It’s a New Year, and it’s a new bicycle!
Which I have put together myself, that was the main DIY project of last year and that was quite a big deal for me because I had never built a bicycle before.
So I thought of taking pictures, documenting it a bit and putting it online. I relied heavily on the Internet for information, so I guess I see this as giving back some of the information and experience I got off the Internet.
Actually, building a bicycle is really easy. I found it more challenging to choose the correct parts before building the bike and to tune up the bike once it is built.
A little bit of background information on the bike itself: I want to ride more in 2009, and I want to ride longer. In 2008, I took an interest in long distance cycling and ultracycling. I eventually would like to participate in Paris-Brest-Paris, if it is organized in 2011.
So I wanted a bike specifically for long distances. There’s nothing really wrong with using a racing bike for long distances, but a lot of people prefer using bikes that are slightly different, mainly with modifications / features geared towards improving comfort.
Why did I decide to build my bike myself? Mainly because it is not easy to find stock bicycles with the sort of requirements I had, and buying a custom bike from my shop would have cost me a lot more. Also, I thought I would learn a lot about the way a bike works and that would be useful knowledge for maintenance and repair.
I settled for a Salsa Casseroll frame, because steel is real my friends. It is a comfortable material, and all my previous bicycles were made of steel, so that was an easy choice. The Casseroll is sort of a “sport tourer” frame, with quite a relaxed geometry, longer chainstays and eyelets for fenders and a rack at the rear.
Before:
After:
Now for the building part, let’s see it step by step.
