Bolting bits on.....

It has been a couple of weeks of good progress after a summer of no spare time.

I managed to start bolting on some of the mechanical bits and extra fittings.

But before I fitted the bits i decided to weigh the bare frame as I had neglected to do this with the Mk1. It came in at 3.8 kilos. Now I have no idea if this is good or bad, it is what it is.

Weighing in on the scales, 3.8kg.

So, the bits. Well the head set went in perfectly which allowed the forks to go on. (I had resprayed the forks to match the head tube.) I also fitted the bottom bracket which meant that i could fit the cranks. This was the first real time I could see if the clearance would be good between the crank arm and the rear stays. It was fine, generous in fact.

Vid of the bits fitted so far.

I also drilled and fitted the head tube safety bolts. I used a small drill bit to avoid the exit hole from splitting, but it still did. I expect the bit I used was getting blunt. There is no excuse for that.Still, the split was easy to fix with a spot of wood glue as it was only cosmetic. I then drilled out the holes with the larger bits, and fitted the bolts. I had intended to rig up my small pillar drill but went free hand in the end. I got the holes just right, phew. The bolts look good too.

 

Crank, headset, forks, bottom bracket, crank and seat fitted.

Wheels on test.

The final thing was a wheels on test. I fitted the fresh tyres I had got in for the project, as I was recycling the wheels I thought the least I could do was to fit fresh boots on the bike. Anyway, it wasn't the good news i was hoping for. The back tyre rubbed on the frame. The gap was measured to fit a 1.4 tyre and in my excitement I had got 1.5 tyres. i thought it wouldn't make that much difference, but it does. So to be safe I have ordered a pair of 1.2 tyres.