BB/CS/DO

Yesterday I decided it was about time to start putting together Jessica's 650c lugged road frame.

I got as far as the bb to the cs to the do.

Waiting for Snow

The snow bike is more or less done.  I still need to finish filing all of the fillets, add some braze-ons, and whatnot, but it is ridable.  I gave it a quick and dirty (and drippy) black rattle-can paint job to keep things from turning to rust over the winter.  Once winter is over, I will take the time to properly finish the frame and give it a proper powder coat.  Now I just need some snow to ride it in!

I have had the bike out a few times at Theodore Wirth and Elm Creek. It is tons o' fun. I highly recommend a snow bike for anyone who lives in MN and considers themselves a mtn biker. The bike handles very predictably, is comfy, yet is stiff enough that my 2-3mm of clearance between the chain and the tire are not an issue.

I definitely have to put the bike underneath me when cornering otherwise the Endomorph's tend to slide. This is only an issue when I am too tired to ride properly. Perhaps I will get some knobbier tires for next year. The Hammerschmidt is awesome. I am not man enough to rock a single speed snow bike, but the two speeds of the Hammerschmidt is perfect for the local trails. My current trail riding ratio is 35.2:23 (1.53) normally and 22:23 (.96) when I can't hack it in the "big ring" anymore. The front and rear wheels are interchangeable, and I currently have a 20 tooth cog on the front in case I wanted to ride some bike path. We'll see if I have to change these ratios up with different snow conditions as opportunity presents itself. As for now all of our precip. has been replaced by rain :(
Next up for this frame is a rack or two for adventure camping trips and the occasional snow day commute.

Nearly Ridable

Another night till 1am in the garage.  I ran out of acetylene, but only need to put on the seat post collar yet.  I am going to bring the frame and fork  in to work to mill/face/chase everything.  Then slap some parts on 'er, and it should be ridable.  ...with a lot of clean up to do on the fillets, and in need of a paint job, but ridable.


Now I just have to get the bath tub cleaned up before Jessica finds this mess!

Making Progress

It has been a while since I have posted, so here is a terrible photo to show that I am actually making progress.

My friend is building up a Pugsley, so that served as a good kick in the pants to get this bike done.  There is not much left now.  One more fillet on the frame, some facing and chasing, a disc mount on the fork, the seat post binder, perhaps some cable guides, etc, ...and a heck of a lot of clean up work on the fillets.
By the way, if you have, or know of anyone that has, a 27.2 seat tube reamer, let me know - I need to use one if I ever hope to get a seat post in this frame!