It’s been a busy month and I’ve neglected putting up a few things I’d deem “blog worthy”. First up is the new bike I’m building. Restoring the Raleigh was so much fun I had to start in on another one.
So far I’m just spec’ing out parts. I settled on the Cutter frame by Volume [1]. They’re a BMX company that’s started to dabble in fixie frames. This is their 2009 model the paint is sick. It’s sort of a toothpaste green and it glows in the dark.
I picked up the matching “fu manchu” fork in white. I couldn’t get the fork in the same glow-in-the-dark paint since it’s last years model. I like keeping the fork and frame different colors and I’ll be sticking to a white contrast color for the wheels and bars too.
I’m not sure I like the stem and bars. They’re mountain bike parts and they’re pretty beefy. I like the rise on the stem but I don’t like how thick the bars are and they’ve got a bit of a sweep to them too. Details.
The best thing about this frame is how much like a BMX it is. It’s got an integrated headset that works with campy spec bearings. I got a set of Odyssey bearings off ebay on the cheap and they slip right on. Odyssey started putting a cut in the crown race that makes fitting it on the forks super easy. This makes it so you don’t have to pound it on.
The Volume logo on the head tube isn’t a sticker or paint. It’s actually cut out of the head tube. Cool idea, but I’m taking bets on what the first piece of debris that falls down in there will be.
So far the only down side to this frame is the weight. It’s built like a BMX frame so it’s heavier than other road frames. Other than that I love it. That’s pretty much all I’ve had the time to put together. Hopefully this weekend I’ll order the wheels, then start looking into parts for the drivetrain.
References:
[1] – http://www.volumebikes.com/
technomasochism 