Quantcast

lil duece4

TortugaTonta

Monkey
Aug 27, 2008
539
0
5.5 lbs of 4130. I just blued it today, put parts on it and got a couple runs it. Fun stuff. It really makes me wish I switched back to 24's a lot sooner.

 

TortugaTonta

Monkey
Aug 27, 2008
539
0
A little something I cooked up.

I used to build frames here and there, but when I bought the house I live in now there was no where to set up my equipment so the stuff sat at moms house for 5 or 6 years. I was allways busy doing other work on the house and building trail that I kind of forgot about the stuff. Riding bikes is a lot more fun than building bikes. Well this winter I finally hooked up a little garage and got 220v run out to it. I have been sorting out my jigs and brushing up un my tig welding(I'm rusty! the 24 has some fugly welds here and there) It looks like I will be busy on rainy days building a new fleet of bikes for myself. Next up is a new 26" trail bike.
 

A Grove

Monkey
Nov 20, 2007
497
0
State College, PA
Would love some geo specs.. and on the comment of riding em being more fun than building em.. well that is all opinion ;) My dad would say exactly the opposite. But I myself enjoy them both equally.
 

TortugaTonta

Monkey
Aug 27, 2008
539
0
Right now I have 34x14 gearing with a normal chain, so that puts the cs length at about 15.5". With a half link I could go a little shorter but for me that is about perfect.

I tried something different with the tt, instead of building around a specific tt length I figured my head angle and head tube height, then I drew a plumb line down from the center of the head tube and measured back 15.5" and located the bb there. It seems easier to get the exact bb to handlebar relationship you want this way, since st angle and other factors will allways change the bb location relative to the tt length.

Oh bb is also .5 above axle center line.

Thats all I can think of now, need more coffee
 

don

Turbo Monkey
Nov 8, 2001
1,319
0
Rumson, NJ
Great build! Totally envious that you did that yourself.

I actually like square tubing on the chainstays and the dropouts look very clean too. I'd prefer 990's or v's for a 24" but can dig how nice the slotted disc tabs look.

Lines/geometry look good from the pics - very USB, Tonic style.
 

TortugaTonta

Monkey
Aug 27, 2008
539
0
The deal with the box section chainstays is, they are easy. Its easy to get clearance with a 2.3 tire-34 or 36 tooth chainring and 15" cs. They are also easier to shape than round or oval cs ( I have a little jig setup I made to shape them consistantly) and they are easier to miter.

I also shape the seat stays and that is the most time consuming part for me, it is tough to get both sides oriented correctly and mitered tight.

Don, one of my future projects will be a cruiser race bike with v brakes. For my daily rider though, I want hydros, I love the total lack of maintenence and the lever feel.

Oh the drop outs are the only things I didn't make, they are Breezer copies by Surley.

I wish you guys could see the finish, I allways thought "gun blueing" a frame would look cool but its even better than I expected, just not sure how it will hold up.


Don, edited to add, I think I was building frames like this before those guys ;) but seriously if I wasn't so cheap I would probably have a Tonic, from what I have seen they look pretty sweet.
 
Last edited: