Been working on this over the winter with my good friend Simon from DEFLUX. Finally got it all together and rolling. Just needs some paint and then it’s on the the next one…
As it stands :
Frame is all True Temper tubing, with stainless dropouts.
Planet X carbon fork
Miche cranks, chain, post and rear hub
Sram S40 front wheel. Dodici 40mm rear
VISION base bar
Thomson clamp
Chris
Now THAT’S what I call a first post!
Lovely bike, and welcome to the forum.
Did you consider doing a clear coat over the raw steel? Check out Lewis’s Geekhouse: it looks killer.
world-class first post. well done!
This is just awesome! You should start selling them haha.
How comfy are the bullhorns and what pedal combo do you have there?
+1
Cheers! Would love to do a clear coat for sure. Have spoken to a few painters and most seem to think it would just chip off, so still looking for someone who can do a good job. I’ll be riding it raw and rusty for a while I think…
Pedal combo is temporary at the moment. Shitty touring pedals, plastic clips and Toshi’s. Will be putting an MKS set up on in the coming weeks.
Horns are comfy as. Much nicer than drops… Well, on this frame anyway!
Thanks again for the welcome!
Chris
Oh wow, I agree… clear coat it. Show’s off all the hard work that you have put in to it.
That geometry is pure porn…
Class work.
Well done Chris … looks like you nailed it and a stunning 1st build.
Clear coat is fine but keep in mind it has much greater porosity than paint and will continue to oxidize underneath, albeit much slower. True Temper, like most modern steels has a good mix of other stuff and isn’t too prone to rusting. At some stage (a few years down the road ??) you will have to consider paint which does seal and act as a barrier infinitely better than just clear coat.
Love it! Fillet brazed and webbed!
Can you link to some higher res flickr photos so I can admire the fillet brazing pron?
I know any build shots would also be eagerly viewed by others here.
ditto with what spirito said, most clear coats don’t have the binding properties you would need thus when it chips or flakes it will come off in large bits. You could alternatively try this product but it may be a bit expensive. Just remember to not get any form of oil onto the metal as the paint won’t like it one bit. Put heaps of effort into the prep and don’t touch it with bare hands.
Other than that sweet build mate!
pursuit? trpple triangle? webbed fillet?..this frame is so full of win it isnt funny.
although im not feeling the forks, but thats just me =)
Cheers for the tips on the clear coat. I’ve pretty much been told the same things by painters, so I’m going to take my time getting it right. That POR-15 looks like it would do the trick though… Nice find!
If all this fails, I’m just going to paint it gunmetal and be done with it.
Chris
I kinda know what you mean… I’m eventually going to make a steel fork for it.
You’ve got a couple of years to decide (unless you live by the beach). Even just regularly rubbing with linseed oil will prolong having to paint it. Just remember to sand and clean everything up when you do. The alloys in modern steel prevent rust far better than the steels of old.
anyway … how’d you bend the seat tube? wood form with channels or something else?
that is a nice piece of work man, those fillets between the webbing are huge how much bronze did you go through?
That is assuming you welded it yourself?
Did a bit of searching, and found the tube all bent and ready to go from henryjames.com in the states
what sort of times are you hoping to do over the 4k?
Here’s some pics of a clear powdercoat finish one year on from our friends at Gellie Custom.
Gellie Custom - Handmade Steel Bicycle Frames
I had a look into ‘bluing’ a frame, but came to the conclusion parkerizing would be more durable - even though they are similar processes.