I'd read all sorts of accounts about it and even seen photos demonstrating how, but I was still nervous about my first attempt to cold-set the rear triangle of an old bike. But, I did just what Sheldon said and despite the fear over wrestling with a lightweight frame and a big piece of lumber it turned out great; it was super easy. The string test showed I did a great job of keeping it symmetrical. The track ends weren't parallel to begin with from years of 120mm hubs being shoved into the frame's 110mm spacing, but the Park FFG-2 was easy to use and did an excellent job of getting them about as good as possible. Props to Park for a great tool.


Untitled by ColonelJLloyd, on Flickr


Untitled by ColonelJLloyd, on Flickr

nice Birkenstocks hippie.

Those aren't mine and they actually belong to a Libertarian!

Careful.....coldsetting is addictive! Nice job btw!

Hippies can be Libertarian, too. (Is there a 'smiley' showing a happy face puffing on a doob? There probably should be.)

Let me know when you can do it in the dark, in the back seat of a '67 dodge Dart, and then maybe I'll be more impressed.

Nice job! Now just borrow his MIG welder and put derailleur hanger on that thing. Everyone knows the (100+ year old) fixie craze is over. Poseur.

I'm always a late adopter. Way behind the curve down here in Kentucky.

if you go pick up my mig welder in Philly , use it, then bring it to me in California then I'd be ok with you welding whatever you want onto that frame.

Hah. What sort of track frame is this? Looks interesting.

The first time is always a little scary. It just keeps getting better though

I'll start a thread on it when I'm finished, which will be soon. It's almost certainly British and likely dates to the 40s or 50s. Braze ons and a fork lamp mount were added at some point in its life to make it a "Clubman" style frame.

It's on loan from holiday76. If it fits well, I'll likely buy it.

............only a married guy leaves his mig welder in Philadelphia. Probably came down to a choice between that and the wife.

I love the title!

I think the last frame I did this to was the Falcon I ended up giving to sailorbenjamin. The stays were much more flexible than I expected them to be, so I went way too far. I had to make several adjustments. I should have warned him, but I think the bike has held up well. He was able to straighten the fork, which is pretty impressive if you ask me.

Congratulations. Don't you love those dropout tools? I own a pair of my own.

You guys are braver than I am. I always take it to my favorite shop (C&V definitely spoken there) and let the pros from Dover do it.



FIFY. Lots of life truth in your version, even more in this one.

I just figured I wouldn't be welding very often here. That was a bad assumption.