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Titus Motolite build


Nico van Loggerenberg

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Dear hubbers, I am in the process of building up a nice little Motolite for my girlfriend to use as a trail bike.

 

I've scraped together all the parts required through months of arduous negotiations and now there is only one thing standing in my way. 

 

A decent 26" wheelset. Crucially, one with a 15mm front thru-axle. It doesn't even need to be stated but the budget is tight and the timelines are narrow. If anybody has one, please let me know.

 

Alternatively, does anybody know anything about converting an older American Classic front hub (Disc 130) from QR to TA? I've seen this online but the price is prohibitive, might as well buy a new wheel - https://www.bicyclepartsupply.com/product/american-classic15mm-thru-axle-kit/

 

Would appreciate any help, leads, or Motolite memories and tips!

Edited by Nico van Loggerenberg
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If you can find a set of Giant OEM 26" wheels, they can be had cheap, not the lightest but are indestructible and a lot of them came out with 15mm Thru axle up front and QR rear.

If you in CT and need a hand and tools building, drop me a PM.

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19 hours ago, Alouette3 said:

If you can find a set of Giant OEM 26" wheels, they can be had cheap, not the lightest but are indestructible and a lot of them came out with 15mm Thru axle up front and QR rear.

If you in CT and need a hand and tools building, drop me a PM.

Thank you, that's a kind offer! I'm in JHB but fortunately have access to a few tools. 

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The stem and handlebars are up side down...... ????

If you buy one of the sets of 26er wheels for sale and one of the 15mm front hubs I will strip and build the wheel for you. I'm in Cape Town but I'm sure we can organise a cheap courier.

 

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If I recall correct, here was a dad that restored a Titus for his son to a very high standard.

Sorry, but I still can`t seem to work the search function.

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On 11/30/2021 at 4:56 PM, Jewbacca said:

The stem and handlebars are up side down...... ????

If you buy one of the sets of 26er wheels for sale and one of the 15mm front hubs I will strip and build the wheel for you. I'm in Cape Town but I'm sure we can organise a cheap courier.

 

Super kind offer, thank you. I managed to get my hands on American Classic wheelset that should be easy to convert - just need to have a new axle turned. 

On 11/30/2021 at 5:05 PM, DJuice said:

If I recall correct, here was a dad that restored a Titus for his son to a very high standard.

Sorry, but I still can`t seem to work the search function.

It's this one - actually what got me interested in the brand - 

 

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Got a very light wheelset, just hunting around for a 15mm axle or looking to have one turned now. If anybody can recommend someone please drop a contact. 

Seatpost and seat will be replaced, and I'll go for a lower stem too. 

20211205_152206.jpg.37e263bed719cba584712667fc3962a1.jpg

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Slow progress with a lot of frustrating setbacks. Amazing how many mistakes you can make when everything is a first time. 

 

The nice blue anodized Chris King headset the frame came with had a non-matching crown race. Apparently sometimes you can get away with this, but this time is not one of those. Lucky fluke then to find out a friend of a friend had the part in their garage. 

 

Pics showing before, after and comparison. 

 

In the meantime I've had some aluminium machined for a custom thru axle solution, will find out if that worked next week. 

 

 

20211211_083817.jpg

20211211_110232.jpg

20211211_095115.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

After trying in vain to find a conversion kit for American Classic hubs to 15mm thru axle on here or at bike shops, I decided to have one made. With help from a friend the design was prepped and turned. 

 

 

20220122_154530.jpg

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