Singlespeed92

Sounds like a cool project,looking forward to seeing it

TampaRaleigh

More goodies scored off of Ebay this weekend!

SR Seat post:


Nervar crankset:


I plan on polishing both up, and filling in the fluted bits with cream paint to match the frame.

The chainrings will be replaced with a single, probably 40 - 42.

Salubrious

I did something like this a few years back. I used a Terry Osell fillet-brazed frame that I found at a swap meet cheap. Terry Osell used to work at the Waterford Paramount shop back in the 70s or 80s.... I interviewed him about the frame and he identified it as one of the two lightest frames he had ever built.

The problem was there was no provision for a rear brake as it was a fixie track frame. I wanted to ride it on the street.... So I built it up with a Bendix 2-speed hub on a Velocity 700c rim. I built the front wheel with a black Campy record hub, which matched the black fork and black Velocity rims. Brooks saddle, carbon fiber seatpost, tried a variety of quill stems and settled on a black Bianchi stem with some composite bars. I installed a black Campy dual-pivot on the front, seems to me a Sugino crank with about 44 teeth. Overall the bike came in at 17 pounds despite the Bendix hub.

I broke the hub and rebuilt the wheel with a new Sturmey Archer 2-speed. I sold the bike to a friend of mine, but I will see if I can get a photo. It was really pretty- that frame was really amazing. The bike was super fast, and just enough gear to handle most of the Twin Cities, unless you went too far east

TampaRaleigh

Very nice!

Lucky thing about living in Florida... I really don't need a wide range of gears. I'll probably set it up so that I'll spend most of my time in "low gear" and reserve "high gear" for those times when I have a nice tailwind. LOL

TampaRaleigh

Dropped off the frame at the powdercoater 2 weeks ago today... I just called to find out the status. The owner wasn't happy with how it turned out, so he stripped it again and started over. I guess that means that he's a perfectionist. Should be ready this afternoon.

DaveBomb

Looks like a fun one! I just finished a SRAM automatix coastie as well, using a Gazelle Sprinter Race frame, a bunch of bits I had lying around, and a new FSA Gimondi crankset. You'll find that the shift point of the hub is early, and that the 1.37 ratio kicks in too soon. There's a good blog post (https://mccraw.co.uk/sram-automatix-review/) that goes into detail on how to mod the hub, however. It's very straightforward, and a hell of a lot cheaper than buying cogs or chain rings. The two speed is ideal in amsterdam, where you somehow have a headwind anytime you step out the door.

b1k3hobo

I just rode into work, taking my first serious ride with a new SRAM Automatix w/ CoasterBrake, installed in a monstrous WorkCycles/Azor Kruisframe. It works great. I'm running 38 teeth at the crank, and a 23 tooth sprocket at the hub. It shifts around 10-12mph. The wheels are big, like 29" with the tyres. The gearing is low, but it works great for pushing the 50lb bike around.

It replaces the Nexus8 that it came with the bike- that never did feel 'efficient' and packed full of friction.

I also took the Automatix down and backed the pressure on the bearings off a bit- was waaay too tight as shipped, also added some extra grease as it seemed a little underlubed, and this is an all weather-ish bike.

Coaster brake action feels very good too, better than Shimano 110/Inter3.

Dan Burkhart 

Just pulled my 2 speed out for today's ride, and I realized, I don't think I took it out even one time last year.
It's a great fun bike for just riding down to the lake and pootling around. No levers or cables, platform pedals, nothing to give you away as even a semi serious cyclist.
Sturmey Archer S2C on mine. Works great, but for the first while, the brake made some really disturbing sounds. Didn't seem to affect the functioning though. The brake will skid the wheel if you crank on it.

gregaz

Awesome build - subscribed.

Grand Bois

I like that font so much that I used it on my '73 Competition even though it's the wrong one for the frame.

It's harder to apply than most because it doesn't want to stay straight and you have to keep the dot for the "i" in the right place. It was absolutely necessary to use the wet application method.

TampaRaleigh

Back from powder coating, decals installed.
(Yes, I know the downtube decal is a bit low.)

TampaRaleigh

More slow progress. Stitched on a leather top-tube protector, and I have the blisters to prove it:



And I found a great deal on a vintage-looking smallish handlebar bag. It's exactly the size that I was looking for... but the color of the straps just doesn't match up with any of the leather bits that are going on. I'm undecided.

SirMike1983 

Coaster brakes are nice option, especially in a flat area. They're basic and fun. I like my New Departure hubs best for coasters, but it's also nice to have the 2 speed option. The old Bendix red band kick back was a good hub for that.

Saguaro

Looks great! Are you going to line the lugs in gold? That would look awesome!

TampaRaleigh

Thanks! The lined lugs are the next step.

TampaRaleigh

I almost forgot to post the crankset with its new single chainring:

GordoTrek

can't beat the classic look, but the cotters alone are a worth the change to the modern crank, if only they had the heron crank with a square taper... i guess it wouldn't be as classic

TampaRaleigh

Bottom bracket and crankset installed, lugs lined in gold paint. It's starting to look like a BSO.

Salubrious

You gonna put a front brake on that? I think you will find the coaster brake to be nice, but its on the rear wheel where its not as effective.

TampaRaleigh

I'm going to have only the coaster brake. It's unlikely that I'll ever be riding it outside of Florida, so hills aren't a big issue. Also, this will be my "picnic cruiser" for leisurely rides with the family. No serious braking performance will be needed.

Salubrious

As I mentioned earlier on this thread, I built a bike that was very much along the same lines as you are doing here (nice job BTW). What I found with it in very short order is that is was a lot easier to accelerate than it was to stop (I used 700c 23mm...)! If I had a panic stop, the rear wheel would simply lock up (not a nice feeling on 23mm tires...) so I added a brake to the front. Instead of messing with the lines by having the usual brake lever, which would have looked really odd (because there was only one), I placed the lever up by the stem. Cane Creek makes a nice, simple lever that did not take up a lot of space, I used a Campy dual-pivot done in black on the fork. It was unobtrusive to the lines of the machine but made the bike a lot easier to deal with. Its pretty flat here in the Twin Cities too. I never found the front brake to be about hills- it was all about traffic.

TampaRaleigh

That's actually not a bad idea, and I still have one of those very same levers from when my son converted his single speed to a fixed and took the rear brake off. Hmmmmm... guess I'll have to leave enough room when I wrap the bars this weekend, just in case I decide to add that front brake.

noglider 

To actuate a coaster brake, you put your weight on the rear wheel, so it works a lot better than a rim brake on the rear. Coaster brakes are really a great thing. Too bad no one has figured out a good way to put them on bikes with derailleurs.

And wouldn't a 5-speed internal kickback coaster brake be fun? I have no idea how it could be built, but it's a nice fantasy.

Salubrious

When you have dropped bars, you have a lot more weight forward, regardless of where you are on the bars. But given even weight distribution on the wheels and the same kind of brake on each wheel, the front brake will have 70% of the total braking power. On a Schwinn balloon tire bike you have a lot more tire patch to stop you, on a 700c, not so much! So a front brake is prudent.

TampaRaleigh

Ok... I'd like to ask for another opinion... Cream tires? Or will that be too much cream?

I'm looking at the Panaracer Paselas in 700x28.