Birmingham WHEELS Pro

[Mikku]

Love this thread/bike/build!!! I know exactly what you mean about Tech 2 levers and have just bought a pair for precisely the same reason.

For what it's worth I'd go for normal-sized rims over skinnies but that's just personal preference. In any case, can't wait to see the final result.

[dinglem]

I'm genuinely intrigued how the Tech-2's can possibly work!?

Thanks for the comments man - appreciated.

The skinnies (although I am rather partial to how they look) are just for the L2B ride as they are actually off my red WHEELS Mini build. I've got the 1.75 Spencers and a set of red Skyways to choose from for when I actually build it up after the ride. I was loaned a WHEELS bike bitd and rode the WHEELS track on it - it had red Skyways and I have never forgotten that bike; it was always my intention to recreate it. I will most likely build up both sets of wheels ready to bolt on and swap out depending on what I am doing on the bike.

[dinglem]

Well I managed to get this thrown together in the few days I had at home before coming back out to work again. The only thing I need to do is finish installing the brakes - I have gone for mixed black/white 901's as I had a set to hand. I will most likely switch them out for some red calipers after the L2B ride though.

The Hanabishi OPC turned out to be a bit of a nightmare as it appeared to have stripped threads when I initially tried to install it. The outer threads were ok but after a couple of turns it jammed up solid. Upon closer inspection the threads on the crank were mashed over a very small area so in the end to make it work I had to grind the very outer threads down (gently) and then cleaned them up thoroughly with a wire brush. I did this a bit at a time and eventually the threads cleared and I managed to get it installed correctly. The 46T Yes Racing chainring looks good, but quite large!

The ACS pedals went on fine, thankfully.

I have added my usual ROE Whale Tail (as per my other builds) but this one only has one on the drive side. It should totally eliminate any chain slip for the charity ride so there's a bit of reliability built in there.

I also picked up a Yes! Racing helmet which I am well chuffed about.

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Everything else seemed to go together fine. I took it up and down the road once together (without brakes!) and was amazed at how high the gearing felt. 46T/14T with a 180 length crank. The skinnies feel very quick on the road, but with their size and the long crank I was quite surprised how close my toes were to the front wheel when turning.

The Tech-2's are surprisingly comfortable to reach yet are completely out of the way when not trying to grab them. I always thought they looked odd and couldn't see how anybody would be able to reach them but they feel fine to grab when sat on the bike.

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As somebody else mentioned a while back I immediately thought the Shimano Dx seat post felt a little low for such a long ride, even though I have it at the maximum safe height setting. I have a very nice black UNI Graphite seatpost sat on the shelf so I am going to try that I think as I should be able to get a little extra height out of that and a little weight saving too.

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The entire thing is so light though - incredible.

The current saddle is a modern mountain bike effort for ride comfort, but does look utterly pish. It hurts my eyes just to look at it.

I was also worrying about using one of my original WHEELS padsets for the ride, as being white I didn't want to mark them up. Yesterday I came across a NOS set of black Oakley pads for sale for a steal, so I grabbed them and will try them on the build once they arrive. Big Trev used to use this same set bitd so they will be perfecto and being black they won't show any marks.

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When I get home again I will get the brakes on, switch the seat post and then try a few training rides to tweak the set up a little. I'm hoping the high gearing will mean I can keep up with the missus on her mountain bike, and the light weight and longer crank will mean I am ok on the hilly sections... I've been training on my SuperTUFF Burner until now, so this should feel feather-light in comparison.

[griff]

Doesn't matter how light you get it or how long your cranks are, you'll be pushing that bike up Ditchling Beacon

[dinglem]

Doesn't matter how light you get it or how long your cranks are, you'll be pushing that bike up Ditchling Beacon

I have a feeling you're right bud 


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[dinglem]

Well as I've posted on another thread my Carlisle Aggressor tyres (well the rear at least) has spontaneously erupted and failed on me, I think due to heat in the room above my garage.

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I've been sat here since worrying about a similar issue occurring during the ride itself, and as such I have decided to take the advice of JohnnyBoy and go for super-modern road tyres for this ride. I've gone for a pair of super-skinny 20 x 1 1/8 Schwalbe Durano's, with matching Schwalbe inner tubes. These babies are Kevlar lined and can be inflated to very high pressures, so hopefully lessening my rolling resistance a little. To justify the costs (money I could have donated to the charity we are riding for had I just gone for another pair of my OS skinnies) I sold a couple of sets of decals and an Ammaco-stamped chainring to clear my conscience. Bar a couple of nuggets that covered the tyre and inner-tube outlay.

In order to combat any slight gains this may provide I have also just offered to carry an AED defibrillator with me on the bike for the day 

Seems only right to be carrying one seeing as that is the very reason we are doing the ride in the first place - feels like the correct and proper thing to do.

[dinglem]

Well i have switched tyres to modern kevlar lined Schwalbe Durano skinnies which roll FOREVER to ease my progress, and switched out the seat post to a UNI Graphite item from my stash to lift the seat height considerably.

We've made the paper already which is great for gaining a little more sponsorship and awareness 


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[Monk_Wally_Honk]

Looks ace that!

[wilsey72]

Nice one Mart. 

[In2bmx]

Very nice that . 

[dinglem]

I'll be happier once the ride is complete so I can switch to a period-correct seat and tyres. It's turned out much as I'd hoped though and being a Pro is very comfy to ride as well. Gearing is great once wound up, and the entire thing is mega light weight. We'll see how I get on at the weekend!!

[dinglem]

Icing on the cake for me this weekend.... meeting Anto But and getting him to sign my Mirage race plate   

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