nausea95

I bought a Bob Jackson frame off criagslist a few months ago, and now I finally have some money to put into the project.

The first thing I noticed about the frame is that there is some pieces of something (metal?) sliding around in the top tube. Any suggestions on how to take care of this problem. I'm worried if I drill a hole large enough where the seat tube meets the top tube, it will weaken the frame. It's reynolds 531.

If anyone's interesting, here's a link to a photo.
https://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=48887091&size=o

Also, off topic, what wheelset does everyone recommend from Ben's Bikes or possibly other onlines shops. I've read the rants against NYCbikes so I'll probably stay away from them. I plan to spend $175-200 for a decent fixed setup for street riding. Would like something with a fairly sturdy rim, and sealed bearings.

tbk

The things rattling in your top tube are either metal, or material from when the frame was blasted prior to it being painted. There should be a breather hole at either end of the top tube at its intersection with seat tube and head tube, get some spray lube or similar and spray this into the frame, as it drains it should carry the pieces of foreign matter with it. If this doesn't work use a something like like an aerosol grease, instead of running away the bits will get stuck! Both of these have the added benifit of protecting against corrosion too!

nausea95

That's true, I wasn't worried about any damage per say, just an annoying noise when it's picked up or goes over a curb. I'm guessing that a framebuilder wouldn't have any other easy fix for something like this since they'd screw it up with any drilling too.


There are no breather holes, one of the ideas I had was to drill a hole small enough to insert some sort of grease so everything would stick to it, it'd be even nicer if they were such holes already there. If some frames have breather holes by design, wouldn't it be something the right shop with the right tools could do safely without jeopardizing the frame integrity?

I agree also that Bob Jackson's seem to have a reputation so this was disappointing. I thought maybe it was a bad job when brazing and years and years of riding had knocked pieces loose.

wearyourtruth

sorry to hear about the rattling, i don't know what to say on that one. nice frame though.

as for wheels, i don't want to be the ******bag who puts up a link to the search function, but wheels get talked about here a lot, so look around.

as for me, i love deep v rims, hopefully will get a set soon, not sure of the hubs yet, others will know more than i.

chimblysweep

you shouldn't drill a hole in your frame unless it's absolutely necessary, it's the only possible solution, and it's guaranteed to solve the problem. it sounds like you're not sure, though. take it to your LBS and get a professional opinion.

as for wheels, your price range is fairly restrictive- rear wheels on the low end tend to be over $100. check out the IRO wheels at https://www.irocycle.com/id67.html - those are probably your best bet. Deep V rims, which I ride on and like and have been suggested above, retail for $65 each, rim only, so you'd be at $130 before even buying hubs, which are the expensive part.

oh, and this isn't the first time i've heard a horror story about Bob Jackson... a rider in dc got an off the peg from them, custom painted, that had two different length chainstays (oops).

biff

Look closely inside the ST/HT for the TT holes. There has to be some unless they went to the trouble of filling them in.

In the TT, it's most likely a piece of hardened flux.

I have gotten pieces of brass in my seatstays before - but I notice them, and melt it to the inside before it leaves.

My advise: don't worry about it. You won't notice it while riding. You won't even notice it once you have it built up. Don't drill a hole - it's not worth destroying the tube. You don't want a shop monkey drilling a hole either.

nausea95

I've looked pretty closely and can see there are no holes, can't see where they filled any in either. Even though it may sound simple, the sound equivalent of some sand in my top tube probably will get to me sooner or later. I guess my main concern is if it would actually potentially damage anything by drilling a hole in the ST which would give an opening to the TT. I live in Austin even though you may not recommend having a bike shop put my frame under the knife, who would you say is most compentent framework, even just to take a look at it?

LóFarkas

Drilling a hole that opens into the TT from the inside of the seattube or the headtube will certainly not damage the frame (most frames have holes in both places), but it'll be a royal PITA to do. Maybe a small drill bit can fit through the rounded end of the slot made for the seatpost clamp? (Does that sentence make any sense?)

Sure it's not in the downtube? That prolly has a hole where it meets the BB shell where it might have got in.

nausea95

I took the BB out becuase originally, with no holes going into the top tube, I assumed the most obvious way anything would've gotten in was through the bottom bracket area, but no luck. I can tell now by holding my ear up it's definetely in the top tube. I know it won't be easy but I'm anal about stuff like this and I know down the road it will annoy the ---- out of me.

Good point on the bit fitting through the slot of the seat post clamp. If I go that route it will be a fairly small hole and i'll then be considering what to use to flush it out, or stick the stuff to the inside... I keep telling myself I can't complain even though all this will surely become a larger than expected proejct considering I got a deal on the frame.

Anyone have any opinions on which would look aesthetically superior, silver rims or black with machined walls. Keep in mind beyond possibly a brooks saddle, I'm not terribly dedicated to building this up with vintage parts or even vintage looking.

same time

Hey, be careful - if there's only one hole, and you squirt something in, it can come squirting back out of the same hole at you with surprising velocity.

I vote for black rims. But probably anything you put on there will look cool.