Category Archives: Bicycles

FBM Sword / EAI Bareknuckle build

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FBM Sword

Here’s a custom bike build I completed recently for my friend Jason.  The frame is a 55cm FBM Sword, hand made in the USA, with an EAI Bareknuckle fork.  Rear wheel is a Velocity deep-v on a Formula flip-flop hub, and the front is a deep-v with a Campagnolo hub.  I put together the crankset using a pair of vintage Sugino VP crank arms matched to a no-name black 46t chainring, an SRAM PC-1 chain, 18t Dicta freewheel, and black Wellgo BMX platforms.  The handlebars are Bontrager Crowbar from my Trek Soho S, with custom leather grips, Tektro cross lever and side-pull brake caliper.

More info & pics after the jump…

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Bianchi Volpe touring bike

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Volpe side view

Another day, another bike post!  This is my geared touring bike that I built up from a 1998 Bianchi Volpe frame. I wanted to build a geared bike for century rides and other rides where a single-speed wouldn’t be the best choice.  I also wanted to try out a bullhorn handlebar setup, which I enjoy.  It’s very stable and perfect for when you really want to go fast.  This bike is still sort of a work in progress; it’s comfortable and fit to me but I’d like to replace the stem to match the rest of the white & blue theme.

More details and pictures after the jump…

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Trek Soho S – tarckstar style

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my soho

This is my current city bike, a customized Trek Soho S single speed.  It’s a 2008 model I bought last spring at Bike Habitat.  Since then, I’ve done a lot of upgrading and adjusting to the bike to make it faster and more comfortable.  Not that the Soho S needs it; out of the box it’s a great all-purpose commuter.  It’s lightweight, super stable, and has almost no toe overlap.

Upgrades and more pics after the jump…

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Vintage “Townie” single-speed

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townie side shot

This is my third bike build, a vintage “townie” style bike built on a 1970’s-era Schwinn frame.  The frame came with leather-wrapped handlebars, which inspired me to build it out as a classy around-the-town bike.  I replaced the heavy steel 26″ Araya wheels with lightweight 700c deep-v track wheels, and put Nashbar’s “Duro” tires on them.  The dark brown sidewalls match the leather nicely.

The seat is a riveted leather Brooks copy, taken from from a Masi Soulville bike.  I installed a 68x107mm Miche bottom bracket, red KMC single-speed chain, and built the single-speed crankset from a new 170mm Campagnolo Mirage set.   It has a 42-tooth chain ring up front and a 16 tooth freewheel in back, with a flipflop hub & fixed gear cog & lock ring.  Pedals are MKS Syvlan touring, brakes are new Tekro side-pull calipers, and I added a set of Planet Bike “Hardcore Road” fenders for all-weather riding.

Full story and more pics after the jump…

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My first custom single-speed bike build

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side view

This bike started out as a rusty old Royce Union 10-speed, a steel frame Japanese bike from the early 1970’s.  I picked it up on Craigslist as a project to learn how to work on bikes.

I joined Time’s Up, an environmental action bike co-op in NYC, who offer free lessons and a workspace with tools and instructors.  Over the course of 2 months, I put a lot of sweat and even some blood into this build.  I learned a lot (thank you Mark, Luke, and Izumi) and now the finished product rides like a dream!  The steel frame is pretty forgiving of the rough NYC streets, and the mountain-bike style handlebars give it great handling in traffic.

Full story and pics after the jump…

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