Pancalen Cycles

Built to Go... Fast

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 07:18:00 +0000

When I was just a boy, the biggest poster that adorned my bedroom wall was not of a Countach, Pamela Anderson, or N*Sync (hey, I won't judge). It was a majestic 120 x 80cm glossy picture of an SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest spyplane in the world. You might spot its cameo on movies like Transformers or Deadpool, although it was pictured of being able to take off and land vertically on the later (spoiler: it is not). The Blackbird was the most advanced reconnaissance aircraft of the time, designed to reach highest altitude and velocity to outrace the Soviet Union's surface-to-air defence missiles during the Cold War.

One of the interesting facts about the Blackbird is that because it must endure the extreme environment associated with high altitude and high speed, they have to build it from the lightest, strongest material existed at the era: titanium. But titanium is scarcely found in the United States, so in order to have a spyplane to peek over the Soviet Union the CIA came up with the idea of creating a number of dummy companies to source titanium from... the Soviet Union.
The Cold War ended, and some of the defence technologies trickled down to us average Joes in so many forms. The bicycle industry take a lot of advantage as well, incorporating materials from carbon fiber, 6-series or 7-series aluminium alloys, and of course, titanium. Known for their excellent vibration damping qualities, ideal strength-to-weight ratio, and their immunity to rust—perfect if you want to make a frame that will likely outlast yourself—titanium might be the most ideal material to make a bicycle frame from; if not from their whopping price, as the result of material scarcity and manufacturing difficulties.

But it was the material properties that hooked Themma Suwandana in the first place. Satisfied with his long-term BMX project he was on the market to build his first road bike, and after many deliberations he was set on this Lynskey Peloton. Combined with the titanium's vibration damping quality, the Peloton's laid back endurance geometry should give Themma ample comfort when he speeding along the black top.

Also made of titanium is the Lynskey-branded seatpost, topped off with ENVE seatpost head holding a Fizik Aliante saddle. Steering duty is handled by Lynskey's own brand carbon fork with aluminium steerer, held in place by Chris King headset. The bike's direction is commanded through the combination of 3T ARX Stealth carbon stem and 3T Rotundo carbon bar with a Cinelli x Rapha tape wrapped nicely.

Transferring Themma's power to the Mavic Ksyrium rear wheel is a complete set of Shimano Ultegra drivetrain right down to the pedals. He ditched Mavic's standard WTS tires with a pair of classy Veloflex Master 25s. Another nice handmade titanium details are a pair of King bottle cages.

While the Peloton would never be as fast as the Blackbird, Themma wound up having a great titanium beauty that is not just constrained to his bedroom wall—he can ride it anywhere he like. Fast.

Pias Scarab Homecoming to Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Fri, 27 May 2016 06:42:00 +0000

A short video from when the head honchos of Pias Cycles and PEONFX brought two Pias Scarab prototypes in a pilgrimage to the frame's birthplace at Taiwan. Both frames are still living happy life, Acit took his 54cm prototype on our epic Baluran adventure.

A Finish Only A Mother Could Love

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Fri, 20 May 2016 03:17:00 +0000

For years Cannondale have been making brilliant aluminium frames under the CAAD moniker, which means the decision making behind the purchase of Aldeo Plato's 2015 CAAD8 105 was a no brainer. But knowing the nature of this blog, you'll rarely found us babbling about a factory-stock bicycle...

With him being one of the honchos behind Life Behind Bars Jakarta you'd fully expect Aldeo to have an excellent taste in design. One thing about his new CAAD8 that bothers him was the factory liveries that Cannondale applied to their entry and mid-level frames. The original green colour scheme was considered too loud and gaudy for him. So Aldeo took matters by his own hands, having us completely disassemble the frame and fork off its components, and then proceed to strip the frame and fork off its original paintjob.

We then set to work with various levels of abrasive papers to bring out the raw aluminium look. New, simplified Cannondale decals were then applied, and we top it off with layers of clearcoat to protect it. The fork was repainted in black to emulate the carbon fiber weaving underneath the paint and resin layers.

Apart from the finish that only a mother could love the CAAD8 is still wearing its stock components, mainly the 11-speed 105 drivetrain and Tektro brakes. Cannondale developed the BB30 bottom bracket standard that incorporate large 30mm spindle diameter and oversized bearings that were pressed directly into the 68mm-wide shell in the frame, aimed to create stiffer, lighter crankset system with narrow Q-factor. Coming as a design feature in the CAAD8 frames this leads the use of FSA Gossamer compact crankset to transfer Aldeo's pedaling movement to the rear wheel.

The seatpost and saddle were replaced with Thomson Elite and Selle Italia Flite respectively, and during the rebuilt process we ditch the front derailer cable barrel adjuster and make the cable setup tidier. If you cringe at the sight of the stock wheels, worry not because they will be replaced soon.

Wheelbuild: Old Meets New

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Thu, 19 May 2016 05:01:00 +0000

Over the years of wheelbuilding business we've stumbled upon one particular rim that seems to be a favourite for many applications: H Plus Son's TB-14. We've built them into e-commuter, track, gravel-grinding, and even recently, cyclocross wheels. This time, we built them into a nice set of road wheels. A special one on that matter.

The story began when we received a message asking to purchase spokes in specific length. Since we have a spoke threading machine at hand we fancy ourselves for being able to provide any spoke length ever required, as long as they're plain-gauge, non-butted spokes. Eventually we didn't just provide the spokes; the hubs and rims were sent to our shop to be build.

The hubs are a pair of Campagnolo Chorus from the late eighties. It features low flange design, threaded freewheel mount, cup-and-cone bearings and 100/126mm hub spacing. They are to be built into a pair of polished TB-14, each with 36 plain gauge stainless spokes in 3-cross pattern.

The wide profile of the rims will spread the tires a bit more, creating wider footprint compared to narrower rims which will lead into better traction on the corners. Welded rim joint will make a bombproof wheel, and the high polish finish really brings out the classic feel.

Here Comes The Boss

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Wed, 18 May 2016 01:10:00 +0000

Frequent visitors might already knew that besides working as mechanic at Pancalen Cycles I also designed frames for Pias Cycles. So far I have three Pias frame designs under my belt. You've probably seen the road and cyclocross frames before, now let me talk you through the redesign I've done to the frame that put Pias Cycles on the map, the Agra.

Introduced in 2010, the then unnamed Pias track frame quickly took the Indonesian fixed gear scene by the storm. It become the first track-inspired urban bicycle frame that was fully developed in Indonesia. Featuring classic lined 4130 chromoly tubing and 1" threaded chromoly fork, the frame took the track bike inspired styling and combined it with urban environment friendly geometry.

In 2012 the need for a frame with more aggressive handling arise, so Pias Cycles redesigned the fork with shorter offset length to sharpen the handling.

2013 saw me working together with Pias Cycles to design the Scarab. We then took this cooperation even further after seeing the market shifted to frames with much more aggressive handling, closely resembling true track frame geometry. We retain the classic tubing and 1" threaded chromoly fork and came up with parallel steep angled, square geometry with short wheelbase that would look familiar to the classic track frame aficionados.

We also beefed up the dropout, adding thickness to the axle nut contact area. We then decided to give the frame—and all the track frames before it—the name Agra, which translates to "the beginning" in Sanskrit.

This particular Agra belong to the bossman himself, Andira Pramanta. Combining all-black components to blend in with the frame's black-with-rainbow-sparkle finish—which we called Intergalactic Black—the build is entirely discreet with only emphasis on gumwall Pasela tires and, white Selle Italia X1 saddle and Cinelli toe straps.

Wheels are debadged Velocity Deep-Vs laced to Phil Wood high flange track hubs.

Here you see how the dropout works with common track axle nut. A Dura Ace hub, for this matter.

Sugino 75 crank arms connects Andira's legs to the rear wheel.

Notice the chainring? It's another project where I am involved at, also as a designer. Follow @thesakraproject on Instagram to find out more.

Wheelbuild: High and Low

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Tue, 17 May 2016 06:11:00 +0000

Say whatever about disc brakes on 700c-wheeled bicycles, but one of the advantages of such design is the separation of braking function from the rim. This means longer rim life since you don't have to replace them every other season after the sidewall become too thin to handle the tire pressure.

Another thing is that you can virtually built your disc brake wheels using any rims imaginable. The H Plus Son TB-14 rims used on this particular wheelbuild began their life as a pair of track wheels, laced to fixed gear hubs. Designed with extra internal width—17.5mm, to be precise—these rims are ideal to fit tires much wider than what's commonly used for tarmac, so they are transformed into cyclocross wheels by lacing them into Shimano XT M756 hubs.

The HB/FH-M756 hubs are Shimano's swan song to the world of high-end hubs with 6-bolt disc mount. Nowadays Shimano almost completely abandon the widely accepted 6-bolt standard in favour of their own Centerlock mount. While the Centerlock standard have its own advantages such as ease in assembly and lower overall weight since the hub flange diameter can be reduced, people still chose 6-bolt standard since more manufacturers comply to it. Because having more options is a luxury.
The hubs are laced with black powdercoated plain gauge stainless spokes, in 3-cross patter for both front and rear. The end result is an interesting build featuring high flanged hubs laced to low profile rims.

Not a Diamond, But Lasts Forever

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Sun, 15 May 2016 03:32:00 +0000

Working on bicycle repair business for quite a while, we occasionally stumbled upon some iconic bicycles from different eras. This just goes to show that even though it was agreed that the conventional double-triangle or diamond design is regarded as the most efficient means to construct a bicycle frame, some people went through further means to think out of the box and created something that will be remembered forever; whether to achieve significant improvement or just to be able to stand out of the crowd.

If you ride or have an adult-sized, small-wheeled bicycle in your stable you're most likely owed an appreciation to Dr. Alex Moulton. Educated at Marlborough College and King's College, Cambridge, he was the great-grandson of the rubber pioneer Stephen Moulton, the founder of the family business George Spencer Moulton & Co. Ltd., in which he worked after World War II, specialising in rubber suspension systems for vehicles.

As soon as the family business was bought by Avon Rubber Company, Dr. Moulton started up Moulton Developments Limited to design the suspension system for British Motor Corporation's new small car, the Morris Mini, that was being designed by his friend Sir Alec Issigonis. The combination of conical rubber springs and small wheels was one of the many innovative developments that allowed Issigonis to achieve the Mini's small, distinctive overall size.

Prompted by the oil shock caused by the Suez Crisis, in 1956 Dr. Moulton started work on designing bicycles. Naturally, his work was inspired by his automotive developments by incorporating small wheels and rubber-based suspension system, creating compact sized bicycles that will perform similar to or even surpass full-sized bicycles. Eventually in 1962, at the Earls Court Cycle Show, the first Moulton Bicycle with frame shaped like a letter F laid on its side was launched.

The first spaceframe Moulton design—similar as the one featured here—was introduced in 1983, after six years of conceptual development to reconcile the seemingly unsolvable demands of the open, stiff frame and the need for lightness. Other than the distinctive spaceframe design and 20" wheels, the frame also featured front and rear rubber-based suspension. Later this design was used as base for the AM-ATB off road bicycle that was introduced in 1988, and credited as the first full-suspension mountain bike—all together now, in your best Jeremy Clarkson voice—in the world.

The APB is a demountable. Unscrew the large Allen bolt and the lower black knurled thingy there to split it in half.

Those cable splitters are there so you don't have to readjust your derailers/brake after you disassemble the frame.

Besides acting as suspension pivot, the bolt near the bottom bracket shell splits the rear triangle from the front.

Front suspension damper, hidden inside the steerer.

The fork is a leading-link front suspension. Simple and effective.

Rear suspension rubber damper.

This maroon 1998 Moulton APB T21 was brought to our shop for a once over after the owner bought it used, but then we found out that the original Sachs 3 x 7 DualDrive rear hub was trashed. The original Shimano RSX brake levers are also paired to Tektro long-pull V-brakes, leading to poor braking performance caused by the cable pull ratio incompatibility. The owner also wanted to ride on wider tires. There will be a lot of work and nothing left except the frame, the cockpit, the non-original rims, and the crankset/bottom bracket, so we cue the music.

Since the 3 x 7 DualDrive is rarer than hen's teeth here we opt for its much younger sibling, the SRAM DualDrive II (fun fact: Sachs was bought by SRAM in 1997). As the name stated, DualDrive hubs are basically 3-speed internal gear hub with freehub body that can accept conventional cassettes. In case of DualDrive II, the freehub body is designed to accept 8-speed or 9-speed cassette, this means that they can accept 10-speed or even Shimano's new 11-speed MTB cassette. Since we'll be using Shimano Tiagra 3 x 10-speed shifters, we used the widest range cassette that the new medium cage road derailer can handle, 11-34T.

Another thing, the DualDrive was not designed for dropbar shifters so we have to improvise the front shift cable adjustment to make the internal gear hub shifts perfectly. Apart from relacing the old rim to the new DualDrive II hub, we took our time to fix the front wheel as well; the spokes were way too long for the application so we shorten and relace them in 2-cross pattern.

The APB T21 was originally equipped with 20 x 1-1/8" tires. As the result of switching to short-pull Promax V-brakes and wider Maxxis Gypsy 20 x 1.50" tires—about 10mm wider than original—we have to ditch the original fenders. The better traction offered by wider tires and much improvement on braking performance outweighs the impracticality of not having fenders (or mudguards, in proper British), in our humble opinion. Since the setup will be using entirely new cable set, we took our time to hide the speed sensor cable.

Being an example of British engineering not unlike the original Morris Mini, the Moulton APB will surely become one of the design legacy that would lasts forever, although it's far away from being a diamond.

Urban Pursuit

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Wed, 11 May 2016 05:51:00 +0000

Track cycling aficionados are familiar with pursuit-styled track frames. Mainly designed for pursuit events, the most noticeable feature on these frames is the forward-sloping toptube. This feature is achieved by shortening the headtube length that further lowers the cockpit height, which leads to more aero riding position needed to complete the pursuit races.

With the popularity of urban fixed gear riding getting on the rise, some bicycle manufacturers brought the pursuit-styled frames back to the market; one of them is Affinity, with their Lo Pro model.

The Lo Pro is the first model that Affinity launched in 2007 as a niche bicycle company in Brooklyn, New York City. One of the brand's claim to fame was when their Metropolitan frame being used as the star for the movie Premium Rush. This Lo Pro, owned by Avezine Budiono, is one of the oldest Affinitys that survived the first demise of the fixed gear scene.

The Lo Pro came out from the factory equipped with 1" threadless steerer. This one was brought to our shop to be converted into threaded steerer and rebuild job for both wheels.

Ayahab = reversed spelling of bahaya, Indonesian for "danger"

We use new silver plain gauge stainless spokes to lace the existing Novatec hubs to Araya SA-730 rim at the rear and an unidentified double walled front rim. To keep things relevant with the current fashion the widest handlebar available in 1" bar clamp diameter was installed, topped off with Cult x Vans grips.

With selection of quality components and some adequate attitude, this Lo Pro becomes the urban pursuit bicycle that this city deserves.

More spoof stickers. Have fun finding out what "nggedabrus" means, it's Javanese.

Yes, it says "Fuk Brakes", Ma'am

Wheelbuild: Campagnolo Everything

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Tue, 10 May 2016 03:36:00 +0000

It's been quite a while since we feature a track wheelbuild here. Not that we no longer deal with them, mind you—they still popped on every once in a while on our mechanic's Instagram—but more than often they are brought home before we have a chance to snap a picture or two. This time, we're working with a build that stayed just enough for a photo session and parts worthy for a feature to boot.

Personally low-flange track hubs are our all time favourite, even though they're somehow rarely found here in our homeland. Combined with low or medium profiled rims they're visually light, and with proper tensioning they can be built as stiff as possible. Case on point is this set of wheels that belongs to Andy Lie.

Just as the case of many wheelbuilds featured here we're only dealing with the build aspect; all the parts are brought in by the customers themselves. The wheels are actually came in fully built, but a shipment handling mishap and the fact that the rear wheel was laced incorrectly prompted Andy to have us rebuilt them. Here the ingredients are spot on: low flange Campagnolo Record Pista front and single sided rear track hub.

The rims are also from Campagnolo. Following their tradition of naming rims after Greek alphabet and Olympic Games hosting cities (and wheels after wind), the pair used here is called Montreal '76. But these are their new version that differs quite a lot from the original Montreal that was introduced during the '90s—specifically rim width, machined sidewalls and taller profile. The rims are laced with Wheelsmith double-butted spokes in three-cross pattern. Topping off the build is a beautifully machine cog from Ananta Taiwan.

The Japanese Italian

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Mon, 09 May 2016 02:01:00 +0000

The last couple of years saw the rise of interest in bicycle touring. You can see them everywhere, from brand new builds that you can literally take wherever your minds set you or the classic, timeless setups from decades ago that haven't lost their relevance. You can tell that this adventure cycling bug is here to stay when a popular blog skipped their yearly Red Hook Criterium coverage in lieu of more backcountry cycling features...

As we've once covered many times before, some of the used or old bicycles from Japan are sold abroad as scrap and ended up here—there are people whose business is to import these scrapped bicycles, swapped or salvaged parts if necessary, and sold them as good, functional bicycles here. You'll never mistaken these born-again bicycles from the stickers that are sometimes left intact, whether from the parking building subscription registrations or bicycle shops. Case on point, this Hattori Italian Road.

As many domestic Japanese bicycle brands, the information on this particular bicycle is unbelievably scarce. All we know is that Hattori Trade and Industry is Osaka's oldest bicycle manufacturer, and recently well known for being the distributor of Wilier bicycles.

All the original parts are mostly intact. The only clue as to why this bicycle was scrapped on the first place was the bent seatstays and chainstays, probably from an accident; but these were already repaired before the current owner paid for the bicycle.

We were given the task of rebuilding the wheels with new hubs and spokes, replacing the 5-speed cassette with 7-speed unit while we're at it, and generally giving the bicycle a once over it deserves after all those years. The original stem was seized shut, so we have no option but to cut it to gain access to the headset. But as luck would have it, we found the exact same Nitto Young stem to replace it. All we have to do is to machine the stem stub that was left inside the steerer to make the new, repolished stem fit just fine.

New bar wrap and brake cables, polished brake levers.

Hattori-branded Sakae/SR crankset.

Viale rear derailleur, basically a rebranded Shimano 400FF.

One interesting feature on this bicycle would be the shape-shifting Bridgestone rear rack, where you can make the top platform wider or narrower.

Wheelbuild: Light, Strong, Pretty

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Sun, 08 May 2016 08:54:00 +0000

Contrary to the popular belief, the colour pink have more relation to masculinity in the world of cycling than anyone would ever thought. For years, pink jersey is used to identify the overall leader of the Giro d'Italia, which was based on the colour of the paper used to print the La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, the original sponsor of the race.
In 2004 Chris King launched a limited edition series of pink headsets and hubs to raise awareness for breast cancer research and to raise funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Two years later, Chris King added Pretty and Strong pink to its standard list of available colours.

This pair of pink Chris King R45 hubs belongs to Tangguh Dwiatmodjo. Actually this is not his first pair—previously he rolls on a set of 32 hole pink R45s, laced to Mavic Open Pro rims with Sapim CX-Ray spokes. After those wheels were sold, then he sourced parts online and have them delivered to us to built the replacement.

The wide, tall profiled Hed Belgium C2 clincher rims makes a great replacement for the narrow profiled Open Pros. Wide rims will let your tires to stretch out a bit more, creating wider footprint compared to narrower rims which will lead into better traction on the corners. Sure, at 462 grams they are heavier than the Open Pros by around 23 grams, but the Belgiums have arguably better aerodynamic properties from their tall profile. And since this build used less spokes—20 hole front and 24 hole rear—it will surely offset the weight penalty.

Having a great experience with the CX-Ray spokes, Tangguh decided to use them again for this build. This time we laced it in 2-cross pattern at the drive side rear flange, and in radial pattern elsewhere.

First Experiences are Unforgettable

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Sat, 07 May 2016 03:23:00 +0000

When was the last time your did something for the first time? That was probably the kind of questions you'll find on self-help books or motivational memes your friends posted on Facebook. But in our case, it was a couple months ago (yes, call this a #latepost if you will, since it's been three months since the last time we updated our blog) when Themma Suwandana dropped boxes of parts for his dream bike.

Ever the enthusiastic person, Themma told us how he spent years to collect parts to build his ultimate BMX bike; Cult OS V3 frame, Cult Sect V2 fork, and parts from Cult and Animal Bikes. While being picked mainly for durability, the fact that all the parts are nicely colour-coordinated is visually pleasing.

One common thing for many boys is that they have what we called as BMX-phase—that era during the elementary school when they are graduated from their 12"/16" wheelers but still too small for adult-sized bicycles, so their parents bought them 20" BMX (or BMX-styled) bikes. The thing is though, our resident mechanic skipped this phase; being introduced late to the two-wheeled bicycle party at age seven, he went on straight to 26" mountain bikes after graduated from his first 16"wheeled bicycle.

We've built a couple BMX wheels before, so we know a thing or two about what makes a bombproof wheel. But building a BMX bike from a ground up... this is actually our first time (read "skipped BMX phase" on previous paragraph). So when Themma asked us to do so, it's both an honour and also a challenge.

The wheelbuild is straightforward, lacing Cult Match rims to Animal Bikes Javelin front hub and Cult Match LHD rear hub with Animal Bikes plain gauge stainless spokes in 3-cross pattern. Themma specifically chose the Rasta-inspired rear hub as the visual turning point of the entire build. The wheels are then shod in Cult Chase Dehart signature tires, building the base for the black-brown/tan theme.

We've worked with press-fit bottom brackets before, but dealing with tight clearances on a Mid-type BMX bottom bracket is a whole new game for us. Thankfully, we managed to install the Cult OS three-piece tubular crank with no drama whatsoever and installed the Animal Bikes M5 sprocket on the left-hand side—also our first left-hand drive build.

The rest of the build is a straightforward affair, continuing the black-brown/tan theme on the saddle, grips, and pedals. The Sect V2 fork is equipped with internally-threaded steerer so the topcap is screwed all the way down, negating the need for an anchor nut.

Being a skilled rider that Themma is, it is very likely that these photos are the only pictures of this BMX in its clean, fresh state. But as always, we appreciate bicycles in their beausaged stage.

Throwback Thursday?

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 04:57:00 +0000

We've come a long way when it comes to mountain biking. Gone are the days when the dudes from California converted their balloon-tired cruisers—or as commonly called, klunkers—to shred the dirt on fire roads down the Repack track at Mount Tamalpais, replaced with bicycles made from exotic materials equipped with long travel suspension, hydraulic disc brakes, electronic shifting, and gearing range that allows you to climb all the way to the moon.

Somewhere along the way, romanticism sets in. The need of a throwback, to return to the days where things were much simpler. Those kind of moments where you feel a bit nostalgic.

Omar Olly came to our shop only with a simple brief in mind: to have a BMX bicycle that will suit his tall appearance. The BMX reminds him of his childhood, and he wanted to incorporate it back in his daily life—as a means of transportation.

Although it wasn't entirely impossible, commuting on a purpose-built BMX could be cumbersome, mainly for their gearing and extra low seating arrangement. We propose him an alternative: cruiser-like bicycle that resembles some of the appearance of a BMX, but with 26" wheels and better gearing while retaining its simplicity. He agreed, and we're set to work.

Appointed as a donor frame is this non-branded, 26" steel mountain frame dated from the nineties. We picked it for its upright geometry, and for the fact that it was already equipped with all the necessities should he opted to reinvent it in the future: cable guides, derailer hanger, and fender/rack mounts. An ability to run fat tires is a very welcomed bonus.

The end result is a 26" bicycle with 2,125" slick tires that will absorb road imperfections, V-brakes on both wheels to give ample stopping power, and singlespeed drivetrain with 32/14T ratio that is both simple and provide suitable gearing for daily, urban use.

But to deal with futureproofing, we decided to built the wheels with a pair of Shimano 8-speed mountain bike hubs. The rear hub could be fitted with 8-speed cassette, even all the way to eleven. In the meantime the 14T rear cog is held together with a set of cassette spacers. The crankset is also taken from Shimano's catalogue, a triple with 44T and 22T chainrings removed. And since the frame is using vertical rear dropouts, we use halflink chain to maintain the tension.

To provide more upright handlebar position, we crossed to the other side and fitted a handlebar taken straight off a Yamaha DT80. Mounting was not an issue since the bar bore diameter is 22.2mm, which fits perfectly to every threadless BMX stem. The 1" fork steerer is converted into threadless system and shimmed to fit the stem's 1 1/8" clamp.

With fat tires and wide, cruiser-like stance, we're pretty sure that the Repack dudes would approve of this throwback.

A Pleasure to Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 05:18:00 +0000

Ah, Japan. The land of manga cartoons, technological breakthroughs, and vertically-stacked, automated underground bicycle parking lot. Speaking of which, you cannot remove bicycle from the Japanese culture. Apart from being home of the largest bicycle component manufacturer, bicycles are still largely used as main form of transportation.

Since many people still rely on bicycles to get around, Japanese have a different approach when it comes to urban/city bicycle design. These bicycles are considered as efficient, functional machines that will stand the abuse of daily commuting: potholes (not that Japanese roads are full of them), train crossings, and worse, being buried under stacks of other bicycles should someone toppled a herd of them in the parking lot.

Other than having a name that will lead you astray on Google search, this National Pleasure is one good specimen of Japanese urban bicycle design. Take the stepthrough design, for example. The low toptube will allow women who wear long skirts to ride easily and comfortably. To keep the lateral rigidity the toptube was replaced with a pair of continuous tubes that also acts as seattubes. The frame was also made from chromoly steel, to keep the weight low while retaining the overall durability.

Long, low, and slack. A recipe for comfort.

Being massively populated with bicycles, some of the used or old bicycles from Japan are sold abroad as scrap. This is mostly how we in Indonesia ended up with unique Japanese bicycles—there are people whose business is to import these scrapped bicycles, swapped or salvaged parts if necessary, and sold them as good, functional bicycles here. You'll never mistaken these born-again bicycles from the stickers that are sometimes left intact, whether from the parking building subscription registrations or bicycle shops.

There's even a proprietary splined bottom bracket spindle here. Neither Octalink nor ISIS.

No, this style of continuous seatstays-to-headtube design doesn't make this a mixte.

This National Pleasure was bought with 27" steel wheels, beaten-up fenders, and non-working internal-geared hub. The new owner decided to have us swap the fenders with chromoplastic units, build new 700c wheels with 7-speed Shimano Nexus hub (while repurposing the original front dynamo hub), and replace the front brake with long-reach Shimano Tourney single pivot caliper. The rest was kept stock, up to the well-worn rubber grips and the sprung leather saddle.

Panasonic-labeled Shimano Nexus dynamo hub. Why yes, National is Panasonic.

Keeping it Japanese with Araya rims.

KSM was the original saddle on my grandpa's Phillips.

Other noteworthy feature is the foldable front basket, quite handy if you want to save some parking space. The end result is a bicycle that resembles the original factory look, but with modern features that makes it a pleasure to ride.

Wheelbuild: Double Trouble

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 12:13:00 +0000

We're often asked to do rim swaps. Usually the client wanted to switched the hubs or rims of their recent wheelset, whether to drop some weight or to upgrade from the factory, vendor-sourced stock hubs. But in this particular case, we stumbled upon something entirely different. As the certain Team Rocket once said, prepare for trouble, and make it double...

Long story short, the owner of these two pairs of high-end wheels wanted to swap both their hubs. The first one was a pair of ENVE Composites SES 6.7 laced to White Industries T11, the other was a pair of Gokiso Climber 50mm tubular wheels; all of them means business. The owner wanted to combine the Gokiso's smooth rolling, micro-suspension hubs with the ENVE's wind-cheating yet lightweight rim, and having another nice set of aero wheels as the result. Challenge accepted.

Since the dimensions of both hub and rim pairs are completely different, the original spokes cannot be reused. For the Gokiso-ENVE combo the owner brought us a set of Sapim CX-Ray spokes, we laced them in 2-cross pattern for the rear wheel, and radial for the front.

The stock Gokiso rims cannot be considered as leftover either, since they're laced to the T11 hubs with brand new Sapim Leader and DT Swiss Competition spokes. They make a nice pair of aero wheels as well.

These two high-end wheels surely demands extra attention, but eventually we managed to pull them off nicely. So, not much of a trouble then.

Shorten Your Lock-On Bicycle Grips

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Sat, 26 Dec 2015 01:24:00 +0000

If you tend to tinker your bicycle a lot like me, having a pair of lock-on grips is a blessing. No more struggling to get them off when you want to swap your handlebar, shifters, or brakelevers, while the locking mechanism prevents the grips from twisting off when you're mashing your pedals real hard.

But if you're using twist-style shifters, these grips will be too long to use. So how do you shorten them? I'll show you how.

Step 1: Choose Your Grips

Lock-on grips came in so many models and price levels, including the very exclusive and expensive models from Brooks England. Well, if I had the money I'll just slap them into my wife's folding bike... but putting a pair of grips that costs a quarter of the whole bike's price is not a good idea. So I'm going for a cheap, generic model that set me back just under US$ 7 a pair instead.

To perform this grip-shortening surgery, make sure that you choose a model almost similar as the one pictured on this step: a hollow plastic cylinder wrapped with synthetic bar tape with two aluminium clamps on each ends.

Step 2: Disassemble the Clamp

Choose one end of your soon-to-be-shortened grip, basically the one where the bar tape wrap ends. Undo the set screw on the aluminium clamp to release it from the hollow plastic cylinder.

Step 3: Unwrap the Grip and Mark the Cut

To make room for my wife's SRAM T3 shifter I have to shorten the grip by 40mm. I also found out that the plastic cylinder was somehow layered with thin and soft, rubber like material.

After marking the line where I cut the bar tape, the next step is to recreate the area where the grip clamp should sit. Match the length where the plastic cylinder was originally exposed from the bar tape wrap, and cut the cylinder accordingly.

4. Recreate the Clamp Area

Pardon the Blur-O-Vision filter, but the point of this step is to recreate the shape of the area where the aluminium grip clamp should sit. Since the hollow cylinder is only made of plastic, I use X-Acto knife and Dremel to bring the shape back.

Step 5: Done!

The last step is to reassemble the clamp back. Put that thin metal thingy under the aluminium clamp, and the clamp itself. Voila!

If you want to, you can also replace the bar tape wrap with another bar tape that will suit your needs, be it in colour or texture. The possibility is endless.

Celebrating Ten Years of MASH SF

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 04:16:00 +0000

With its extraordinary hilly terrain San Francisco may be one of the most unlikely places for track bikes to flourish, yet on the city’s hills, street riding is reaching one of its ultimate forms of expression. MASH SF, a group of riders from across San Francisco first showed the city’s track-bike potential to the world. Cinelli saw the potential to become the first legendary Italian bicycle manufacturer to embrace the booming urban fixed gear culture. A collaboration with MASH SF resulted with the production of Cinelli x MASH Bolt frame, starting from 2009.

To celebrate the MASH SF's tenth anniversary this year, they teamed up with Cinelli to produce a limited batch of 100 Parallax frames, featuring the livery design from the extraordinary talented Garrett Chow.

From Mr. Chow himself: "All designs of MASH Ten Year Anniversary products are based on 'X', the Roman numeral for Ten: 'X' is comprised of the intersection of two lines or, can be seen as two angles in tangency. This rationale serves as the basis of the vanishing point(s) in linear perspective—the means for representing three-dimensional objects and space on a two-dimensional surface.

The design elements and visual language of all #MASHtenyear products—from premiere flyer to the frameset you see here—are derived from plotting equidistant points along the periphery of the MASH logotype, and then tracing these points back to a vanishing point. Scaling the 'wireframe' derived from this exercise, and varying the distance of the vanishing point and placement of the logotype above and below the horizon line yields myriad permutations of this visual language."

The Cinelli Parallax itself is not an entirely new frame, being produced from 2014/2015. Taking the inspiration from urban-oriented original MASH Bolt but then reworked with true track geometry, the Parallax also took the advantage of tapered headtube—a must-have feature to increase stiffness on the headtube to fork interface, improving handling.

Garrett's "X" concept was delivered in form of crossing golden line shown at the fork, combined with criss-crossing wireframe pattern smothering almost every inch of the frame's rear triangle.

Unlike the previous MASH frames, the Parallax used smaller seatpost diameter—probably to compensate for the uber stiff frame. You can see how the seattube tapered near the seat cluster area to accommodate the smaller 27.2mm seatpost.

Look closer to the lower section of the seattube and you'll see a dead Columbus bird. Mike Martin of MASH SF explains about this Columbus logo spoof, "In 2005 Trackstar (a now-defunct bicycle shop based in New York) made a MASH spoof video, NashNYC. We were floored, like, 'Damn, that's like the highest form of flattery!' Trackstar had ripped off the Columbus bird for one of their logos, so as a throwback, we made a Mashstar T-shirt with the Columbus logo dead bird. Third generation copyright infringement! I met Luigi from Cinelli at the first Handmade Bike Show in San Jose, gave him some Ts and a copy of a MASH short. Later, Antonio [Colombo] hit me up and was grossed out, and proud of this circle of logo thieves on classic bikes."

One thing lead to another, and kids, that's how a spoof ended with a long-term collaboration.

Regi Arfiandi is a Jakartan who's lucky enough to get his hands on this 81st frame. Almost verbatim to the urban track bike recipe back from five years ago, the frame was then built with Phil Wood bottom bracket and hubs, H Plus Son TB14 rims, Sugino RD2 crankset, even down to narrow, 25.4mm bored trackbar.

Instant Recognition: 1954 Bates Vegrandis

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 00:36:00 +0000

We have a special place in our hearts for British bicycles, especially since we have one in our family for quite a long time. Our brakes are even set in moto-style, proper British way. So when Akmal Haris Rusdi challenged us with a ground up restoration built project, we're really excited.

A little history about Bates: the company was set up in 1926 by Horace Bates, and later become one of the most highly regarded of the lightweight British framebuilders. Bates is famous for its distinctive designs that weren't only served as gimmicks but proven to be genuine improvements. You see, the beginning of the 20th century saw the rise of time trial races on the United Kingdom—backed by the fact that road races are banned by the the National Cycling Union after an accident involving a lady, a horse, and a roadside ditch during a 50-mile race north of London in 1894. As the result of this ban, races are held in such a way to avoid the attention of the local constabulary, where un-numbered racers in black clothes are competing in one-minute intervals, riding plain coloured, unmarked bicycles.

Plain coloured bicycles are not good for advertising, so bicycle manufacturers of the era came up with distinctive shapes to make their frames stand in the crowd: case on point, the bowing seatstays and chainstays of Hetchins frames. While some of these shapes are merely there to distinguish one bicycle manufacturer after another, Bates featured a couple designs that made their frames instantly recognizable while also brought functional advantage to the bicycle.

First is how the tubes on the front triangle was shaped. To save weight, racing frames are using thin-walled tubing that leads to excessive frame flex—something that is to be avoided because a whippy frame not only causes handling problems but it also absorbs energy that would be better employed propelling the rear wheel rather than twisting the frame during each pedal stroke. Bates solved this issue by increasing the diameter of the tubing's middle section, while maintaining "standard" diameter on each ends of the tubing in order to suit the dimension of lug joints that were available back then. Look closer and you'll see that the toptube, downtube, and seattube are bulged by around 5-6mm in their middle sections. This design was then commissioned to Reynolds to be made out of their 531 steel alloy and is called Cantiflex, and some of you readers might already met with them before.

The second distinctive feature is the Diadrant fork. Developed at 1935, about the same time as the Cantiflex frame the idea was to create a straighter fork for a lively feel, but with the addition of an extra curve to help damp out road shocks, which is useful on a frame that is stiffer than the norm. On the lower section of the fork legs and seatstays you'll also find Rigida fender (or mudguard, in proper British) mounts, another Bates exclusive design that allows riders to mount or dismount their fend- um, mudguards without using any tools. Very useful since plenty of working class racers rode their bicycles to the race venue—on the weekends they arrived carrying their racing wheels, swap the wheels over, remove the mudguards and then compete. A pair of pump pegs nods to the daily use nature of this frame as well.

This beautiful Bates is of a Vegrandis model, dated back from 1954. The paint was restored by Bob Jackson in Leeds, then brought to us after being pinstriped by Rio Bronx. Haris wanted to build the Vegrandis as close as possible to the true form—that includes the 27" (ETRTO 630mm) wheels—but with a twist: the Vegrandis will be running a Sturmey-Archer AW3 hub, which presents us a challenge since the gear shifting is to be commanded by a Simplex downtube friction shifter. This combination required a mashup between two specific cable ends, something that was surprisingly solved using an anchor nut from a Mafac brake. The front hub is a Schwinn-labeled Maillard, also handbuilt using plain-gauge 14G stainless spokes since the more period-correct 15G spokes are hard to find.

Speaking of Mafac, the French label is also found on the Racer centerpull brakes, controlled by a pair of Weinmann levers. All the brake cables are replaced with new ones, including the straddle cables.

Stopwatch mount. All your Bar Flys can go home now.

Wheelbuild: Long Live The King

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 02:26:00 +0000

In the age where people treat their wheels as consumables, it is easy to see why a lot of people prefers to buy a ready-to-ride, factory built set of wheels. You'll find them in a wide choice range to suit your pursuit of lightness/stiffness, or to match your budget.

But sometimes some people would like to take their factory built wheels even further.

You'll never doubt Easton as the maker of all things composite for multiple sport disciplines: cycling is one of them. While their EC (Easton Carbon) line of wheels are built using their proprietary rims, they simply gave the hub manufacturing to someone else, a common practice done by most of wheel manufacturers. Surely something can be done to improve the stock hubs.

One of the popular choice to replace stock hubs on factory-built wheels is the R45 hub from Chris King. Their Ring Drive system provides almost instantaneous engagement while giving you that distinctive buzzing sound every time you coast.

The rim and hub are supplied by the owner. We provide the DT Swiss Competition spokes, double-butted stainless with brass nipples, laced in radial/two cross patterns to provide stiffness while maintaining durability and keeping the weight as low as possible.

A Gift of Two Wheels

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Sat, 05 Dec 2015 00:55:00 +0000

A family that rides together, stays together. Or that's what I remembered written on the wall of a bicycle-themed coffee shop I visited many moons ago. So it is very natural for cycling enthusiasts to spread their love of bicycles to their significant others.

The owner of this classic Nishiki mixte might have all the luck in the world: the bicycle was acquired from Central Java in an absolute great state. And I mean it: the mixte is adorned with Suntour AR derailers dated from the early '80s, Sugino crankset, and Dia Compe brakeset, all intact with very little cosmetic flaws.

With an intention to present the mixte for his wife, some changes are planned. First, the original 27" wheels are to be replaced with 700c-sized pairs to reduce significant weight and to allow the use of tires with more volume if needed be. Another change is to replace the dropbar with upright handlebar to provide relaxed riding position, which means that the stem-mounted shifters and brake levers to be replaced. A set of fenders, a double kickstand, and a front rack are also added.

The wheel swap was an easy breeze considering the difference between 27" and 700c wheel radii is only a minute 4mm, so all we have to do was to drop the brakepads to fit the new rim sidewall position. To complement the Suntour group and keeping the classic vibe intact, the new wheels are built using a pair of Suntour XC-Pro hubs laced to high-polished Araya TX-733 low profile rims.

Mr. Fusion

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Sun, 15 Nov 2015 03:49:00 +0000

Step into a haute cuisine diner and you might stumble upon some fusion dishes: delicacies that mixed two or more ethnic cuisines. Served correctly, combining the best of each cuisine origins will give you an entirely new culinary experience like no other.

This late 1980s Concorde Colombo can be considered as a fusion serving of bicycle parts from many country of origins. Concorde is a Netherlands-based company that builds frames from many other suppliers, and rebrand them as their own. Some of the notable ones are the frames that was built by Giovanni Pelizzoli (of the original Ciöcc fame) and the TVT 92 that shared the same manufacturer as Delgado's Pinarello. Colombo frames were made of Columbus Aelle tubing, making them a great choice for aspiring enthusiasts. Ultech dropouts found on the chainstay and fork ends, while the Italian threaded bottom bracket shell might be a clue to the Colombo's country of origin.

This particular bike was brought to our shop by its new owner for a thorough once over after what appears to be a long term neglection from the previous owner—surface rust on the chromed finishes, blemished paint, and many more. We stripped the frame off its parts, rejuvenated the paint and chrome finishes, replaced the stretched chain and torn bar tape, and did our cable magic.

Already adorned the Dutch-branded Italian frame is cockpit setup from Cinelli and Mavic, and an almost complete set of Shimano's 8-speed 1055 groupset straight from the early 1990s—right down to the oval-ish Biopace chainrings. Interestingly, the bike is rolling on a pair of 8-speed Campagnolo Zonda wheels, complete with the 8-speed 12-25T cassette. While this combination might not work theoritically, the derailer, shifter, and cassette from entirely different brands played along well with each other. True fusion indeed.

Your Q-Ring's great grandpa

#riceonpasta

A Long Overdue

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 02:25:00 +0000

Some people are drawn into restoring bicycles because of the excitement during the restoration process itself. You can make a solid plan as you like, but more than once, things weren't going according to it. A good friend once said, "When it comes to old bicycles, it's never the case of finding the bike that you really want. More than often, the bike finds you."

That sort of thing kind of happened to Aaron Tobias, the owner of this 1993 Trek 800. When he contacted us regarding his project for the first time, the plan was to breathe new life to an old Panasonic mountain bike frame. Then he stumbled upon a budget unbranded donor bike with hi-ten frame and full-on Shimano STX groupset installed, down to headset and hubs. Fallen in love with STX' titanium-brownish finish, Aaron snag it.

But upon learning that STX was Shimano's disbanded group from the nineties that was reserved somewhere under the Deore level, the plan to put them on the prized Panasonic frame quickly went out of the window. Especially when Aaron came across this Trek 800 frame. Although not sporting its original rigid fork, the entire frame (and the replacement fork) was already repainted in the dark forest green—the original colour worn by the frame when it left the factory at 1993—while still reserving the original decals.

The 800 Antelope was Trek's entry level mountain bike from the beginning of the nineties. Constructed from mild-weighted chromoly tubing, the Antelope is one of the good options available if you want to start your, er, trek into the mountain biking world. Considering the STX group are better than what Antelope was kitted with, and the fact that both the group and the frame came from the same decade, you can consider this build as an upgrade. A twenty years old overdue upgrade.

The Kalloy quill stem and Jagwire cable set was chosen to complement the colour of the STX group, and so does the Specialized lock-on grips that were bolted on both ends of the Nitto vintage flat bars. The toasted brakes were replaced with a set for Deore LX cantilevers. Lastly, the build was topped off with a Brooks B17 saddle, something that Sheldon Brown would approve.

#cablegasm

Life Begins At 40

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 09:58:00 +0000

Anyone ever studied managerial accounting will be familiar with the term DRIFT—Doing It Right The First Time. The importance of DRIFT arises from the fact that a just-in-time production system is heavily reliant on the movement of parts and information along the production process. Subsequently, if there is the slightest error at one of the stages of production the whole production process will be affected. By "doing it right the first time" a company is able to run a smooth production process without needing to carry excessive inventory and greatly diminish the costs of production.

But there are times where things are not done right at the first time. Any managers worth their salt should be able to improvise from said circumstances, quickly adapt, and sometimes adopt some of the impromptu elements to be taken account into consideration during the decision making process.

The project started when Deritia Marwan, the owner of this Raleigh, found that his seat lug was cracked. After having said cracked section repaired somewhere else he commissioned us to tidy up the brazed spot, and to fix the rear dropouts since whoever worked on this frame before us thought that if your brake pads can't reach the rim sidewalls then the solution was to ground the dropouts upwards and not switching to brake calipers with longer reach.

The frame was already repainted even before the seat lug was cracked. When we strip the paint off the seat cluster we found the serial number of this frame, from which we figured out that this is a Nottingham made, 1976 Raleigh Record Sprint.

The serial number "NA6..." was buried under coats of paint there, somewhere below the seat cluster lug.

The lightweight tubing and ovalized seattube and downtube confirmed this enlightenment, but the dropouts are way different compared to any specimens that we found during our search through the web. The extra short chainstays also adds to our doubts. But upon working on the ground dropout openings we found a significant amount of automotive body filler—somewhere along the way, apparently someone decided to perform a surgery on this Raleigh, namely the shortening of the toptube that leads to the correction of the seattube and headtube angles, as well as the bottom bracket drop.

Notice that the distance from the rearmost brake cable guide on the toptube to the seat cluster lug
is shorter than the one up front to the upper headtube lug.

That explains the noticeably steep seattube angle.

The chainstays were made so short, even 23mm rear tire (or tyre, in proper English) will completely rub the ovalized section of the seattube. Knowing that we don't have the ability to lengthen the seatstay, we did the alternative: we massaged the rear side of the seattube to give ample clearance for 25mm tire, should the need arises.

Ouch.

The lengths we did for extra tire clearance...

On point.

Extra gap seen here because Marwan chose to run 23mm tires.

Although the Record Sprint didn't wear its original colour, Marwan loved the brown/purple-ish shade of black and the custom decals that adorned the downtube, and asked us to stick with it. Took our painter a couple of days to get the colour matched.

The next step is to rebuild it with Marwan's choice of parts: the final edition of 10-speed Shimano 105 combined with Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels. Only this time we used Tektro R539 medium reach caliper brakes to solve the brake reach problem.

At almost four decades of age, and who knows how many iterations this Raleigh have ever seen, we certainly hoped that this time we finally did this frame justice. After all, just as the popular saying, life begins at forty.

More Than Meets The Eye

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 04:27:00 +0000

Got to admit, classic exotic road bikes or high-tech full suspension mountain bikes are great, but nothing brought more people aboard bicycles than urban bicycles. You'll see more people riding folding bikes than, let's say, a pristine Colnago C40. Primarily used as means of first or last mile transportation—the trips between your departure point or destination to the nearest public transport station—a folding bike will let the rider carry it aboard the bus, train, taxi or whatever, which then allows even the people with the most mediocre athleticism to cover more miles.

A quick glance over the opening image above and you might think that it's just a stock 2010 Dahon Mu Uno. But looking at the cables tied to the frame, a question emerges: what's a pair of cables that went to the rear section of the bicycle got to do with the singlespeed, coaster brake-equipped Mu Uno?

The answer is because it's as stock as Marty McFly's DeLorean. The owner wanted to add more gearing ratio to this Mu Uno, while keeping the appearance as stock as possible.

First issue is to shove a 7-speed Shimano Nexus internally geared hub to to the 120mm-spaced Mu Uno frame. Although it was listed as a hub with 130mm over-locknut-dimension, removing the roller brake assembly brought the over-locknut-dimension down to 120mm. So, no big deal.

The problem arises when the owner insisted to use the stock rear rim, something a bit challenging since the stock rim have 28 spoke holes while the hub have 36. Sure, 36-holed ETRTO 406mm rim is easier to get, but we all like to add a bit of puzzle solving to our lives, right? Some research and an Excel worksheet later, correct spoke length(s!) were calculated, and the result is a symmetrical lacing combining 2-trailing 2-leading and crow's foot pattern.

Build a wheel with mismatched hole count, they said. It will be fun, they said.

8 different spoke lengths, 8 different tension numbers later.

Tada.

Rear wheel problem solved, but also brought another problem. With the absence of roller and coaster brake, we have to figure out another way to fit a rear brake. Enter the Eiosix brake adaptor that will allows us to install long-reach caliper brake at the kickstand mounting plate. Apparently the mounting plate dimension changed a bit when this 2010 Mu Uno was produced, but nothing a set of round files can't do.

While waiting for the front Tektro R365 to arrive, we have to settle with old Shimano single pivot caliper. Braking performance is good, but switching to double pivot caliper brake will improve it significantly.

To deal with tangling cables, manufacturers equip their folding bikes with some sort of a plastic ribbon that you can coil around the cables, keeping them together. We figured out a neater solution while negating the need of another cable mounting point behind the headtube. Apart from the cable ties holding the cables near the bottom bracket area, the bicycle looked almost factory. We topped this build with an aged Brooks B17 saddle.

The best part? Apart from the missing sidestand, the Mu Uno still folds like stock. While retaining its unassuming, understated look, this bicycle can transform at will, being the practical means of transportation it was intended to.

Tidying Up Cables: Why Bother?

noreply@blogger.com (Pancalen Cycles) — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 01:49:00 +0000

During a ride a while back a friend approached me and asked about the cable routing on my Pias Peregrine. "Why do you have to make it so symmetrical? What's the fuss about it?" My answer at the time was, "Why not?"

Not a great answer, that is. But tidying up your cable routing, why bother?

For me, bicycle cables should be like a good one night stand: short, smooth, and don't be kinky. Although my wife wouldn't approve of this analogy (I love you, dear), there are a couple logical explanations regarding that matter.

One night stand. Made by Ikea.

Unless you're riding a brakeless bicycle, you're depending much on cables for your brakes and/or derailers. Simply switching to better inner cable and outer cable casing would greatly improve the feel of your ride. Left them neglected and you'll render your expensive groupset worthless when they cannot shift properly, or even more dangerous, you may have brake malfunction.

But even good inner cable and outer casing combo will do nothing if you didn't route them correctly. You see, to get better cable performance you must reduce the friction between the inner cable and outer cable casing. You can obtain this by lubing your cable, switching to inner cables and outer cable casing with friction-reducing coating, make the cable routing as short as possible without affecting other functions such as steering, or better yet, do all of them.

While shortening your cables, take note as not to create kinks or bends that will increase friction between your inner cable and outer casing, that may leads to premature cable wear. Every time I work on my builds, the cabling job is always done at the end, because any changes with the handlebar/shifter/brake lever position will affect the cable length measurement.

Before: crossed shifter cable routing, speed sensor cable wrapped around front brake hose.
Not tidy.

After: trimmed all the cables and hoses (including speed sensor cable),
tucked the sensor cable along with front brake hose. Yes, you can trim speed sensor cables, too.

Sometimes the frame cable stop is on the opposing side of owner's brake preference,
so cross-routing is allowed as long as you still keep it short.

Speaking of measurement, here's how I do it. After handlebar/shifter/brake lever position are fixed, I turned the handlebar 180 degrees on both directions, or until the dropbar touched the toptube. Unless you do barspins all the time, this position dictates the maximum length of the cables after exiting the shifter/brake lever before stopping at the frame. Make sure that the cable didn't kink too much at this point, if it happens it means that your outer casing was too short.

At the risk of being mocked by one and only Josh Estey, trimming your cables will also increase aerodynamic advantage and reduce weight off your bicycle, while at the same time giving your bicycle a neater appearance and letting people know that as a bicycle mechanic, you really know what you're doing.
Need more inspirations? Check out the #cablegasm tag on Instagram.