What A Week...

We started the week off with a bit of snow, and some single-digit overnight temps. I put the fenders on the fixed gear mtb, in response to getting a wet butt on the way home from the coffee shop on Sunday.

Five bolts and a zip tie are all it takes to put the fenders on the bike. I need to come up with a reusable replacement for the zip tie, since I plan to have these fenders on and off, as the weather dictates.

I got home from work on Monday, and decided I needed to sit in the snow and have a beer. (I posted about that, on Tuesday.)

It was a very pleasant afternoon, as long as the sun was shining on me. I sat there until the sun got low, and I was no longer baking in its rays. I love sitting outside after work. I really look forward to warmer weather!

 Today, I pulled down a derelict fixed gear frame that Steve's son got, somewhere, and fixed him up a bike to get around on. It was missing the rear wheel, so I pulled an old set of 700c road wheels down and mounted up some tires. I also added a rear brake and brake lever, since the bike is now a "double single-speed", rather than a fixed gear.

 "Double single-speed" means that I mounted a 16 tooth cog alongside an 18 tooth cog, with spacers between. You can loosen the wheel, and switch the chain from cog to cog, depending on the terrain. I don't know if it will ever actually get switched, but i like the concept, so I built it that way.

Earlier in the week, I started on a 650b conversion, using my old 650b wheels and a lugged Bridgestone MB-3 frame. I ordered in a stem with enough rise to allow me to use mustache bars (or similar). The stem got here, yesterday, and I started the build, today.

However, as I was working on the Bridgestone, I kept looking at the 700c RockHopper conversion, thinking how I would like to use the Campy drivetrain on the 650b bike. Eventually, I went out to the storage building and found a nice 26" fork with the appropriate steer tube, and decided to convert the RockHopper to 650b.

I used the Tektro cantilevers which were already on the bike. By adjusting the pads to the tops of their slots, I was able to get the brakes to line up with the rims, pretty well.

 The fork which I used is a late 1990s Specialized Direct Drive, double-butted cro-mo mtb fork. I think that the black fork looks pretty cool on the red bike, and I really like it better than the alloy fork which was on there.

The alloy fork will probably end up on the Bridgestone, as part of another project...

I also finished up my exhaust grills, for the Scrambler. I made two for the mufflers, and cut the original front guard into two sections to match.

Bryan, at work, suggested that I should contour the ends of the rear grills to match the curves of the muffler bodies.  That sounded like a good idea, to me, so I did that, this morning.

I am stoked about how they came out.

The fruits of my labors.

After the snowy, cold weather earlier in the week, the 65 degree temperature, today was a welcome respite. I worked out in the driveway, in short sleeves, all day. I love Springtime in Denver.

My next big project involves my 29er, but I have to wait for a package to arrive, before I can start it. In the meantime, I have the Bridgestone to play with, if I feel like it. Plus, Skull Full Of Blues has a show at Herman's Hideaway on April 25, so I will be practicing and rehearsing and  otherwise preparing for that, for the next three weeks.

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