Heckle Me!: The Circumcision

...well it is all about a catchy title, isn't it?

So, part 2 of last Sunday's bike built effort was the more, "meaty" part of the afternoons antics and did, quite literally, see the Heckler receive a circumcision.

This:

Became this:

Using this:

Yes boys, I instil in your minds the cringe-worthy thought of a circumcision being performed with a metal saw...

Right, so this was probably the most nerve-racking job I have done on the Heckler so far. So the steerer, which is the top tube on the fork, which connect through the frame steerer tube and ultimately have the handlebars firmly attached to them, by default ship longer than most would require. The idea being you cut to size. Reasons for cutting to size could be size of your stem, size of the bike or ride angle you want. For example, a lower "cross country" style bike could have a shorter steerer to bring you more over the handlebars and front wheel. A more downhill/AC bike could have a longer one to sit you more upright. Now notice in the first picture above the stem is sitting right down on the frame, in picture two there are several rings or "spacers" between the stem and frame. These spacers allow you to lift the handlebars above the frame. Similarly, I could remove the spacers to lower the bars. The latter would either mean another cut, or putting a spacer above the stem but below the locking cap.

I have purposely put 3 spacers in for now. I tested with just the one large spacer and it felt fine, but just in case, I threw 2 small ones on, just in-case I want an adjustment in future.

Why is it nerve-racking? Well if you fuck it up and cut it too short, by by forks! (unless you a. manage to sell them to someone who wants low handlebars or b. you relegate them to strictly ornamental purposes).

So the cut. Per recommendation from the trusty bike maintenance book, in the absence of a vice, I removed the fork from the bike and mounted it in my bike work stand like so:

Before removing the fork from the frame I had all required spacers in place and marked a line on the steerer where it protrudes from the stem. According the bikers bible, I needed to cut 3mm below this line so the steerer sits just inside the stem.

Unfortunately, when I made the cut, I cut it at a slight angle (any of you fellas have that issue?!). I will need to get a metal file and flatten it out. However, for reasons I really can't be bothered going into, I don't think it will ultimately matter. As you can see in the above picture, the top of the steerer is hidden under the locking cap, and I do not think (though I am sure I will be proven wrong) the top of the steerer is critical in the locking of the whole system.

The head set is quite a fascinating collection of bits. In a previous post, I showed you this photo:

I am actually carefully holding together a collection of "bits'. Below is a picture that gives you a better idea of the bits involved. There are actually about 15 components if you separate out all the washers and bearing runs!

The bit in the top right corner of the image above is an interesting one. It is called the "head doctor" by Hope and I think is a really cool way to lock everything together. Now as every rider knows, any slight movement in the head set as you hold the brakes and rock the bike back and forward (indicating everything is not tightly locked together) sucks! Basically with this system what you do is insert that silver cylinder into the hollow steerer tube. This "head doctor" basically expands in its place by inserting and turning an allen key. This holds the head doctor firmly in place. You then insert the bolt/locking cap and as you turn the bolt (which attaches to the head doctor) it pulls the steerer up and tightens everything together, leaving the only movement being that provided by the bearing races in the top and bottom headset - ie: left and right steering!

SOOO, I find myself with something that is looking very much like the finished product. There is one very fiddly task to do yet, which I will tackle next - cabling the shifters to the front and rear derailleurs.

Some photographic evidence that this is finally nearing completion (excuse the shabby looking seat post - it is temporary - so I could sit on the bike and get a feel for the setup).