I bought this Steamroller 2nd hand quite a few years ago, I rode it a lot but it’s been gathering dust in my shed for the last little while. I hung on to it thinking I could do something fun with it. I decided to try and build it as some sort of SS commuter with fenders, keen on trying to put fenders on a frame that’s not designed for this. The idea was to build a convenient bike, which I can ride with whatever shoes, whatever the weather and maybe carry a couple things on it. Something to go to the shops, the pub, the movies, go out to town and ride with the kids. Here it is:
The frame and most components are second hand or traded. I wasn’t in a hurry so I waited for nice things to show up, hoping that parts would work together. In the end it’s a bit of a blinged-out beater. Here’s the parts list:
Crankset: White Industries eno 48 T,
Freewheel: White Industries 17 T
BB: SKF
Pedals: V12
Wheels: TB14 to Gran Compe hubs, handbuilt by Kumokeith (only new component on the bike)
Brakes: Paul Racer M
Levers: Paul Canti
Headset: Chris King
Stem and seatpost: Thomson
Saddle: Brooks B17
Bars and grips: 3T Eryx /Oury
Fenders: planet bike
Tires: Grand Bois Cerf 26c
Bag: Swift Industries Bandito
The fun part was to fit the guards. I used p-clamps for both guards and they feel nice and tight, not too rattly. They are not the best fenders around and are way too fragile, but they do a job that’s good enough.
Because the frame has vertical dropouts, removing the rear wheel can be a pain with fenders in the way. So I secured the fenders’ stays with wingnuts so the fenders can be moved quickly and easily up the stays, out the way of the wheel.
Having a nice fender line at the chainstays was going to be a challenge. Although the frame is drilled at the chainstay bridge, that bridge is too close to the seat tube. I found this cool tip where a spring is threaded on the bolt and keeps the fenders in line and as close to the tire as needed.
I’ve wanted to try Paul Racer M brakes for a long time, and was lucky to get them second hand for cheap with matching levers. These brakes are very powerful and work well atm, however I need to work on their setup. I reckon cables are too long, and that straddle cable is badly setup. Some more fiddling to do.
The frame has no cable stops, so I used Paul’s Funky monkey hangers for both brakes.
A neat version of the Funky Monkey rear combines a hanger and a seat post clamp:
The SI Bandito is a good little bag that can fit tools & tubes, small camera, jacket, snacks, pump etc.
