Hi all,
Just got this finished in time for the 35th aniversary of the first repack race.
Based around the 37 Excelsior that i built up a few years back but changed so much I thought it deserved a fresh look.
Two years of riding had taken its toll on this now 74 year old frame as new cracks had started to develop around the seat stay and chainstays.
The forks had also bent and cracked around the crown, thecrankarms and seatpost were also bent and cracked. So a full rebuild was on the cards.
Frame was sandblasted and repairs made to damaged sections and the whole thing rebraized. Paint is a custom mix that looks almost black in low light but is actually a dark olive green with green and gold mica metalic flip overlaid.
The old canti brakes made way for Atom drums on steel Araya rims and heavy duty spokes robbed from an old post office bike.
Triple TA cranks were replaced with doubles (tyre clearance meant that the granny ring was always redundant on the older build). A new Tange Levin headset holds the new Tange BMX cruiser fork in place and a new Brooks B72 sits atop the slightly straightened billet solid alloy seatpost. Suntour ARX and Compe GT mechs move the chain around and soon to be fitted Magura motorcross brake levers contribute to stopping this 52lb behemoth.
First ride was Saturday's NE&Yorks organized Repack Anniversary Klunk.
Despite its bulk and slack handling it was quite fun. Descending was fun with the long wheelbase and slack head angle and the big tyres helped cushion some of the bumps. 12 miles was enough though as the shear weight started to take its toll.
A few pics from the weekend.
Just got this finished in time for the 35th aniversary of the first repack race.
Based around the 37 Excelsior that i built up a few years back but changed so much I thought it deserved a fresh look.
Two years of riding had taken its toll on this now 74 year old frame as new cracks had started to develop around the seat stay and chainstays.
The forks had also bent and cracked around the crown, thecrankarms and seatpost were also bent and cracked. So a full rebuild was on the cards.
Frame was sandblasted and repairs made to damaged sections and the whole thing rebraized. Paint is a custom mix that looks almost black in low light but is actually a dark olive green with green and gold mica metalic flip overlaid.
The old canti brakes made way for Atom drums on steel Araya rims and heavy duty spokes robbed from an old post office bike.
Triple TA cranks were replaced with doubles (tyre clearance meant that the granny ring was always redundant on the older build). A new Tange Levin headset holds the new Tange BMX cruiser fork in place and a new Brooks B72 sits atop the slightly straightened billet solid alloy seatpost. Suntour ARX and Compe GT mechs move the chain around and soon to be fitted Magura motorcross brake levers contribute to stopping this 52lb behemoth.
First ride was Saturday's NE&Yorks organized Repack Anniversary Klunk.
Despite its bulk and slack handling it was quite fun. Descending was fun with the long wheelbase and slack head angle and the big tyres helped cushion some of the bumps. 12 miles was enough though as the shear weight started to take its toll.
A few pics from the weekend.
