ahem...pics

ahaha, are u guys not going to let this guy live until he posts some pics.

Got my camera back today. Sorry I'm taking so long.

He's in Bklyn go walk to his house.

S/F,
CEYA!

Take your time , no need stressing.

They need to be posting their bikes.

S/F<
CEYA!

Might want to let me know you are coming. Otherwise, you'll never make it past the dog.

So, I HATE THE USPS!!!! They screwed up my drop off of bike stuff today.

Furthermore, the vintage NOS Girvin Flexstem I'd ordered was oversized, so it won't be fitting my bike. Too bad, as it was pretty hot. I'd always loved the way they felt on roadbikes, and had been really jonesing for one.

Anyway, if all goes well tomorrow, the following should be arriving and/or fitted to my bike:
Brooks Flyer saddle
fake leather handlebar grips from Nashbar that I hop match the Brooks saddle
Conti Gatorskin sew-ups
a black wire basket for the front (wretch all you like, city bikes are all about utility)
Sram 9.0 brake lever (this plastic stuff is weirdly light, but it was $5 new)

What I still need:
Better handlebar and stem
Better seatpost that is micro-adjustable
New brake caliper to replace my Universal Super 68 (this really should go on somebody's classic Italian fixed gear bike)

as I stated before we can meet and I can try to help with missing parts.

S/F,
CEYA!

yeah ceya is the track god. he has everything u need and then some. he's the tubular god also. teaches and promotes tubular riding. he's a homie and a marine. he's the best. so seriously get with him and he'll help u finish ur project. i think u can pay him in coffee.

he even has a camera phone

ceya get over there and take a pork chop

Ceya and I are going to try and meet up tomorrow. Thanks guys.

phone died so no more pics.

S/F,
CEYA!

No God, just a person who like to share knowledge. No Coffee, nasty!

S/F,
CEYA!

With tubies you are less likely to pinch flat. When I am riding sew ups, I ride with tools, a pump, and an extra prestretched tire with a few layers of glue already on the base tape. When I flat I just pull off the old tire, mount the new one, inflate, and take it easy on hard turns. its enough to get me home. Takes all of 5 minutes. I am happy with the gatorskin sprinters, though they are not as lively as some of the nicer tires (my personal favorites in terms of ride quality are the vittoria corsa evos. If its any testament to the durability of the gatorskin sprinters, I recently did a race down in Santa Cruz which involved 15 miles of road riding followed by about 25 miles of off road and single track. I had no problems, where a few other riders got taken out by pinching.

If you do go the clincher route, my personal favorites are araya rims. The 1w's and adx 510's build into nice stiff, strong wheels. Mavic is another option, and you may be able to find some nice boxy rims (ma2's?) that would preserve the more classic asthetic of your current rig. Properly built up, they should be just fine for someone of your size.

I have ridden the tufo tubular clinchers and was not particularly excited by them. I found the ride to not be exceptionally different from regular clinchers, and they are a total hassle to mount properly.

If you are still looking for a seatpost, I like the Thompson Elites and Masterpieces. Very adjustable, and have markings on them so you can really dial things in.

coffee is the best. i live off that ****.

I don't think he's concerned with aesthetic if he wants a basket and girvin flexstem.

i can't wait to see the pics!!!

Well, I couldn't care less about hipster poser aesthetic. I was riding fixed gear long before it was hip, and have my own personal aesthetic that I feel I've stuck to on this bike. I wanted a sick ass city bike, and I have almost finished it. If there is a better way to carry my camera bag or some groceries than a basket, I've not found it.

Anyway, I'm just waiting for a titanium handlebar to arrive in the mail tomorrow or the next day, and then it is all done. I couldn't find a Flexstem in 1" sizing, so instead I went with a NOS Suntour XC two bolt stem and titanium flat bars.

When finished the bike will be laid out as so:

Frame: Panasonic Track 4000, Tange steel*
Headset: Tange*
BB: Surgino Track*
Crankset: Surgino Track 165*
Chainring: Campy Nouvo Record 42 teeth
Rims: Araya Red*
Hubs: Suntour Sprint*
Cogs: Suntour 16* and 17, fixed/fixed flip flop
Tires: Conti Gatorskin Sprint tubulars with Tufo Extreme Glue Tape
Seatpost: SR*
Saddle: Brooks Champion Flyer
Stem: Suntour XC
Handlebars: Titanium no name https://cgi.ebay.com/Titanium-handleb...mZ230154260576
Handlebar Grips: Nashbar fake leather that matches the Brooks saddle
Brake Caliper: Universal Super 68 (can't remember if this came with the bike or if we installed it at one point that summer. It did come with a rear brake and came factory drilled for it)
Brake Lever: SRAM 9.0

*Original to 1989 new bike purchase.

As soon as I mount the ti bar, I'll shoot pictures.

The original rims were fine, so I stuck with them. I'm not that huge, BTW. Though I did weigh 235 at one point in my life, and 167 at another, I am generally between 185 and 200 pounds. If I cycle even a couple times a week, I'll be right about 185-190 pounds. I'm a big looking guy, but not that huge in reality. In fact, I'm only six feet tall. People always think I'm bigger than I actually am, in real life and on the internet.

I had a nice ride today from the Slope to the LES to the 'burg back to the LES and home to the Slope. When I arrived home I shot a couple pictures. I may very well shorten the bars, but decided to ride them long for a few days first just for fun. I know the brake cable is long, BTW, it makes swapping back to my drop bars less of a chore.

I like how you mounted the rear brake, and the frame.. you did keep good care of it.

A word on the brake lever: I think the SRAM 9.0 is a direct pull lever, meant to work with V-Brakes (although I could be mistaken and it's for canti's). What this means is because of the brakes, the lever pulls twice as much distance, but half as hard. With a single-pivot, side-pull brake (which is what it looks like you have), you might have some trouble braking.. it'll probably feel really solid with the lever, but you'll see that you can't brake "as hard" or modulate your speed as well as you would with a non V-Brake lever. Sheldon says this is dangerous (https://sheldonbrown.com/canti-direct.html#ma).

I'm sure you are right in the general sense, as that Brown guy is often correct about mechanics. In reality, the SRAM lever braking felt better than my Tectro lever braking. The Tectro is one of the ones SB likes, but to me it just felt really mushy. The SRAM has two key qualities that might be making it work well for me, adjustable reach and adjustable mechanical advantage. Even with an out of adjustment brake today I was both able to stop and modulate better. The brake and lever combo wasn't at all "graby" either. One of the other reasons this may be true is hand size. While I'm a kinda big guy, my hands are tiny. I have always preferred to set up my brakes so they don't engage as soon as they are squeezed. I like my brakes to get a little closer to my handlebars. It allows me better grip, less fatigue, and more modulation. For this reason, I've never been a big fan of dual pivot brakes with tight levers. Camp NR or SR single pivot brakes with a bit of play in the brake lever work much better for me. So, for whatever reason, this set-up with the SRAM lever actually works for me. It may just be personal preference, it may be hand size, it may be that my calipers have more in common mechanically with linear brakes than with cantilevers, maybe it has something to do with the mechanical advantage of mounting the rear brake caliper backwards, or it may be voodoo. Either way, I was actually impressed with the levers today for some odd reason.

wow. what a waste.

?
huh?


After three pages the only thing I can say is I'm glad you stayed with tubulars.. get the tufo thing out of your mind, they are crap. Nice bike.. have fun riding it again and dont listen to the kids on this board that think you need to make a show bike.

ps, there should be fg bike shows.. kind of like Hot Import Nights or something.. that would be sick!

Ah, well if you can adjust the mechanical advantage, then they should work with your brakes. Reach adjustment is key.

Yup, I went with the Conti Sprinter Gatorskins. I did use the Tufo Extreme Glue Tapes though. I was able to find a good price on them. Very impressive, just like using Fast Tack in the old days but less mess. I was riding the Contis pumped up to 120 PSI yesterday. The Gatorskin tread rolls nicely and gives me enough grip for City streets.

I really can't imagine anything more obnoxious and pretentious than acoldspoon's signature.

once again, we are on the same page.