Showing posts with label fixed wheel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fixed wheel. Show all posts
Carlton Fixie
I have had the bike finished now for just over a week and it rides like a dream. One or two teething problems at first but nothing a few spanners couldn't fix. As
you can see it very much stripped down compared to a standard road bike, the big difference is that it has no brakes this is controlled by your legs and the drive. I am looking at putting a front brake on as a fail safe having had some hairy moments already when going down hill.
you can see it very much stripped down compared to a standard road bike, the big difference is that it has no brakes this is controlled by your legs and the drive. I am looking at putting a front brake on as a fail safe having had some hairy moments already when going down hill.
So I have tried to keep as much original parts as possible, the forks, drive wheel chain and
pedals, the head set and the seat post. I bought new wheels; handlebars and my Brooks B17 saddle which a got at a great price. The paint didn’t come out as I had expected but it’s grown on me and even though I was wary of the decals I really like them now as they give an impression that the original bike is not lost. I have had a bit a stick from friends for the bike and various things but building this has been great fun and I’m already starting to look to my next project as this will not really be suitable once winter really sets in. The BSA is going to be a lot different and although it will be fixed I am looking at a coaster brake hub for the rear wheel and going all out on a new paint job.
Brooks since 1866
Well the bike is all but finished with a final touch of adding the saddle; I set out to turn the bike into a fixed wheel commuter as that is what I will be using it for. But it was also important that try to replace all the parts that can be used with the original, in some cases this hasn’t be possible and therefore it’s been replaced with parts for the specific spec. All in all the bike has come together really well and after a small test ride as proved to be very fast.
So the saddle, the final touch is important to the bike and the saddle needs to comfortable and add a little style and sophistication. I like things old and with some history about them so i choose Brooks, from new these can be expensive so I bought a slightly used one at a fraction of the price. The model is a B17 and has a long history of being a handmade quality saddle that ages to perfection, after all its all about the comfort.
So the saddle, the final touch is important to the bike and the saddle needs to comfortable and add a little style and sophistication. I like things old and with some history about them so i choose Brooks, from new these can be expensive so I bought a slightly used one at a fraction of the price. The model is a B17 and has a long history of being a handmade quality saddle that ages to perfection, after all its all about the comfort.
A Touch Of Paint
A few weeks back I started to fix up my BSA but in the process I was given an old battered Carlton racing frame that I planned to convert into a fixed wheel. Well the BSA took the back seat and I got totally sucked in to this little fixie project. Scouring ebay for parts and stripping the frame right down so that I could re spray. Well I finished the spraying this week and it now stands for a couple of weeks for the paint to completely harden. It’s important to me that I try and keep as much of the original parts as possible so I left the original brass tag on the head and also had the idea to keep the existing decals that were worn and scratched. I have not done this before so everything is an experiment and so far I am happy with paint finish but im unsure about the colour as this is not the colour on the tin and the remaining decals have not given the desired effect I was looking for. The forks look great and these I found on ebay exactly the same as the originals which I had to cut off because some bright spark had used a fixing (ironic) agent on the stem.
