Custom Steel for £87!-Finished!

earthvspace4XTuUWcX

Not strictly true of course.
Have done very little cycling following a crash in June and subsequent complications and illness, but needed a bike project to keep me sane. So decided to rebuild the old Dawes Galaxy which I have have been running as a single speed.
See previous post for more details:http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12971949&p=18906592#p18906592

So, started with this:


Chain stays were in poor condition, wanted proper track ends, brake bridge not suitable for short drop brakes, and 1 bottle boss loose, so rear triangle removed, together with old paint and powder coat (previously powder coated white when my dad owned it)


Bought new chainstays and seat stays in Columbus Zona, new brake and chain stay bridges, track ends, bottle cage bosses and a gear lever boss, total cost incl. delivery £87.
Old and new:


Made up a jig to keep everything straight and square (hopefully!):


Brazing completed:



Masked up and zinc oxide primer applied:


Frame completed, the colour is a Ford blue (Matisse), bare steel and the blue generously covered with clear coat. Final frame weight is 1950g (think about 250g must be paint and clear coat!)


N

Now you may be wondering why I have fitted a gear lever boss to a frame with track ends, well this is going to be a fairly unusual build, so watch this space

MTB'erRoadie

Looks great. You have serious skills!

marcusjb

Good job! Well done.

term1te

Chapeau Sir, I look forward to seeing the rest of the build.

johnnymcg259

Yeah, that looks really good......you're talented.

Sorry to hear about your accident in the summer. Hope you're back on a bike....any bike again soon.

I was hit on Wednesday evening while out for a ride. 1200 lumen headlight+ additional blinker+2 rear lights.......still got clipped and knocked out cold.

southdownswolf

This is looking good :-)

So are you fitting a triple chainring hence the need for gear lever boss? 3 gears the wrong way around.....

lostboysaint

Nice one, looking forward to the rest of this!

marcusjb

southdownswolf wrote:

So are you fitting a triple chainring hence the need for gear lever boss? 3 gears the wrong way around.....

I'm going to put a guess in with an S3X

napoleond

Ace work!

ratsbeyfus

Skilz! Can't wait to see finished Franken-bike. Great colour as well!

woolwich

Loving the DIY stuff on this board over the past couple of months. Another cool project

earthvspace4XTuUWcX

Cheers for all the compliments.

Wheels now built.
Kinlin TB25 tubular rims. Front laced to a Hope Mono Hub, 24 Sapim Laser spokes, alloy nipples: 690g

marcusjb wrote:

southdownswolf wrote:

So are you fitting a triple chainring hence the need for gear lever boss? 3 gears the wrong way around.....

I'm going to put a guess in with an S3X

Close: Actually a Sturmey Archer 5 speed. I have ridden fixed in the past, but to be honest never really found it enjoyable. Now some people may scoff at this choice, but my reasoning is simple. I loved riding this bike as a single speed, but with my level of fitness and the terrain I cycle, 1 gear is sometimes not enough. I like the clean lines and mechanical simplicity of a SS bike, I just wanted and extra gear or 4. This bike is just for the pure pleasure of cycling through the English countryside on a sunny day, for cruising and enjoying the scenery. I will not be setting any PBs on Strava, trying to keep up with a chain gang or doing a 100 mile Sportive. I plan to ride most of the time in 3rd gear, which is direct drive, so will be silent and feel just like my SS, but I will have a couple of higher gears for tail winds and downhills, and a couple of lower gears for head winds, and uphills.
The 25mm tubs, steel frame and carbon fork should result in a plush ride, it has a relatively long wheelbase and decent amount of trail so will feel nice and stable. The bottom bracket drop is about 20_25 mm lower than most bikes, resulting in a lower centre of gravity, and again for improved stability.

Rear wheel, SA SRF-5 hub, 28 spokes, Sapim Laser NDS, Sapim Race DS, alloy nipples, 1720g!




Fork is a Columbus Minimal:334g uncut:


Hope to finish the build over the next week or so.

matt-h

This is brilliant!

term1te

Nice garden, and great photos. I like the concept of the bike. I was considering building up a wheel based on the S3X for my single speed, to help with the rolling terrain around here, but never got around to it. I'm tempted again now. I'm looking forward to see the rest of the bike.

marcusjb

Superb.

Nothing wrong with a Sturmey at all - I just love the gentle tick tick tick they make. Looks a really great build that does what you want the bike to do.

earthvspace4XTuUWcX

Crane Creek brake levers. Could not resist the temptation to drill a few holes in them and then polish them up

mikenetic

Very nice, always good to see a bit of brazing. Do you have previous experience?

NervexProf

Well done I am impressed by both your skills and your thinking.

Paul 8v

Nice work indeed

secretsam

Can't be too many bikes with hub gears and tubs!!!! Nice work

earthvspace4XTuUWcX

mikenetic wrote:

Very nice, always good to see a bit of brazing. Do you have previous experience?

I have done some brazing before, but many years ago.

SecretSam wrote:

Can't be too many bikes with hub gears and tubs!!!! Nice work

Yeh, I like to be different! I´ve always fancied giving tubs ago but never got around to it, needed to build new wheels for this project, so thought, ´why not´

Just waiting for the bar tape to arrive in the post, then will be able to finish the build.

look565wong

This is FANTASTIC! :-) Great job

I cannae wait to see the finish bike!

earthvspace4XTuUWcX

Managed to take a few photos of the finished bike in day light and between heavy rain!






Still recovering from a frozen shoulder so have been a bit conservative with cutting the steerer and the handlebar height. Just a very quick test ride up and down my road to check the hub gear adjustment and brakes, think it will be a fun ride.

earthvspace4XTuUWcX

Couple more photos I forgot to upload:

Matthewfalle

Lovely - really, really nice. Lots of thought, talent, attention to detail and taste put into that.

So nice that once the bars and stem are painted black I'd actually consider having one the same.

Very, very well done.

iron-clover

That, sir, is pure class!
I love what you've done with it, from rebuilding the frame (I wouldn't even know where to start!) to the finishing colours and the sturmy 3 speed on the back. It looks exactly like the racing bike I imagined when my Grandad told me about a state of the art machine he wanted back in the early 50's, and looks like a brilliant machine to ride when you just want to ride and fall in love with cycling again.

Chapeau!

term1te

I hope it rides as well as it looks. Dead impressed, you've inspired me, I dug out an old blow torch and I've been eyeing an ancient frame that was always too big for me... It will end in tears.

Interesting that you've put the shifter on the left side of the bars, are you left handed?

cubedean

This looks awesome. Its nice to see something a little different & it looks finished to a great standard.

marcusjb

That is simply superb.

One of the best bikes ever on here - just simple, elegant and looks like it'll be a blast to ride! I am sure it will put a huge grin on your face every time you take it out.

Love it.

Much respect for creating something truly wonderful.

condorbikeman

Simply beautiful...and every other superlative you could think of.

Much admiration of your talent...(doffs cap)

MountainMonster

Wow, only just picked up on the pictures on the second page here. What a beautiful bike. You've got to love the idea of repurposing old frames into something so great!