Originally Posted by
dddd
Nice job,
Thanks
Can you notice any improvement in the larger frame's longer top tube? I mean as far as climbing whatever hills you might have to deal with?
I can't say because I haven't done any real climbing on either machine yet. I will say though, the increased straight line stability is quite noticeable with the longer (freakish) wheelbase. I enjoy frequently riding hands-free, so it's really nice. of course it aint nimble, but that's not important for a bike with this one's duties. Hardcore slow scenic path cruising.
As for your custom seat posts, were these made because of the difficulty in finding a seat clamp with the 1/2" clamping and for a saddle with round rails?
No. 13/16"-to-7/8" posts are readily available, new, and obviously 7/8" clamps are common. I made the posts for two reasons. One is because what is available is cheap steel with a lousy finish. I made the first one so I could polish it up to match all the other components on the Caramel colored bike.
For the blue bike I needed a black post (they don't exist) and I couldn't powder coat one of the cheap steel ones (although it would have looked just fine) because the added material would have prevented it from entering the seat tube. So I spun another 7/8" 6061 rod down to .010" below spec, which allowed room for the ~.010 powder build up. My math and the powder coater weren't perfect, so I had to run a brake cylinder hone in the seat tube to remove, literally, about .001". It just wouldn't go.
