After all the drama
associated with procuring forks, callipers, wheels, rotors and hoops, I headed
north to the midlands and to Coventry’s arty fargo district for some
photographic inspiration. Plenty to see and further units are being built to
accommodate its steady expansion. Back down south, I awoke early and
decided it was time to prepare the Kinesis fork and gen up on Avid BB7’s.
The Kinesis steerer
proved shorter than many I’ve come across given its racing credentials, so
having double checked the measurements against the Ilpompino’s existing ITM
Vista, I introduced my Cyclo cutting guide and pruned it to 23cm. Worst case
scenario, I could always loose a spacer and adopt a slightly racier stance but
there’s no excuse for sloppiness…
For this very reason and
given my present workload, I wanted to complete this job in carefully executed
stages, so tiredness didn’t lead to mistakes and/or frustration. I was
fairly confident the existing Tektro lever would pull sufficient cable, though
a quick rummage through the spares draw unearthed its black, V brake cousin-which
proved surplus to requirements.
On a roll, I introduced
the crown race before putting the project to one-side, earmarking that evening
for transplant surgery.
Everything came together
without too much fuss and persuading the Avid’s to play nicely proved easier
than I’d expected…After some initial cartwheeling, the state of euphoria bombed
when the headset bearings proved baggier than MC Hammers’ trousers.
A new set of caged balls
basted generously in white lightning crystal grease, musical spacers and a
Gusset “headlock” clamping system dialled things in perfectly. For the time
being I’m going to enjoy the new set up sans front mudguard, since the stays
were a little short and fouling the calliper’s torque arm-causing pads to drag
on the disc.
Axiom probably has a
gizmo or two, which will solve this small but irritating puzzle. Failing that
I’ll have to seek out something aesthetically compatible with a single stay…
Elsewhere, we’ve decided
to offer Seven Day Cyclist as a free downloadable publication-starting with
number 8. Back issues are also available simply by clicking on the appropriate tab: www.sevendaycyclist.co.uk
