for a clean look. The fork that they sell with this frame has a 40mm rake, too tight for me, so I opted for a Nashbar carbon fork at 43mm; it still steers fast, but it's not twitchy. It also comes with no decals…sweet!


For the rolling bits, I laced high flange Formula hubs to Mavic MA3's with 15 ga. stainless spokes. The bar set up is a Nitto B-123 on a Cinelli XA stem, and finished off with Benotto Cello ribbon. I acquired a well worn Sella Flite From a friend (the one who is now in possession of the Re-Cycle) and clamped it on a carbon post. The no-name cranks I picked up on Ebay are running a 48 tooth ring feeding a 16 tooth cog on the rear. The gearing is a little taller than I'm used to (about 79 inches), but it's lot of fun to ride.

I added a front brake setup that is easily removed; just 2 bolts and it drops off to make the bike track legal. The brake really is necessary for riding in the traffic around here and doesn’t detract for the over all look of the bike.

I really did try to keep this one low key and stealthy, but in doing so, I created a bike that seems to get more looks that just about anything I own. I guess less really is more…






1 comment:

Kathleen and Blair said...

Schweet! Another great bike, Bob!