No longer a pepper grinder.

[kanerdog1x1]

A friend of mine, who spanners in the LBS, had a frame custom built by Curtis bikes a few years ago. He wanted a bike that would do everything, from xc, light downhill, trail centres, even commuting, so he could basically have one bike to satisfy his itch to ride every now and then. Trouble was, it looked horrible. Imagine ticking every box on the order sheet, every option, every possible addition. It was like the demo bike at a trade fair, it had every possible add on, Rohloff, uppy-downy seatpost, long travel forks, it was a mess. It had no identity other than the 'special' bike ridden by the weirdo in the shop....

Phil has slowed down on the amount of riding he does, and decided to break the bike, put the hub in a dedicated commuter, which also looks odd, and sell this frame. He listed it on the 'bay last week and i put a cheeky bid in.











Four cable guides on the top tube, WTAF was he thinking?! A mess, but I always like the way it rode, he got the geometry pretty much spot on. He ran Fox vanillas, set with 140mm, so I will try it with the same for now.

The plan is to get the thing going by using components from the parts bin for now, and borrowing a few pieces from other bikes. IF it works as well as I remember, I will keep it and spend out for some new parts. But Rohloff has no place in my heart, who wants to ride a pepper grinder anyway...

 

[kanerdog1x1]

What the pictures in the ebay listing don't show, is that because there are so many weld on cable guides on the top tube, the tube is actually ever so slightly bent. It was really hard to photograph, but easily noticeable in person.





I knew this, I spotted it he day I first saw the bike, and have been ribbing him ever since. I also knew that it was repairable, but its really difficult to get the noisy tools out on something that has cost so much money. Not so difficult for me.





Difficult to make out from the pics, but I made up a fixture that would allow me to jack the frame slightly, I needed to spread the load as widely as I could so as not to damage the frame anywhere else.





Done. There is a fraction of a millimetre now front to back with a straight edge, not something that you can detect with the naked eye.

Next up was to remove most of the cable guides. I need the guide for the rear brake, and chose also to keep a set for an uppy-downy seatpost.





So many guides, sigh.

 

[kanerdog1x1]

I didn't take any photos during the dirty/noisy part as I didn't want the phone to get mucky, but this is the result.





A quick dust over with some black paint to keep the rust at bay, and shes pretty much ready to build. While the paint was drying, I set about finding some suitable parts for the build. The front end whole is from the Foes, while everything at the rear is from the box-o-spares.



Do need some crank bolts, cant seem to find any the right size. but the cranks are pressed on so the bike is rideable. First impressions are good, tho I think I need a slightly longer stem, 10mm should do.

A better opinion tomorrow, and some crank bolts.

 

[letmetalktomark]

:shock: in those original pics it looks a dogs dinner.

Amazed anyone thought that routing would look anything other than rubbish.

Looks a lot better (and straighter) now

Loved your Soul thread a couple of years ago so looking forward to updates

 

[neebsta]

Re:

Ace job, but what were they thinking with those cable guides

 

[Mindmap3]

What that frame needs is a few more cable guides!

Are yo going to reseat the entire frame?

 

[kanerdog1x1]

Hey guys, thanks. I need to evaluate the frame for a few miles just to see whether or not I bond with it. I rode it in the rain into town and back today, really just to show it off in the shop. Its very nimble, reminds me of an older Cove stiffee, only with slightly shorter chainstays, so wheelies very easily.

If I fall for it, which is likely, it will get a full makeover, but I don't want to spend any money yet. I need to ride both locally and at a trail centre before I make a decision.

 

[CTK]

Re:

Looks cool apart from the cable guides which IMO still look ugly. Are they twice the size of normal guides? I'd be inclined to remove the middle pair on the TT (or remove the lot!)

 

[LeeDevelopment]

Liking the changes but echoing what CTK has said, personally I'd be taking it to a reputable framebuilder or sending it back to Curtis to have normal cable guides welded on instead.

 

[DrJo]

Kanerdog1x1 does it again.
This should be worth watching, signing in for updates....