ChrisF Posted April 28, 2019 Share Bit more sanding, then a layer of clear coat ... time for blue LockTight for the final assembly - DJR and Hairy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted April 28, 2019 Share Who knew a little side project can be so trying ... Maritz wants a top cap that displays the SA flag .... good luck in finding this in-store. And so I got the idea to try and paint the flag onto a top cap. I mean, just how difficult can it be ? Bit of planning, and a design is drawn up ... I now have dimensions to apply to the top-caps .... couple of bottles of model paint, and SMALL brushes .... .... I sand down two top caps, and apply an etching base coat spray. Working on such a small scale it helps to have a mount, with a magnifying glass and built in light. The lines are marked onto the top cap And standard 3mm pin stripes are cut in half and applied as per the marks With the fine and boring work out the way, time for Maritz to come do the honours ... A few more coats and the job looks promising Removing the pin-stripes went okay .... and then the finest of fine brushes were not even remotely fine enough for a 1,5mm wide line ... From here the job went sideways quickly .... attempt 1 binned .... For attempt two I took a different approach. This time I painted the white and yellow lines first, and a wider than needed. After baking in the sun until properly hardened I applied 2mm wide pin stripes over the white and yellow lines, and painted in the various colours ..... Removing the pin-stripes caused a few minor issues ..... after some minor touch ups, the final looks like this (actually looks better than the photo shows) - I will give it a few days to properly dry and harden, then apply a clear top coat. Up to Maritz to decide if he wants this, or a pristine off the shelf top cap ..... must be the most hours I have put into a little project ... and not super stoked about the final product ..... even though it does look better than the photo suggests. But hey, that IS the nature of custom projects ... some things work better than expected, while others really test you .... Not much more I can do now. Need the frame to start the re-assembly ... Edited April 28, 2019 by ChrisF DJR, Hairy, Moolz and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 4, 2019 Share Okaaaayyyyyy .... what a long week ! Garage has been cleaned, and re-packed, and the floor swept - - - twice ...... Just got the GOOD news. Frame will be ready by Tuesday. now in all fairness - this is the EXACT lead time they gave pre-quote, to the day. But man, why does it feel so much longer when you perv at the gallery on their website .... All credit to Carbon Bike Repairs in Durbanville !! From the first phone call, through the whole process they have been professional and punctual. DJR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 4, 2019 Share The saddle that came with the Mongoose is one of those thick gell saddles, for a wide adult butt .... way over-size for Maritz. Nice little task .... go from bike shop to bike shop, and get a couple of small things. Who knew it would be so difficult to buy a saddle for a kids bike I like to drive to a shop, buy that item that I need ... then perv at all the parts and extras that I may need tomorrow .... Bike Addict has one "Junior saddle" in stock. Sadly this has blue trimmings, that probably wont work that well with the Green Machine .... But now I know that Giant has a junior saddle ... so off to Giant Durbanville ..... NOPE, they dont carry stock for kids bikes. So let's try EvoBikes, oops, been galavanting too long, and they are closed. Off to CWC, now you must know I am desperate, some nice junior saddles on the Titan 24-9er bikes .... NOPE, they dont carry stock of these ... will have to order. Worth noting the Giant Junior saddle has extra long rails !! Making it perfect to tweak the bike setup as the kid grows. I DO like this product ! Guess I will be asking Mark to order a "junior saddle" .... And YES, if one of the hubbers have gone through this and provide input on the best saddle for juniors ir would much appreciated. Edited May 4, 2019 by ChrisF DJR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashchest Posted May 4, 2019 Share Jinne maar julle is oulik! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stretched@Birth Posted May 7, 2019 Share Chris, it’s Tuesday, whoop whoop! Wayne pudding Mol, NotSoBigBen and DJR 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 7, 2019 Share Chris, it’s Tuesday, whoop whoop! het nie baie geslaap nie .... In office nice and early, get the work done, then go pick up the frame .... and then ... pichas ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted May 7, 2019 Share het nie baie geslaap nie .... In office nice and early, get the work done, then go pick up the frame .... and then ... pichas ... Voting for the Mongoose Party tomorrow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 7, 2019 Share Voting for the Mongoose Party tomorrow? I was nice of them to give us a special day to work on the Mongoose ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 7, 2019 Share BIG shout out for Carbon Bicycle Repairs in Durbanville !! https://www.carbonbicyclerepairs.co.za/ Their website says 2 weeks turn around on a spray job. Even with all these short weeks, they managed exactly 10 working days. I even had the odd email from them to check details. From a chat, and a very open brief, they managed to deliver exactly what Maritz wanted The paint has very nice metalic finish in the sun ... not so easy to capture on camera in full cloud cover Maritz wanted the theme of the SA flag, and I love the way they worked that around the bottle cage .... you know it is there, and yet it is not in your face. Oooo, and the flag was sprayed on the frame. It is not a sticker. That must have been LOTS of man hours for that "small" detail !! THANX CBR !! just in case wondered about his reaction For the keen eyed observers .... the shock was dropped off at Mark for a full service. LOVE what CBR did with it !! It is a black REBA shock with LOTS of blue decals .... they removed all the decals and made decals that fade from green to white. Looks like it came from the factory, to match our one-off paint job. PS - they even gave us a couple stickers that Maritz can put on the frame. How is that for involving the young man in the project !! Edited May 7, 2019 by ChrisF Gandalf, gerriemtb, IMPACT and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 8, 2019 Share Maritz is our godson, as such our project time is limited to when he visits us .... While waiting for Maritz to come visit us I prepped the garage, come studio, for the project. Also packed out the parts neatly, so we can plan our install. Though we were obviously limited with the shock having been dropped off for a major service. And then it was time to start ..... Maritz knows that the bike gets put onto the workshop stand via clamping onto the seat post. So step one would be the seat and seat post. A bit of over-spray was noted inside the tube. Nothing a bit of 800-grit paper could not resolve. Time to fit the quick release bracket - without scratching the new paint. A bit of grease on the inside of the quick release, and then pry it open a tad with a large screw driver while slipping it over the new paint. And Maritz installs the seat Time to put the frame on the workshop stand ... Man you should have seen the joy on his face at being to do that without any help. (the bikes are too heavy, so he has not been able to do this before) Okayyyyy, so what next .... After some subtle guiding, it was decided we should start with the BB and crank. Got everything ready, cleaned all the parts, and talked about keeping the spacers as it was during the removal. BUT, parts are ALWAYS fitted by hand, and the first few threads hand tightened before using any tools !! Darned if I could get the BB threaded .... neither the left nor right hand side would thread (and jip, I was very aware of the arrow showing the direction). CBR did clean the thread of any over spray, but somehow something needs a bit of TLC ..... I tried the normal tricks, but without a tap to clean the thread I was not able to progress with this .... O-well, anybody that has done a custom build knows these things do happen at some point. Will pop in at Mark tomorrow for some expert help. Not ready to call it a day just yet we played a bit more. The frame has place for two water bottles. Nice small bolts to close the holes on the one, and then fitting the holder to the other. While taking time to show Maritz how we use blue LockTite, and to explain why. Last item for the day, fitting the hanger sorry guys, really wanted to do a lot more for the day .... but these things happen MrJacques, DJR, Pieter1 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted May 8, 2019 Share Gee, Chris, your garage / workshop is seriously well organized! Sadly I don't have a dedicated work space, so everything must be packed away in the toolboxes, but if I had the space, I'd want it to look like yours, although I'm sure it won't stay like that for long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ouzo Posted May 8, 2019 Share Nice. Tell me more about that bike stand, more specifically the clamp. Did it come off a free standing stand ? I’ve been planning a workshop stand for my shed, the only thing I wasn’t sure of was how to do the clamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 8, 2019 Share Nice. Tell me more about that bike stand, more specifically the clamp.Did it come off a free standing stand ? I’ve been planning a workshop stand for my shed, the only thing I wasn’t sure of was how to do the clamp. Ouzo I bought one of the CWC stands, and use it when washing the bikes out in the driveway .... it is handy, but I dont like the way the bikes "sway" in this stand when working on it .... also hate tripping over the stand-feet on the ground. So I set about making a stand that hangs from the roof, and that can fold up into the trusses when not working on the bikes. Drop the arm down, and clamp it firmly in place With the cross braces the stand provides a very nice firm base to work on the bikes Initially I made this clamp - But the clamp on the CWC stand is much nicer (at least this quick release one) I then realised that with a PVC bush I could use the CWC clamp on my stand PS - CWC do sell a clamp-and-WALL-mount bracket .... this is nice for those with limited space. Edited May 8, 2019 by ChrisF MORNE and DJR 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ouzo Posted May 8, 2019 Share Ouzo I bought one of the CWC stands, and use it when washing the bikes out in the driveway .... it is handy, but I dont like the way the bikes "sway" in this stand when working on it .... also hate tripping over the stand-feet on the ground. Mongoose revamp-137.jpg So I set about making a stand that hangs from the roof, and that can fold up into the trusses when not working on the bikes. Drop the arm down, and clamp it firmly in place Mongoose revamp-139.jpg With the cross braces the stand provides a very nice firm base to work on the bikes Mongoose revamp-138.jpg Initially I made this clamp - Mongoose revamp-136.jpg But the clamp on the CWC stand is much nicer (at least this quick release one) Mongoose revamp-135.jpg I then realised that with a PVC bush I could use the CWC clamp on my stand Mongoose revamp-134.jpg PS - CWC do sell a clamp-and-WALL-mount bracket .... this is nice for those with limited space.AwesomeWill look into the Cwc clamp. I want to do something similar by having the stand drop from the roof. Don’t have the space for a free standing stand to sit around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duanelr Posted May 8, 2019 Share Love checking into this thread from time to time to see the progress! Really digging it as I also service / rebuild all my bikes at home. Also good on you for mentoring the young one, watch him become a successful racer or master bike mechanic one day! ChrisF and Mongoose! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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