i blue my frame and all i got was track nuts on my...
 

i used cold gun blue to patina my new ground up. i'm super pleased with how it turned out. it barely tinted the brass and silver braze, so the lugs are outlined and the fillets really stand out. it's definitely fragile though. it can scratch fairly easy. it's pretty much only going to see racing, so i'm not going to bother clearcoating it or waxing it... i'm going to let it get worn and look used. the gun blue is probably only a stopgap until i get it powdercoated after this season anyways. it's super easy to do and touches up easily too.

i'm happy with the build. eric let me do most of the non-torch work. it was super fun. it came out fairly lighter than i thought, for a huge, stiff, steel frame. it's like 6.5 pounds, but built up seems lighter than my bianchi. it's mainly columbus sp and an spx downtube. true temper bmx stays. they're super stiff!!! i used some old cinelli road lugs and some no-name italian bb shell that eric gave me on my wedding. i carved a heart out into every lug. awwww. eric had to cut off the chainstay lugs, due to the angle, and fillet brazed them to the shell.

the build up is still not quite right. i still need to get my track pedals and 50t chainring on, and i think swap the headset. it's one of those weird star ones that didn't have the original bearings, and the .125 ones i used are too big. i could only fit 33 and it's supposed to have 38. also, the weird foam rubber gaskets are super flat... i'll probably just get a campy one. i also thought about trying liquid gasket to try repairing the rubber gasket/brass shim seal setup.

i can't wait to get in on the track!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/196/4...da18f850c7.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/4...97d4b454bc.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/4...95d8311770.jpg

reminds me of my arms....

you should get a clear poweder coat over it before it starts to rust

1st post ever for me. Very, very nice. Don't let it rust!!

I will skid your face off with this bike when I come to stomp your town tomorrow

and then I will sell it on ebay with a dent in the top tube. for like $1241554 dollars.

ps - i will call you when i get in and we figure out where to eat beer

do you have to duck under most doors?

what a beautiful machine! How long (short) are your chainstays??

sexy.

build specs?

fsnl
sparky

That is damn hot. I know this is over used but that screams industrial to me, it's one purpose is to kick ass.

good to see another tall guy.

[edit]... unless those are 650c wheels and you just pulled the scam of the century.

That's what I was thinking. Holy tall guy.

there's no way that tire doesn't rub on that fork.

Sick sick sick sick sick sick. I don't usually gush like this.

Love it.

gorgeous. even cooler that you were involved in the build process.

Very well done! You should think about waxing it some even if only with pledge or the like. The humidity will work on attacking it while you sleep.

Nice bike.

Yeah, that bluing won't do anything to protect against rust.
Get some Johnsons paste wax and put a couple of good coats on there. It'll shine nicely and be protected. It's what I use on the iron beds of my stationary tools and it works great.


edit: Or wipe some gun oil/solvent on there. The smell will terrify your competitors.

Nicely done, turned out well. I've been planning to blue my next project as well and this is encouraging :)

awh yeah. Hoppe's would rock. I love that smell. Maybe a bit too much.

You sniff the bottle too, huh?
Wifey makes me clean guns in the shop because the smell of Hoppe's makes her feel "all weird".

thanks for the comments everyone! i took it out last night for a 18 mile pounding and am really happy with the stiffness and handling. the rear is so incredibly stiff!! i took it up some super steep-for-a-track-bike hills and was amazed how responsive it was. eric has some big solid aluminum bar stock he uses to pound between stays to give tire clearance if needed. typically he uses a hammer, and it takes a few good blows. well, we had to really pound using a SLEDGE HAMMER to get them to dent. the walls are 2mm thick! eric really knows how to make a stiff rear end. not that i'm some monster, i have a climber build... 6'4" at 165. i also love the way they look!

here's another shot of the stays:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/219/4...9983af18e8.jpg

i did put some pledge on it last night, but i think i might try some johnson's wax to help preserve it longer. you all are talking me into it... i also love how "industrial" it looks. i'm a machinist and we primarily machine 55+ hRc t1 steel, so the look of the gun blue is super exciting to me.

as for the build specs, it's a 61 c-c st, 59 c-c tt, with 75 degree head and seat tubes. it's huge! i'm 6'4" though. i wanted a bike that handled like my bianchi, but fit like my de rosa road bike, which is a 61. with that low clearance fork and steep, long headtube, it looks like a 63 or bigger! i was worried i should've gone with a 60, due to the standover, but when i'm on it, it feels soooo great. eric talked me out of a 28mm rake, and we went with 37. i was super afraid the shorter trail wouldn't feel right, but it feels more stable than the bianchi. i still probably won't get it onto the track until saturday.

the fork actually doesn't rub the 23 fortezzas on there now... mainly because i spent the last few days filing and filing it, seeing the tire clear, then riding it and having it rub, then filing and filing, etc. i cut the fork tubes a bit short and so i really had to file the crown a bunch. i'll probably go with a smaller clincher until i get my tubular wheelset running... campy box rims and low flange superbe hubs. they needs axles, tires (probably sprinters) and the front wheel is super out of true because it's stupid radially laced.

the chain stays were cut to have come out to 383, but after getting it in the jig realizing the angle of the chainstay lug flanges on the bb shell was wrong, we had to cut them off, cut a larger radius into the tubes and fillet braze them on... so they came out shorter. when that 23 is hitting the seattube, there is still a bit of room in the dropouts. it's not that bad though.

6'4"? I didn't know they piled $hit that high!

The bike looks amazing chris. Give yourself and Eric pats and smooches. Glad to hear you are going to use the tubular wheels, they will do that bike justice moreso than the LeJeune. Congrats again man, great job!