Saturday, October 01, 2005

The MinusCar Bike Project. Go.

It turns out that ramming the racing bike into the garage with the car (like I did in August) isn't good for precision crafted Cannondale HeadShocks. The Cannondale factory has confirmed what I already knew after half a lap racing the 24 Hours Of Afton. The lousy feel of the bike was due to a bent thingamajig, and the thingamabob ain't looking so good either.

Bottom line - full frontal replacement is necessary. There's a slight chance they'll be able to match the new shock with the bike's existing paint scheme. By slight chance I mean no possible chance whatsoever.

What' s a guy to do? Get a carbon Lefty that doesn't have to match? I'd rather buy a $700 bike than spend $700 for half a fork. Replace the complete bike and buy a Rush? Something will die in me the day I purchase a full suspension bike. The correct answer is paint the whole bike.

The MinusCar Bike Project has begun. The new paint scheme will be the official MinusCar paint scheme, including MinusCar logo, MinusCar slogan and MinusCar URL. By the way, I have ideas for a logo but not enough graphic talent. Help?

Today I started work on the practice bike:



This is a very old Cannondale road bike that I got from a friend for a very good price. I've been planning to turn it into a road single speed. I'm going to practice on this.



First step, make the frame naked. I was surprised to find Suntour Edge components on the bike. You won't find them in a bike store near you. The cranks, shifter mounts, and cable routing devices remain attached. I need to consult with the consultants for removing them.



The Boy 3 helped.

5 comments:

The Donut Guy said...

What kind of paint do you plan to use?

I suggest some type of laquer due to the shorter drying times. I painted my mtb over the summer with automotive touch up paint and it came out fairly nicely.

After I prepped the frame, I put 3 coats of primer, 4 color coats and 4 coats of clear on in about 3 hours.

Eric A. said...

If you need help getting it apart more or back together.
I work for beer.
(in my garage)

Eric A. said...

Get the RUSH.
I am ,
and nothing will die in you.
In fact.
You will feel more alive than ever.

Anonymous said...

I like your bike mechanic. He's got the look of someone who really enjoys what he's doing. We need more people like that.

Anonymous said...

If you still have all the components for the bike I'd like to buy them. I just bought this same frame and wanted to build it just like it used to be. I know it's an old thread but let me know if your interested.
Thanks, Kevin 231.632.6304 (mcclellandkev@gmail.com