fixedude has some good links about bike-related stuff in japan in the "moving to osaka" thread yesterday if anyone's interested.
cam: the nishiki conversion is done and i'll get you your black-black soon. i'll throw in some other goodies to sweeten the pot. keith did a great job patching up the nishiki (the top tube protector was a nice touch!!)..bb and headset were doa but it's up and running. i rode it into work and it felt great. it's currently running 48x15..keith, i might take you up on the 42x15 offer if the weather gets icy/snowy/slushy. the size difference is quite something though.. the sannino is 56, and the nishiki is a 52? i'll try and get pics up.

so.... if I'm going to build up this Cramerotti frame that I have for my 40th birthday....
few things.....

I want to get it checked to make sure it's perfectly straight before I even think of building on it. Where can I get this done?
AND
Who builds the best flip/flop wheels here in Toronto?
AS well...does anyone know what the 'official' gearing is for Gold Sprinting?

Hope everyone is doing great.

speaking of which.. if anyone ever hears about any upcoming goldsprints, be sure to post it up.

Anybody know Bobby (Faste) .... I'm hoping he has one coming up soon.
I'm not ready to race it mind you but it's always a good time.

Will post the second I know something.

For checking alignment and/or straightening it I would recommend Mike or Tom at Bicycle Specialties. They have a proper frame alignment table and will only charge you a few bucks to sort it for you. You have to give them the frame sans headset and b.b. tho.
As for wheels there are a few choices. The aformentioned Bicycle Specialties....Nestor is really good but he isn't working at a shop at the moment. Malcolm at Biseagal builds solid wheels.....and of course, yours truly.
I don't know what Bobby uses for his Goldprint set-up but Johnny and Navid use an 85 inch gear if I remember correctly....altho the old memory ain't what it used to be.

It's actually a bar protector to keep the frame from denting your sweet bars but I can see yer confusion. :)

hey animal, ain't dat the same thing??!! (that's what i meant though..heh)

edit: oh wait... you're being sarcastic. uhhh.... ok back to work, or maybe another coffee. fack, i should just go for a ride.

I'm thinkin they're all using the same gearing....least I hope so, or is that too much logical progression to hope for? LOL

did you guys see that Leah's road-rage showdown made the cover of the Star today?

Gearing Inches.... (Crank Teeth x wheel inches) / (Wheel teeth)?
I heard about The Star cover.... haven't seen it though. Folks at work yackin about it.... so I showed them what we've been talking about. Ah the power of the net.

42X14. I am a wimp, I know ;)

what's a standard BMX freewheel? 14-15?

There are 2 hub thread diameters for bmx. The smaller of the 2 (don't remember the numbers...damn brain) is exclusive to BMX hubs and freewheels go down to 12t. The standard thread...1.37X24 is what you will find on flip-flop hubs. The smallest I have seen is 16 but I think you can get a ****mano in 15t. Thats the smallest you will get on a standard hub thread.

The last guy to call me "animal" is pickin up his teeth with broken fingers.

For anyone thinking about the Coupe de Glace in Montreal this weekend. I just talked to Tom in Montreal and they have postponed the race till the following weekend...the 11th. Ice conditions are not favourable. Stinkin global warming.

hmmmm so it's not looking like I'm going to be able to make a matching flip flop for GS/SS with a BMX freewheel

rainlegs! :P

Tell me you weren't looking for nylon chaps and those came up.

I did. Interesting choice of words for their headline however.

For checking frame alignments I used the Park *** tool. It stands for frame alignment gauge.
Its simple and easy.
Then you'd prob want to check if the headtube and seat tube is parallel.
I use a carpenter's tool, I think its called an angle locator.
Then you should check your dropouts.
Park makes a cool tool that lets you check if the dropouts are parallel to each other.
And if not, you just bend it back till its aligned :)
most importantly, if you bought the frame used, run you fingers under the tubes and near the headtube to check for any ripples or dents.

And as for wheel builders, ask cavernmech to do it :)
+ when I was wheelbuilding shopping, he had the best price too.
he's a super duper guy!

On another note, I FINALLY finished all my exams.
& I started my new job today. and @ my new job I learned how to lace wheels. :p


dropout alignment tool
http://www.parktool.com/images/produ...5727_32064.jpg
*** tool
http://www.parktool.com/images/produ...5727_82759.jpg

*** tool

Gear inches is the diameter of the equivalent wheel, if you had a 1:1 gear ratio-like say a really big unicycle. So it's wheel diameter*(front sproket teeth/rear sproket teeth)

i agree with recommending biseagal. malcolm built up my first fixed-conversion when i needed one for work, and he and his wife/partner, milen, are both great people!

he also makes a sweet hinge-bike! really, ask him.

here is some cached frame information from biseagal: http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache...a&ct=clnk&cd=1

Unit 102H 388 Carlaw Avenue. Toronto, ON M4M 2T4
Unit 102H is at north-rear of building.
416-466-2212

Those prices are very reasonable. I'll keep them in mind.

it appears their website is live again... www.biseagal.ca