Cycle Shorts #1, the first prototype of a pair of pedal pushers in wool lycra with a padded seat. Here are a few images of the work in progress. I guess I'm a tailor too. Not just leather saddles and bikes but pants as well.I've been contemplating some trousers such as these for some time now, but the final inspiration was this:
Just before Christmas Ged and I joined a small group of riders for a 70km ride from South Morang to King Lake and back. There was a serious climb and a serious descent and plenty of km's in between. When we arrived at the designated place TC asked "you guys have free wheels on those bikes don't you? I should have advised that it was a long rod ride." So we managed to finish the ride but with a pretty sore butt.
Pants will be finished today (I keep telling myself).
The Mixte project make slow progress. Most difficult and painful was the re-spacing of the rear dropouts. With the extra set of seat/chain stays it becomes extremely difficult to manipulate the frame. In the end I managed to get the exact spacing for the coaster brake hub, 110mm, but in the process managed to seriously buckle the middle stays. Never mind, everything else lines up nicely.These Sugino VP cranks have polished up nicely with a bit of extra elbow grease and emery paper to cut back a lot of pitting. Feride says "they look like cranks", Ged, Simon and Thuy all say "the cranks look really nice"..... The cranks presented another problem, the first set I fitted with a shorter BB spindle had a completely stripped thread on the right and the chain line wasn't straight. So I spent most of the day trying to fabricate an alternative crank removal tool, but in the end the angle grinder and the rubbish bin were the only answer.
51t Chain ring and 22t cog from Abbotsford Cycles, Wheels built by Shifter Bikes, forks still at the electro platers. The tyres will be white, along with white leather saddle and bar wrap with red stitch detail. Incidentally, I found a nice set of rusty bars on a bike at the Phillip Island Tip that will be used on this bike.
