I can’t believe how fast time is rolling past. Baseball is winding down and there is a natural break in my projects – have just completed the last one and haven’t started on the next.
Well, that’s not completely true. I started the stem and seattube sleeve for the coming MTB and I am rebuilding and shortening a Rock Shox SID fork. The next project is a sweet little 26″ MTB for an 11 year old neighborhood shredder. It will be set up with M985 XTR, disc brakes, a SID fork that is shortened from 100mm to 60mm. The whole bike will be built to be as light as I can go without sacrificing durability. It will use short 2x crankset, T47 BB shell and IS headset. Neighborhood adults will be jealous! Stay tuned for that.
This is a seattube sleeve. It goes at the seattube/top tube and seatstay junction where there is a lot of stress. A little extra material helps ensure the bike lasts a long time and adds some visual appeal. I like this step. Generally, it’s step #1 of the metal work. This still needs some love from the file but it’s getting close.
We even drew the paint scheme – red, white and gold!
This drawing is not to scale.
New seals, foam rings, required fluids and grease are on their way. You can see the 42mm spacer in the calipers. This lowers the travel from 100mm to 58mm. For this small bike, I was trying to keep the Axle to Crown height as short as possible while still giving some plush suspension. If he grows and he needs a bit more travel, I can shorten the spacer which will lengthen the travel. That will do some things to change the overall angles and such but I set it up originally at the steep end of the range. Extending would push us to the shallow end of the range but still be really nice to ride. The design tries to plan for some growth but at a certain point, he will need a new bike.
The disc brake 650b/27.5 commuter is completed. I’m just finishing up final fillet polishing and dry build up to make sure everything is right. The through axle inserts also have fender mounts so, these tabs are for a rack. Then it will go off to paint. We are hoping to have it completed and built so Nina can ride it in the upcoming Obliteride cancer research fund raiser on August 11th. She manages one of the labs at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She’s working hard to make sure you and I don’t die of cancer. You can donate to her team here.
The next couple of weeks before vacation are devoted to :
- finishing and delivering the commuter,
- completing the fork,
- cleaning the workshop and doing some organizing of tools and materials
Wish me luck!
Draper Cycles 