cavernmech, i sent you a PM.

Hey man! Sounds lovely there! I'll be hitting that part of the world nov-decish for a month this year, if your still there we'll hook up!

I'm still with the mess, but on foot the past 3 months due to a knee. I'll be back in the saddle in a week or two but with a freewheel which will be standard isue for me now unless on a velodrome. Can't slow down without likely blowing it again, sure as hell can't skid w/out blowing it and I was trying to use my front brake since it was originally injured in 2002, I just can't seem to use it every single time I mean really!

So they keep you busy over there?

Poopy weather out there today! Heading out to the post office to mail some bike parts out (from the Pay it forward thread). If you guys haven't checked that thread out, you should. Its pretty cool. Just a bunch of people offering up their stuff for free (just shipping). You just go on and post stuff you want to get rid of, and Private Message the users who have posted stuff that you want. I think they should rename this as the good charma thread!

Hope you guys have a great, and rainy day.
By the way, another Ride for Heart plug....a few of us are signed up now...for the regular start (50km route). Its the first Sunday in June...come on guys! Lets FIX this ride!

Hey all, I am a Toronto cyclist but not a fixie (yet). I have an '80s geared Ciocc that is my daily rider but I am planning on "fixing" it this summer, just as soon as I get my hands on a nice Bianchi frame to switch the 105 parts over. I do have a single-speed Miele though, so maybe I can join you with that.

Anywho, I PM'd cavit8 with info regarding powder-coating a bike in Toronto. He mentioned this thread and that maybe some of you guys would like to have the same information, so here it is:

Spectrum Powder Coaters
416-622-4595
63 Medulla Avenue,
Etobicoke, ON
M8Z 5L6

These guys are great and friendly and, most importantly, cheap. I got the Ciocc powder-coated with a custom colour for 60$ and the Miele powder-coated black for 25$----they just threw it in with some patio chairs, meaning it wasn't a custom set-up. That is a pretty good deal, especially considering that it won't chip, which is the whole reason I had to get the Ciocc done in the first place, that notoriously lousy Italian paint. I hope someone can use this information, let me know when you guys next plan to hook up for a ride. Later.

Oh hey. Thanks jet sanchez. I might need to get a replacement fork for my Bianchi painted. It pains me to see my bike in it's mangled condition. So they sandblast the paint you originally have and put on new colour? You got any pictures of your paint job?

Hi, no, they don't sandblast for you, I had to find a guy to do that for me. I just checked the yellowpages and some handy-man guy did the Ciocc for me for 25$. I actually stripped the paint off the Miele myself with just regular ol'furniture stripper and it worked like a charm. But yeah, the frame has to be down to bare metal. I think aluminium is hard to powder-coat for some reason, but I am not 100% sure of that. I will do my best to post some pics of the Ciocc, I just lent the Miele out.

They did a good job on both bikes, but it seems that a powder coat is a bit thicker than paint so some details might not be as sharp. For example, the word "Ciocc" is on the top of my drops (I think that is what you call them) and it isn't as sharp as it was with the original paint. But, for me, that isn't a huge deal as I loved the frame and it absolutely had to have a new paint job. Painting myself wasn't an option because every time I had tried to paint a bike on my own, it turned out like ass. Professional painters wanted 300$, which I couldn't afford. I thought powder-coating was going to cost about 100$ so I was ecstatic that it was only 60$. I will post some detailed pics sometime this weekend and you can see for yourself. Later.

thanks for the powder coat info jet,

I've got two frames and one fork that need to be painted and I've been sitting on the fence for the last week trying to decide what to do. My previous work with spray cans did an ok job, but it's not like a nice hard enamal finish.

did you have to mask or plug holes like the bottom bracket threads, cable guide holes, etc? or did they do that for you?

Hi, no, they did everything for me except strip the paint off. After it was dried, they even wrapped it up nicely for me. All in all, I was very pleased with the experience. There was one spot on the Miele that got a bit rubbed or something and the coating took a funny line, but for 25$ I wasn't complaining. Each frame took about 5 days to get done. I will post pics of the Ciocc this afternoon. Later.

Nice tip. Any comments on durability? I had a frame that I got painted at an auto body shop years ago. It looked nice, but they paint was very easy to scratch or chip.

whats shakin guys? Everyone away, asleep or just nothing to say?
Been busy working on our new track frames and also my day job (postie). This weather is brutal...hot, cold, dry, wet...hard to dress well for that! Anyways, hope you're all doing well, and don't forget to sign up for the Ride for Heart!!

interesting, are these bike to be sold or personal use? details.

as for me:
I've had a foul weekend and am having a worse week. The best part of my day is when I ride into work in the mornings. An almost regular occurrence now; I see an older guy riding this bizarre single speed conversion using an old busted derailleur as a chain tensioner. He stopped me the first day I saw him at the Castle Frank subway station, he inquired about what gearing I was running, so we talked about our bikes for the duration of the red light, and that was it, he told me to 'take care' and 'have a good day'. I've seen him about 4 times now since (same route, not always at the same spot but I gather he must live near me), I usually shout "hello" or "morning" at him and give him a big wave as I pass by. It's probably the most pleasurable part of my day, once I start dealing with the *******s at work it's all downhill from there. He's definitely not a wealthy man (might even be homeless or was recently homeless and his working his way back up), but he seems pretty happy, and that makes me feel happy.

I think he's a messenger, pretty old beat up bike, he has one of those odd red canvas packs, two straps, (they look similar to trash picker type of bag worn on your back) it's large capacity, and has one big flap on the top to get into it. I've seen these things all over the city, it's like some sort of budget messenger pack(?), anybody know what I'm talking about?
I've obviously never thought to actually stop and inquire about these things with the guy himself...

bikeophile, wouldn't mind hearing more about your frames either. pics? or is it a top secret kinda thing.

wastedweasel, nice anecdote. i'm normally itching to get out the office but your post stalled me for a minute.

I have no working bikes, no job, nothing to do and a bad cold. This sucks!

Hi, sorry I don't have pics yet, but I have had a busy week and couldn't borrow my friend's camera yet. As for durability, I like the powder-coating so far. I have had the Ciocc for two winters now and it is fine. There is no chipping, just marking and scuffing, which usually just come right off. From what I understand, powder-coats are porous and this means that water can get under it and rust the frame. All you have to do to prevent this is wax it (I used car-wax, Turtle, I think) and that should prevent any rust from forming. It has on the Ciocc so far, the Miele is pretty new and was stored much better than the Ciocc was----I rode it in the winter, and didn't have the means to wash it down each time I took it out. I did have some scuffs on the powder coat that I was concernced about but I used a rubbing compound and they came right off. Also, the Ciocc is a light colour so scuffs show up easier.

Uhhhhm, that is all I can think of for now except that powder-coating is tougher than paint but it still can be ruined with excessive wear and tear. Think of what would happen to your patio furniture if you were to take an exacto knife to the coating........it would come away. Nearly all metal patio furniture is powder-coated, so that gives you an idea of how tough this stuff is against the elements, but not so tough against flame/sharps, etc....

Welcome to the club!

Anyone got a cheap 700c (threaded) red cr-mo lugged fork they want to sell me?

Call >>> Cycle Solutions (416) 691-0019 ask for Nelson or Roger you might get it

Yeah they were the only ones to actually give me something that wasn't outrageously priced (some shops said $150 for a cr-mo fork, I got my entire freaking frame for $100).

Cycle solutions quoted $60 for a cr-mo fork and $40 for a hi-10. The other problem is they only came in black and chrome. Which means i'd also need to tack on a painting fee... however much that'd cost.

chrome would look fine on that frame man...

I have a chrome one, and I'll give it to you if it fits yer bike. You might need to have it threaded down further, but that should be pretty cheap.

Depending on what flavour of red, you'd likely be looking at an attempt to paint match anyway. And you may find that whenever your paint matches, it doesn't. You can pick up a fork at Parts Unknown for $5-$10 if you're not fussy and try painting it yourself.

did anyone get caught in the lovely hail this morning? i was afraid i'd have to whip out the face shield for my lunch ride.

I must be ********, can anyone point me to the exact address of 'parts unknown', I spent probably a half hour wandering around kensington market two weeks ago looking for it, asking some of the shop owners too....and never found it, totally lost here. All I'm told is it's in an alleyway somewhere.. what street is it on? what shops are next to it? any help? thanks

It's not easy to find, in fact I doubt I can explain it to you. It's on the same street as Bikes on Wheels, only on the west side of the street and farther south. You will need to go in a one lane alley into a gravel parking lot to get to it. If you start at BOW, cross the street and walk south. I believe you will pass one sidestreet on your right. Then a few shops down, you will see the alleyway. There are usually a bunch of bikes strewn around, so you'll know the place when you see it. The guy there doesn't seem to work regular hours, but he is around enough so that you can catch him.

ah cool, thanks man I'll see if I can at least find it tonight after work. I know where bikes on wheels is...

I'll measure my old fork when i get my bike back next wed.