BenGraham Posted April 15, 2014 Share Originally I felt it was a little narcissistic to be posting a bunch of "Look at me, I'm building a bike" pictures but I was asking a question over at tech Q and A and someone suggested I start a build thread and I felt maybe I'll rethink my position. Oh an I apologise for the rubbish picture quality. My phone is a blackberry and it felt silly taking pics on my slr. Will take a proper one when its all done. So to the what.I'm building an orange cotic soul 26er steel hard tail. Interestingly I decided to do this just around the time that all the big brands are declaring the extinction of the 26er - hopefully that's not actually the case. But politics aside here goes. So where am I so far. Well the frame sat in the spare room next to the forks for about 3 months but recently I accelerated the build by installing the headset and the fork onto the frame so that now it almost looks like a bike. I think my wife is relived to see it actually starting to take shape. I know I am. I have had unfinished projects in the past and I really don't want this to be one of them. So the FrameOrange Cotic soulReynolds 853 steel.Legendary geometry that people can't say enough good things about it seems hopefully the rumours are true. Here it is upside down waiting for the first headset cup. ForkRockshox SID RLT 100mm BlackI cant believe how light these things are. Coming from Suntour XCT forks I'm totally floored. Hopefully they work as good as they look. HeadsetCanecreek S1Interesting story behind this one.Went looking for a cheap reliable headset and discovered this in a draw. The guy at the shop was like "you mean something like this" the labels were faded and the price tag had yellowed. Yes its about 80grams more than cane creek's alu headset but it was also about a quarter the price so I bought it. Seems it was a good bet since its much harder to damage a steel headset cup than an alloy one. So in the end I think the extra weight was worth it. Its buttery smooth. StemRyderI figure its cheap and cheerful and I might change it in the future but it seemed like a good place to save some money. SpacersSpank spacer kit and one random spacer on top for a bit of adjustability. So assembly went like this. Place headset in freezer for a few hours to make it slightly smaller.Scrape paint off top and bottom of headtube to make sure its flush.Measure multiple times due to paranoia about whether or not frame needs facing.Grease headset cups.Place frame upside down on workbench.Place headset cup in frame.Grab plank - hammer away using plank on top of headset.Too slow.Place frame in bench vise and wind a bit.Headset goes slightly crooked move frame to place force on opposite side of cup.Wind slowly, stop and check, continue winding, stop and check etc.First headset cup probably took 30 minutes or so.Second headset.5 mins.More of less the same process as above with less stopping to check since everything seemed to go together some effortlessly. And then I measure the fork and cut it . Finally installing the star fangled nut with a screw driver . This was fiddly since my steerer tube cut was slightly less than perfect which caused the star fangled nut to enter one side earlier than the other. All of this means I now have a frame with a headset, fork and stem attached. It now awaits wheels and a groupset. This is likely to take another 3 months since I'm doing this bit by bit. At present the debate is to build the wheels or buy factory built. Current weight 4.4 kilos if my memory serves me correctly. When I started this build I expected that I would get a bike shop to do some of the scary parts like installing the headset cups and cutting the steerer tube. But then I thought - whatever if I'm building a bike I want to do that stuff myself. The internet is full of scary stories but you don't always hear the amateur success stories or at least there's no picture evidence. Far as I can see I got my headset cups in dead straight and everything is on track. This is actually why I'm posting this so that perhaps in the future when someone out there is wondering can I build a bike they can read this and take heart. I'm no bike mechanic and I dont have many of the specialised tools one is supposed to have but I've done okay so far. Will update when some more stuff happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIERSTEKER Posted April 15, 2014 Share Hi Ben,Welcome to the hub. Very cool build you are doing. Have only heard good things re the Cotic frames. Keep us posted, many on the hub with lots of good advice and similar builds and interests. Now that you have entered the realm of the hub with your build thread it may be completed sooner than 3 months, lots of goodies at good prices coming up every now and again. Best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robodog Posted April 16, 2014 Share Nice build dude! Did to get that frame from a young tall guy? Just a note: I usually only cut the steerer after the bike is finished and I've set myself (or whoever) up on it. Good luck with the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenGraham Posted April 16, 2014 Share Nice build dude! Did to get that frame from a young tall guy? Just a note: I usually only cut the steerer after the bike is finished and I've set myself (or whoever) up on it. Good luck with the rest. Thats why there's an extra spacer on top. I figure its unlikely I'll run more steerer than that since the frame is the correct size for me. I bought the frame from Mikes Bikes actually. You might call him a young tall guy actually. It was going for a song and I had been researching for awhile for a good frame and the soul kept being highly recommended so I did some investigations and found they were going cheap. Probably because the new one accepts tapered steerers. And there's a 650B one now of course. I've been a lurker on the hub for ages with the occasional small post but this is my first major post. Thanks for the welcome guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR ◣◢ Posted April 16, 2014 Share Great bikes those and they make for a killer ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G00SE Posted April 16, 2014 Share Thats why there's an extra spacer on top. I figure its unlikely I'll run more steerer than that since the frame is the correct size for me. I've been a lurker on the hub for ages with the occasional small post but this is my first major post. Thanks for the welcome guys. Nice, gonna be an awesome bike when its done. Not narcissistic at all - in fact its a requirement if you are building up a bike and dare mention it on thehub. One tip, if you are going to cut the steerer again, consider getting a pipe cutter, cuts it perfectly.. Also... not sure about your specific fork, but you should be able to get it to a 120mm. if its a dual air, then you just remove a spacer from the air spring leg, solo air I think you need to replace the air spring assembly, but they are not too expensive. A bit more travel up front will give a slightly slacker head angle. Oh, BTW - your Playstation remote is missing from your wall of tools - right there inside that baddass looking saw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted April 16, 2014 Share Awesome bike and awesome build - keep us updated as it goes along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grebel Posted April 16, 2014 Share Nice, gonna be an awesome bike when its done. Not narcissistic at all - in fact its a requirement if you are building up a bike and dare mention it on thehub. One tip, if you are going to cut the steerer again, consider getting a pipe cutter, cuts it perfectly.. Also... not sure about your specific fork, but you should be able to get it to a 120mm. if its a dual air, then you just remove a spacer from the air spring leg, solo air I think you need to replace the air spring assembly, but they are not too expensive. A bit more travel up front will give a slightly slacker head angle. Oh, BTW - your Playstation remote is missing from your wall of tools - right there inside that baddass looking saw Quick in the draw this morning I was going to point out the same thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rock Posted April 16, 2014 Share nothing wrong with a build thread featuring an orange steel bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted April 16, 2014 Share And I will be following this thread like a crazed stalker .............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted April 16, 2014 Share And I will be following this thread like a crazed stalker .............. And he means that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummibear Posted April 16, 2014 Share Looks great so far Seen a few good deals on 26" wheels. Some black Easton Havens will look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR ◣◢ Posted April 16, 2014 Share Another tip for cutting a steerer tube. Clamp an old stem to the steerer and use that as a blade guide. Or use a dremel if you have one to cut slowly all the way around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rock Posted April 16, 2014 Share Another tip for cutting a steerer tube. Clamp an old stem to the steerer and use that as a blade guide. Or use a dremel if you have one to cut slowly all the way around. good tip, for bars I have old ODI clamps from grips, just tighten one on either side of your line.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR ◣◢ Posted April 16, 2014 Share good tip, for bars I have old ODI clamps from grips, just tighten one on either side of your line.... Where I come from we don't cut bars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePubSA Posted April 16, 2014 Share Another tip for cutting a steerer tube. Clamp an old stem to the steerer and use that as a blade guide. Or use a dremel if you have one to cut slowly all the way around. OP think your tools workshop must be just missing one of these... way easier and wouldnt of ended up with a angled cut making the star a bit of a mission.. also you wouldnt need to vice your nice fork in funny angles .. pipe cutter ftw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.