After my little crash the other day, I had to replace my brake levers and front calipers. I decided to go with the same brake levers, the Tektro R200:
I debating putting back on my old Dia Compes or even getting a newer set of them to keep up the bikes classic looks. As this bike sees a lot of miles, I decided to go with comfort over looks. The large hoods are very comfortable; and after riding my wife’s 73 Peugeot with smaller classic-style levers recently, I decided I didn’t want to go back to that.
Calipers on the other hand, I wasn’t sure want to get. I found my choices here were limited as most brakes are designed for modern bikes which use a recessed nut inside the fork for mounting. Sheldon Brown’s site lists a couple ways to get around this, but I didn’t want to take a drill to my fork just yet. I searched ebay for some used brakes, older Shimano and Campy calipers as well as other brands. End the end I decided to go with Tektro as well, I found the R538’s, a long-reach caliper offered with standard bolt/nut mounting:
When buying components for older bikes there is always a desire to keep the bike looking classic, but the lure of newer and better components is always there. I suppose if I had an older bike that saw light weekend riding, I would go with the old stuff. On my Schwinn however, I’m voting anachronism for the sake of comfort.
I don’t buy energy gel that often, but when I do it tends to be a costly purchase. At $1.25 locally, they add up very quickly. I was happy to see this video posted at Confessions of a Bike Junkie detailing a quick and easy way to make your own. He claims it’s 1/5 the cost of commercial gels and better for you because it’s all natural. I’ll have to give this one a try.
The NADA Bike project is aimed at getting more people on bikes and less in cars. How do they plan to do this? By offering simple, bare fixed/single gear frames for a very reasonable cost.
$100 + $49 shipping gets you a frame which you can build any way you like. If you already have a collection of spare parts, this can transform them into a complete bike on the cheap. With such a low cost for the frame, you could still end up with an inexpensive fixie even with new parts.
I’d be curious to hear about how the frame works out for those who have built them up already.
I love Instructables. It seems that site has plans to build nearly anything, including tons of bike related projects.
This one is an adjustable bike ramp for those times when you just have to take your ride off some sweet jumps. While the instructions claim it is for a kid, there’s nothing stopping the kid-at-heart from catching air with this as well.
Oh how I wish this guide was up when we were working on Project Elance. Figuring out all the shapes and sizes of threaded headsets is enough to boggle the beginning builder. Over at the Velo Orange Blog they have posted a really good guide to all the sizes out there. Check this first if you are looking to replace the headset on your bike.
Just had this link emailed to me. It is a beautiful restoration of a folding bike which was also turned into a cargo bike. The workmanship on this is just superb. Additionally, it looks like the cargo section joins at the point where the original bike folded so it can be removed and the bike function as it did originally. Way cool!
Posted: November 30, 2009 at 10:42 pm | Tags: diy, Projects
I really enjoy getting my hands dirty and working on my bikes. Lately I’ve been attempting to do more and more of my own work (with good success so far). Aside from maintenance, there are lots of cool projects to enhance your bike.
Many times you can build devices much cheaper than you could buy them commercially. So here are 10 cool projects which would be a great way to spend a weekend
Simple Bike Trailer – When the panniers just aren’t enough, sometimes a trailer is just right. There are lots of plans for trailers, some simple, some quite elaborate. This one is simple, easy to build, and cheap.
Mini Bike Light – Lights just arent a good idea, in most places they are required by law if you are going to be riding after night. This mini light makes you much more visible after the sun goes down.
Mini Tool Kit – I’ve covered bike tools before, but if you have an assortment of hand tools already, you might be able to collect them into a bike tool kit small enough to carry with you. This one fits in an Altoids tin, small enough to even fit in your pocket if you have no bags on your bike.
Panniers from Canvas Surplus Bags - I rank my panniers as one of the best things I’ve ever purchased for my bike. Finally being free of a backpack made riding in traffic much better, not to mention allowing me to go on longer trips and carry cargo. They tend to be on the pricey side however, and these plans show you how to make a high-quality set for less.
Protect your Top Tube – Thanks to locks, drops, oversized cargo and more, the top tube of your bike seems to take a lot of abuse. This guide shows you how to protect the TT from scratches using an old tube.
Mount a flashlight as a headlight – You can find headlights at stores like WalMart, they tend to not work so well. By spending more, you will get a much better light, but with quality comes a much higher price tag. This guide shows you a dead-simple way to mount a flashlight on your bike to get a high quality light for much less.
Sew your own cycling cap – Some people (like me) love the short brimmed cycling caps, some people (like my wife) hate them. They are simple in construction, and with these patterns, you can make one out of whatever material you wish.
Repaint a bike – A new paint-job can make all the difference in the appearance of a bike. Instead of paying a shop, you can get a high quality job in the comfort of your own garage.
Build a contactless dynamo - Getting on the more complicated side of things, this project will net you a dynamo capable of generating electricity for lights, charging your phone, or anything else that will work with the voltage it provides. You need to be familiar with electricity and have some old hard drives to scavenge.
String Christmas Lights on your Bike – It’s the holiday season, and just maybe drivers are feeling a little less like running you off the road these days. What better way to celebrate than to put lights on your bike. You’ll be festive and safer to boot!
Make Online has posted a video about an even nicer DIY bike stand than the one I posted about previously. This one is a lot more mobile (and a bit more attractive). Looks like a good project to occupy the long holiday.
Ryan’s 87 Trek Elance 330 now rides! After purchase, the bike was reduced down to nothing but a frame and almost all components were replaced. There were a couple things we ran into afterwards.
First, the bottom bracket is too wide. It is the Shimano 105 BB designed for a triple chainring. While the Trek runs a double, the 118mm bracket was the closest match to the original 116mm bracket. Even so, the chainrings are out too far and the chain is left at a sharp angle. It’s certainly ridable, but the chain will lead a short life in its current condition. A 109mm bottom bracket is on its way which should fix things.
Second, the rear dérailleur has not nearly enough spring which is leaving the bottom of the spring with far too much slack. This is something we would have realized had either of us been more familiar with bike repair. This is the first time either of us have changed a dérailleur, so we didn’t know this until the chain was on and we noticed something wasn’t right.
Even with those minor hiccups, it seems to ride very well and Ryan is pleased with it. For a first project, I don’t think it went too badly!
Over at The Petal Pusher there’s a good writeup on a DIY bike repair stand. At $30 in parts its a bargain over commercial versions. After all the work I’ve been doing recently, I really need a stand.
I’ve needed a repair stand for a long long long time now. But….damn those things aren’t cheap. Thankfully, I’ve got more than my share of blue collar blood in me….so I decided to build one.
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