Rocking horse poo

[Midschoolfool]

I found it. I actually found some wooden horse droppings. Bought this earlier.









for what I consider to be a very, very good price. It's no different to any other U.S made S&M really. Very expensive to buy new. Their U.S frames are now 479 quid and up.

This one though? they did the first run like the above. Then they got slapped with a cease and desist from the brand's owner (they didn't even realise CW was still owned by some guy) and thus the year after they had to remove the gusset and any other branding.

As you can see The Incredible Hulk may have jizzed on it somewhat. Hint people, don't paint frames on an old rug or this happens.



However, even that could not put me off. My intention is to take it back to bone stock. Which fortunately for me is flat white (meaning it will cost about a fiver to paint properly, involve no clear coat and etc) and then get my buddy to make the OG decals for it (because you can't get them because they were also cease and desist). It should look like this.



When I reach that point I will build a box with a plexi front (lit up from inside) and it will go pride of place on my bedroom wall.

This one is a little bit like that F-IT Aitken they made. See, it was just a very nicely made new school frame. But it had stickers on it that resembled Mongoose, so the old school lot went divvy over it. This is no different.

They'd have to pry it from my cold, dead hands 

[Chilli Rinse]

Saw it, seriously considered buying, glad it went to a proper mid schooler 

[Midschoolfool]

She's a bit new.

I just wanted a U.S made frame to display on the wall. I considered the brown Hangman (FIT) on Custom riders but it's 350 bones. It is U.S made though, and basically an S&M.

Then I wanted this.



Yet when you go to order it? you realise what they are up to /ROLL EYES. They are fooling Google. It's a bait and switch.



Source do it too. Show a part and a price, yet when you get there mysteriously all of the cheap ones are gone /ROLLS EYES AGAIN.

Shitty trick IMO.

BTM, ATF etc all go for more than I ended up paying for this. It needs work, but the bones are good. One tiny dent, I already have the JB to hand.

[Midschoolfool]

Right, let's get the party started !

The frame shipped the other day. PF 48. I tracked it, but due to the BHW it won't be here for a few days. That's OK. I wasn't planning anything yet, hence why I've not posted again. However, tonight I had an idea.

I don't have room for any more complete bikes. There is a limit, and I have reached it. However, it was time to maybe thin the herd and maybe get rid of one or two that I don't feel attached to.

Some of you may know this, some not. I am autistic. As such I either form a very strong bond with something or it's just "meh" and I don't really want it. About two and a half years ago I bought this.



Now as it happens autism usually comes with a "co morbidity". Mine is Bipolar II. As such when I found the Mirra it was so cheap I could not say no (ahhh, impulse...). TBH? when I say cheap I mean, cheap. Like, I reckon less than trade price (?410). It wasn't for sale for that price but I called the store and asked if they would accept it. I was amazed when they said "Yeah go on then". And so it went, I ended up with a bike I didn't really want. And so it sat under my mother's 'rona stash for two years 



Then at Christmas she had a fall and broke her leg. As such I sold one bike (My Master Flat) and this thing was just getting on my nerves. Mum couldn't come to her house for three months, but it was one of those fooking things she wanted moved YESTERDAY. That is why I sold the Master. I had no attachment to that either (I hated it tbh) and it was cursed from day one (smashed my knee in on it when the chain snapped) and thus that was the weakest link so off it went. I then hauled the Haro Mirra up into the loft, and built it so I could get rid of the box. I never posted it anywhere, never really talked about it and etc. It just, well, doesn't do anything for me at all. I tried (and failed) to sell it a few times for a bit more than I paid (not much more) but nothing. So there it sat until tonight.

Like I said, I wasn't intending to build this S&M. However I got thinking about it tonight, and immediately wanted to. It's not really a grail bike, but it is a new school U.S made S&M. Something I do not have. Something I wanted. So, I thought about it and decided to strip the Haro. This is what was left when I was done.



Stuck it on a FB group and literally ten minutes later I had been paid and it is being collected in a couple of days. Turns out the guy has family literally right up the road from where it is. Huh, funny that one.

So that left me with cash in my pocket. Like, spare cash, that I didn't have, and I don't need per se. So yeah within ten minutes that was gone and then some 

The most critical part of this build is making it look like some old dick head didn't strip a Mirra and put all of the parts onto an S&M. lol. The cranks on the Mirra are toss. 8 spline cackness. I wouldn't even insult Cam Wood tbh. So the first order of the day was to spend all of the money I sold the rest of the left overs on cranks. Yes.



Demolition Rig. They are, quite probably, THE most expensive set of 48 spline cranks you can buy. The RRP is ?199, and you don't even get a BB. To put that in perspective my Primo Superbite were on sale for ?140 with a BB. So yeah, they cost some. However, they were on sale for 149.99. I knew if I was ever going to buy them it would be now. Problem is I then had to pay a further 25 quid for a focking 24mm BB.



I don't mind though. Like I said, the last thing in this world I wanted was for it to look like a Mirra, with cheap cranks on. Main reason I got away with that was because I have had these sitting in a packet for about two years.



S&M hoder. I bought them for the Dirt Bike, but they looked too modern. I also did not want to use the Haro grips (hence why I sold them) so whilst they were still around for a tenner (before some asshole starts selling them for 30 quid on Ebay) I grabbed another set.



That left one thing. The Lineage stem. See, I reckon the fork will be fine because I am going to remove the decals. What you are then left with is a reasonably plain chrome fork that looks quite nice. The bars too. I really like the 2pc chrome bars that came on the Mirra. Hilariously I am probably the only guy on the planet that has said that. Every one else threw them away and bought Knee savers. However, I am very much with Robbie Morales. "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW ! FOUR PIECE !". They also don't have any Haro logos on etc. Just nice, plain, 2pc chrome bars. The stem however? well it's got HARO plastered all over it. So that is going too.



Kink Hi Rise. Was on sale for 34 quid. Will break up the front end real nice, and make it look better.

For the seat I just removed this from my Metal for a big padded one.



And for the post I am using the stubby I was going to use on the T1 before I went mad and spent lots. So, I have "de haroed" it as much as I can, and I am left with this.



One thing I do love is the sprocket. I ran a nuke CNC on my race bike back then and it was superb. Oh and of course.



Which if you squint a bit kinda look a bit like S&M speed ball white wall tyres. Either way they are more than good enough for me. I also kept the headset, bearings, gyro plate, brake cables and ETC.

OK so the elephant in the room. How the F do you get decals for a frame that was stomped on my the real CW and forced from sale? you don't. And this has been concerning me greatly, because I desperately want it bone stock. Now if you look at them? it's kinda hard to get your head around how the hell they are drawn.



So in a last desperate attempt I put out an S.O.S on BMX Museum and within ten minutes someone posted this.





Guess what I will be doing tomorrow? 

What a life saver !

[Mikku]

I'm in for this!

[Midschoolfool]

I only have to paint a frame... He said, knowing it will suck 

[Chilli Rinse]

 

[Midschoolfool]

Fun with decals.

/>


I didn't think I had any helicopter tape left but it seems I did. Not enough for a full set, but enough to keep me busy.



It should come out something like this.



White backing layer. Repeat above.



And cut.



The repeat above for...



Will order some more 3M helicopter tape later. It's annoying because I only need one circular decal, but it's not cheap so the less I can get away with buying the better really.

[Mikku]

Good skills! Just thinking aloud here but I wonder if S&M would ever get narky about the reproduction of frame decals that CW got narky about??

[Midschoolfool]

Good skills! Just thinking aloud here but I wonder if S&M would ever get narky about the reproduction of frame decals that CW got narky about??

haha double irony 

[Midschoolfool]

The poo is real. And man, it's light. Holy crap.



I've never seen dropouts so small. Pegs will need to be ground for this one...



Lawsuit in 3-2-1....



Frame is in overall superb shape with no grinds or rash. There is one tiny ding in the down tube but it's incredibly hard to photo. I knew about that, he was totally honest. Will JB weld it.

I then decided to "pre wrap" the decals. The helicopter tape is pretty thick. However, it's also strong enough to take a stone strike in its stride so the decals will last forever. I wanted to pre shape them so they are easier to fit come fitting time.



They seem to have relaxed on there nicely. Will take them off in a day or so but keep them taped as a cylinder.



Rear ones need trimming later, then I will do those also.

[Midschoolfool]

Ahhhhh bike building. Gotta love it 

And the hype train reached 500mph. It then crashed into a brick wall, burst into flames and exploded.

The Haro wheels won't work. The drops on the frame are 10mm. "OK I will file the axle" then I realised I could see daylight through the axle. It's hollow, meaning I can't file it down. There will be nothing left of it.


I've pulled the tyres. Later on I will try the Haro wheels on my Metal. I have a few parts to fit to it, so yeah will give that a try. I know they are 10mm female axles, and I am pretty sure the Metal frame is 14. In which case it should go OK.

[Midschoolfool]

Well what a massive fooking ballache that was.



That said it was much less of a ball ache that buying a new rear hub @ 130 quid+ then paying ?45 in spokes and labour. They don't look that bad actually with my new SNAFU ends on the bars and SNAFU lever.

So now I have some ODY Quadrants laced to Sunday sealed hubs with 10mm female axles.

[Midschoolfool]

Nearly 8 hours to do a job that should have taken 5 minutes ffs.





The tyre is bloody miles away. I thought for sure it was going to hit. Just shows how tiny that back end really is.

[Midschoolfool]

Ah ok. It seems there were issues with this frame. Lots of S&Ms have the same issue. However, thankfully I have had this issue twice now, so I know exactly how to fix it.

Someone told me tonight that the CW has brake issues. Like, getting the pads to pull onto the rim. So I did some experiments with that. First I tried the Mission brake I have, known for its clown tyre clearance.

Now bear in mind that is a worst case scenario, with the axle all the way into the frame. The more you can bring the wheel back the better line you get with your pads. However, I wanted to test worst case here.



Now as you can see the Proper pad lines up fine. The actual brake biting surface of the pad is perfectly in line with the inner rim. However, when I fitted the same pad to the other arm I had issues. The spacing between the pad meant that the top of the arm was hitting the tyre. "OK I will remove some spacing from the inside of the pad". Problem is like many modern pads they are not threaded far down enough to be able to do that. You remove spacing you lose thread.

I then looked at the pads that came on the Haro. Just some cheap things. However, the spacing inside was much smaller.



And again the actual brake surface of the pad was perfectly in line, worse case scenario. However, this time I got about 5mm clearance with the arm and the tyre.



Now I can dial that even more when I move to plan B. Plan B involves buying a die so that I can thread more of the effing pad 

OK. Issue two that has been pointed out to me. Drive line issues. Apparently the chain hits the rear stays. Now this would scare me shitless, had I not ran into this issue twice in the last f*****g year 

This issue is caused by the super modern geometry, and aforementioned clown tyres. Kids today be like "wahhh, waahhhh, I want a short back end and big massive honking tyres!". And thus, by the time you space the arms out enough to clear the rear end the sprocket is about a mile from the frame. Meaning, your chain will hit the frame. The problem is not with the back end as I was told. No. The problem is with the 60 odd MM BB shell and getting the sprocket where it needs to be, whilst still spacing balls off of your arms. The fix, which I have employed twice in a year (very recently on the T1) is simply this.



Arm - spacer - sprocket. However, you need to remember to space out the sprocket bolt also, or you bend the chainwheel. I did exactly the same on the T1, and no doubt I will do it here also.

[Midschoolfool]

Cranks were out of stock. Surprised, Source never usually have that issue.



Eclat Onyx. They actually cost ?20 more, but they did them for the same price.

[Midschoolfool]

OMG. I actually can't believe what I just did 

So I needed brake mounts. At first I thought I could find a used pair, or a pair someone got with their frame but didn't use. Before I posted a wanted on Facebook I did some research, and S&M don't give them to any one with a frame. So, that means no one would have a set lying around that didn't use brakes, and those that bought them bought them to use brakes so wouldn't sell them.

This kinda pissed me off a bit, because by the time you add delivery they are ?30. I already had the other brake line holder with the bolt. So I was brain storming last night for ideas. And then I hit one.



No no, look closah. CLOSAH.



Now I still didn't think this was ever going to work. However, after 30 mins? they were done. I put them in the drill and put it in reverse, and then fired up the belt sander. I held that between my legs and fired up the drill. I then got rid of all of the welds, making them barrel shaped. Then I measured them and they were far too long. So I fine line taped them and cut them down with my Dremel, before returning them to the belt sander to get them nice and flat. Then I used the Dremel again with the sanding barrel. After that was done I drilled the threads out with a 5.5 and then 6mm drill bit.

Here is what I got.





Ah but the question is, do they fit?





I'm still sitting here laughing. I can't believe that worked 

[Taipan]

I have no idea about the bikes/frames/parts of this era?  But I'm enjoy the story so far  great read 

[Midschoolfool]

I would have been snookered there. Had it not been for one thing. My Kizz. It too comes with removable brake lugs, so I had a good idea how they work. I know they are not threaded, and the bolt goes into the frame (which is strengthened). So I just had a look at a reference pic of the 30 quid S&M ones.



And figured sod it, may as well give it a crack. The other brake part I had. The small piece that is L shaped and holds the barrel adjuster. Not sure where that came from tbh. Possibly my Haro Master, which was set up for dual cables. No idea, but it fits.

My chain tool broke the other night. Well, the tool itself is fine but it's a Park Tool one that uses removable pins and the pin snapped. I didn't have any spare pins, and tbh? it is not the right tool for thick half link chains. That is why the pin snapped. So, I ended up cutting off the chain from the Haro. I did notice though that it was a high end KNC chain with the machined out links. Making it lighter. So I wanted to save it. New tool came in today, pushed out two pins, removed the bits I had cut through and put a split link in. So, I should have just saved a 25 quid there too 

[Mikku]

You raped that poor Huffy!!! I think you should frame that on the wall instead!

Good work, as always.

[Midschoolfool]

It's going in the recycling bin when I have harvested the seat tube. I will need it one day when I get my T1 made into a Garrett.

I offered it up free about 2 years back here and no one wanted it. Glad it didn't go now because I needed the fork recently and those lugs. That is the bike that has paid for itself about four times.

[Midschoolfool]

OK so the cranks and stem were delayed a day due to the stock issue. They shipped out with Fedex about 10 mins ago, so I will get those tomorrow. This arrived though.



So that was cool. I also found out what chain the Haro had on it.



It's a silver one of those. They are 35 quid, so my instincts were correct (IE get it off the frame you'll be stupid if you give it away) 

[Midschoolfool]

OK so had a couple of things I could do. First fit the grips and get the levers in position.



Nice. Doesn't look like it was ripped from a Haro, which is what I wanted. So I did the same to the front end.



I have removed the stickers, fitted the MPEG and used Proper pads. Again, success.



Then I made, quite possibly, the most expensive half link chain in the world 

Shadow Interlock V2 (gold) ?45
Shadow Interlock Supreme ?62
Cult Halflink ?29
Vocal Halflink ?25.

Talking of chains. I made a booboo. Look closely and tell me why I shouldn't have cut it off 



I'm also in two minds about which seat to use.

[Midschoolfool]

Much disappoints 

I was expecting a big fight. What I got was more akin to a spaniel rolling over to have its belly tickled.

Drive line issues huh?



PEBBAU. Problem exists between bike and user  I didn't even have to mess with the chain length or anything.



What's also sweet is where the wheel ended up in the drops.



So I get plenty of brake surface that I found in study A.

Obviously this isn't a glamour shoot. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't dropping a greasy chain on a freshly painted frame and trying to get it lined up come build time.

[Midschoolfool]

OK so I decided to fit the brake. This way I can take it off "as is" and it will all be done on build day.



Dialled AF.



Not even close to the tyre. As for the drive line?





I dunno. Weird eh.