ShifterBikes -  Custom Bicycle Studio. Specialists in bicycle builds, restorations and custom wheel building. With over 21 years of experience as a technician in all aspects of the bicycle industry, my aim is to provide a level of service, and mechanical excellence that is unequalled by the current range of 'regular' bicycle stores. While there is a strong focus

on high quality hand build wheels in the studio, you will find expertise, parts, accessories and advice for all your vintage, high end, and

urban cycling needs. Hopefully you will find something in here to keep you informed, entertained, and/or amused. Check back often...

                                                              

If you ended up here after checking out Andy's latest pics at Fyxomatosis - sorry to say there have no new updates of recent times - they are still locked away inside my computer, waiting for a chance for me to unchain myself from the tool chest/hammer drill/paintbrush etc etc. There is still plenty of work to do to finalize the new studio space before the posts start rolling again, but there are updates coming...really.

Hopefully Andy's photo set gives a quick taste of the direction the SB studio is headed in though...

Keep checking back...

4 months without a post - tsk, tsk, tsk....

Plenty going on - maybe a little too much for my fragile mind to handle at times, but lots of change. And change is good - yeah?

And where to start...

Maybe here for the time being -

Once again - we have moved. Yes, that makes 3 locations in the last 8 months. Ridiculous. But anyway, the new home of ShifterBikes is 7 Ellis Street South Yarra. New phone too - 9826 5007.

Building works and set-up are still not quite complete, but the bones are there...and I don't want to blow my own horn too much, but the new space is shaping up to be amazing...really...

...I've 'typed-deleted' for the past 20 minutes, trying to get the words down to explain the new space - but I can't. All I can ask is that you come down and check it out in person.

Hope to see you all soon.

The latest eye candy to adorn the studio walls is Justin A's incredible Colnago 30th Anniversary Master. Finished with a fully pantographed Campy Super Record groupset and in eye burning (in a good way) neon yellow. Here's a few quick pics, but be sure to swing by the studio to take a closer look in the flesh - it's well worth it...

Richard dropped his beautiful Columbus Max Basso off for a build last week. As is pretty much par for the course with most vintage frames, there was a whole Pandora's Box of problems that cropped up during the build. A handful of which I unfortunately see WAY too regularly with vintage frames such as this, and although relatively simple to address, end up being time consuming and a bit of a pain in the ass, because they are due to nothing more than careless handling and assembly from previous owners.

The major problem with this build however was fitting the modern 11speed Campy Super record groupset to a vintage frame. There are a number of technical frame specs necessary to get new groupset working properly - and this particular frame had specs ALL outside the required numbers...

Anyway - more of that in a moment.

First order of business was to check the frame/fork/headset combo was ready to build... A headset had already been 'fitted', and I'll use that term very,very loosely...

First sign that things may be amiss was the the huge gap between the steerer and the locknut - which was hanging on by a mere thread...which considering how the crown race had been fitted to the fork wasn't surprising. The fact that it was missing the o-ring seal was just adding insult to injury. Solution? Remove headset, face fork and refit crown race. Remove, face frame and refit upper and lower cups. Clean, regrease and refit bearings. Refit locknut - with correct Campy spacer, which was also missing... With the headset sorted, all threads - gear lever braze-ons, bidon mounts, BB were tapped, which left only the dropouts...It's kind of hard to use dropout screws that are so bent You can try all you like, but that bad boy isn't going into that dropout at all (which also happens to be the way you need to go to remove the thing). Solution? Carefully cut off the bent section, file clean and remove - then retap the frame and fit new screws. Might seem like overkill, but if you have ever tried to remove of of these tiny M3 screws and had one stick, or even worse - snap in the frame, you would understand how important this was. And besides, they are there for a reason - they need to work.

With the frame and fork finally prepped, next step was BB, cranks, and front derailleur - this is where the headaches started...

I won't go into the tech specs too much, for fear of boring you all to death, but basically it works like this - if you have a frame with a braze-on front derailleur tab, the tab needs to be mounted to these quite precise specs. Needless to say, the tab on the Basso was all wrong - too low, with a slot that was 5mm too short, and nearly 4mm too far outboard from the centre of the flared Max seat tube. The upshot of this, is that the front derailleur wouldn't swing down far enough towards the small chainring, and riding in the small ring, let alone shifting down from the big ring would have been practically impossible. Now back in the day, when square taper cranks were de rigueur, and front derailleurs perhaps had more adjustment capabilities - this wouldn't really have been a problem at all. You could have moved the cranks outboard with a slightly longer spindle, and/or given the derailleur cage (which would have been steel) some minor persuasion (read - bend) for some more clearance, and get it to shift that way. But this groupset is Campy 11. You can't mess with new Ultra-Torque cranks - the BB axle is the length it is, and can't be changed, and the derailleur - that bad boy is now carbon and titanium, and doesn't take so well to 'gentle persuasion'. But Richard REALLY wanted it to work, without having to fit different parts...

So I got busy - very busy - with the Dremel, and shaved off probably more aluminium and carbon than the Campy engineers would care to hear about, so that the derailleur would swing way past its intended 'lowest' position and actually work with the Basso tab. I also had to get a little friendly with a jewellers file to the braze-on slot to allow the derailleur to be positioned high enough to clear the big chainring. I should have taken a before and after picture, but I'm a mechanic, not a photographer, so I kind of forgot the before pic. But, here is the derailleur with plenty of carbon cage and alloy body removed There is about 3mm of carbon removed from the top inside cage, and a big oval recess in the black body for the cage to swing down into.If you have a Campy Super Record front derailleur on your bike - have a quick look and you'll see just how different they are... 

Anyway - crisis averted, the rest of the bike came together beautifully - a great mix of old and new. After the heavy front derailleur mods the shifting was just as it Campy intended - perfect, and the finished bike - how good is Columbus Max??? I particularly like the green and red darts that accentuate the elliptical shape of the tubeset. Super cool.

Oh yes, for those that remember the halcyon days of ShifterBikes, back in the Glenferrie Rd Malvern location, I was always banging on about Boeshield T9 as the best chainlube available. Well, I still think it is, and after a noticeable absence from the Australian market, it is now once again available. Yes, I have it in the studio - $35 per bottle. Expensive? Yes. Good? Very.

                                                                                                       Another few wheels today - just for a change...

                                                                            These are about as different as they get though, so they both deserve a special mention.

                                                                 The one one the left is for Andy Dickey's trials bike. Yes, that is one seriously wide rim, and takes the idea

                                                                 of 'drillium' to a whole new level - try drilling holes that big in your vintage Campy chainring. And just in case

                                                                you wonder "Who the hell is Andy Dickey, and why does he need such a big rim, and why does it need to be

                                                                 light and strong???"  - take a quick look see at the YouTube clip below. It's so good that this Friday doesn't

                                                                get the usual 'Dan's magical music throwback' clip. Just jaw dropping trials riding. Yes, you gotta build those

                                                                                                      back wheels right...Looks like I'm doing OK so far...

                                                                    The wheel on the right is off Markee's SuperMoto bike. I've never actually worked on a motorcycle wheel

                                                                   before, but when Mark asked if I'd give it a crack, I was super keen. I wondered about how easily the error

                                                                   could be removed, due the increased size of both the rim and spokes, but it worked out great -  I was able

                                                                    to take out quite a large amount of both lateral and vertical error. I'm not sure what kind of tolerance they

                                                                   usually build too, but it wasn't too precise, that's for sure - now its down to bicycle wheel tolerances. And

                                                                    just in case you ask why I posted a pic of a motorcycle wheel, well, I don't really know - I was just really

                                                                         into getting it dialled. It was just like a bicycle wheel - even down to the coloured nipples. Mad.

                                                                   I built Mark's fixie wheels the other day - here's a pic of him shredding the urban gnar in Flemington drains.

                                                                   And here he is giving it a twist of right hand and  getting his SuperMoto gnar on...(in the black and orange -

                                                                                   there is no substitute for good taste, and at the front - no better place to be).

You may have noticed that the sidebar is now missing, or then again, you probably never even noticed it...It was just so 5 years ago (much like this site), but I'm being dragged into the technological age kicking and screaming, so I'll change a little, slowly, and well behind the times thank-you-very-much. Just don't expect any Twitter or, heaven forbid - Facebook from me at any time soon...

The sidebar really was pretty pointless, and now there is just so much more room for nice pictures (see above..) and extra text. And oh yes, let me not forget YouTube clips.... So without any further adieu, click on the below clip, and marvel at both Andrew Dickey, and the marvelous build on the rear wheel...

First things first - I promised a few pics of my Cecil Walker townie yesterday - so here it is...

Hard rubbish find frame, then a quick build with what was lying around...which just happened to be Campy Super Record - cranks, BB and front hub, Tange headset, Nitto Bar and stem, Yoshida Champs, Turbo saddle, slick Velosteel coaster hub and set of Challenge Parigi-Roubaix tyres. Not bad for a beater bike I guess... No mudguards on this bad-boy, because as much as I like guards on townies, they are usually the first thing to get broken/bent in times of alcohol induced duress, and this is a pub bike, no?

I particularly like the frames patina, so, rather than throw good money away on repainting a path racer, it was kept. It's a townie, so a coaster brake was de rigueur, and Nitto Promenade bars for a relaxed, upright riding position. Nice.

And I guess second things second...

There are a few people that I have had swing by the studio lately that have been more than a little confused between the difference between ShifterBikes and Fyxomatosis. To be honest, I'm a little tired of explaining the difference to people. In his latest post, Andy has done a bang up job in once and for all distinguishing between who/what Fyxomatosis is, and who/what ShifterBikes (me) is.

If for some reason, you needed clarification - it's all spelt out here in Black and White.

Like he says - ShifterBikes is black. Fyxomatosis is white.

But, I guess you can never have too much of a good thing, and with his new site layout we are now both grey and orange too...

Getting time to sit down in front of the computer is getting harder and harder these days...

If it's not one thing, it's another, and most annoyingly - when I really do have something to say, by the time I get time to

actually sit down and say it, the whole discussion is days, if not weeks out of date. So I just swallow whatever it was/is

and throw up a few bike pictures...

There was once a time, many years ago now, when this site was updated almost daily, and the content, while definitely

not everyone's taste, was more often than not personal and heartfelt. Fast forward to 2010, and now it's nearly impossible

to not only find the time away from the tools to sit and write updates, but also increasingly difficult to find the motivation.

Unlike the 'professional bloggers'  that sit behind a computer screen all day, I'm usually 10 hours on the tools before I

even have a chance to sit down, and by then, after dealing with the nuances of operating a high end bicycle workshop on

my own - I'm just tired, burned and in need of food and sleep.

But I do feel, that as the vast majority of blogs become banner ad driven vehicles full of regurgatated and impersonal

drivel, there is always going to be a place for the occaisonal glimpse of normalacy and common sense on the interwebs.

ShifterBikes perhaps isn't the perfect forum for that, because I do attempt to run a business, and it is pretty silly to

alienate potential customers by subjecting them to my viewpoints, but hey, this is not a huge corporation - ShifterBikes IS me.

The hands that do the work, are the same hands as update the site, and are attached the the mind that has to watch all this stuff in the world go on - which to me, makes it kind of one in the same - you know? And I always said - even years ago, "This is far from your regular bike shop...' If 'regular' is what you want - there are countless other places you can find it. Hopefully I can get back to more of 'old style' of updating in the next weeks...

Maybe this is a good a start as any - You may have read the article in the Age over the weekend, discussing the ACCC rules regarding fixed gear bicycles. If you didn't - read it here. I was in Sydney, so I missed it, which is lucky, because I wouldn't want to have vomited on myself as I read it... Just more banal rubbish about riding fixed wheels, and the amazing 'connectivity' between the bike and the rider, and a new winner for me - that if kids don't have fixies, they'll turn to grafitti and drugs...

Interestingly enough, for me, the article itself was all I needed to turn me FROM fixies - and into grafitti, AND drugs.. forever. Jesus wept...

Anyway - here's a few bikes. Please note the front AND rear disc brakes on the fixed 'cross bike...

Andre's Fixie Inc 'cros bike. All the good gear and then some - Phil Wood, White Industries, Chris King, Thompson and dual Avid Discs to slow the thing down. One speed, fixed, cyclocross bike - with discs. It doesn't get any more 'niche' than that..

Stu's Merckx Corsa Extra. There really is something sepcial about Columbus Max, and Stu's latest bike is no exception. NOS frame, Campy Record groupset. Mad.

Mick's Master Sports path racer. Mick has a decent stable of bikes already, and after showing hime my rat-styled Cecil Walker townie (pics in the next few days), I convinced him to keep the frames original patina and not mess with a repaint, or (shudder) powdercoat. The main item for  the rebuild was a beautiful set of Cerchio Ghisallo wooden rims shod with big Challenge Parigi-Roubaix gumwalls to fill out the frame, while maintaining the traditional path racer geometry and stance. I cringe when I think about the number of path racers that have been found, and subsequently destroyed by attempts at turning them into 'fixies' with loud powdercoat and Deep V's. People, they are path racers - keep them, and restore them as such. No saddle ofr bar tape yet, because I'm sure Mick has something special in mind of his own creatation...

It's not often hard to come up with things to say or picture on here - there is always something going on, amazing bikes being finished, events to talk about, and Friday YouTube clips to post. But, I can't help but notice that lately so many of the websites/weblogs that I check regularly are just becoming forums for regurgatating stolen clips, images and links from elsewhere on the interwebs. Almost to the point where they all have the same content.

Boooor-ing.You go to X's site and 9.5 times out of 10, it's the same that's posted at Y and Z's also.  I always thought that sites/blogs were the best when there was some personality to them - a glimpse into the ideas,thoughts and lifestyle of the writer. But then - what would I know. I'm a joke.

So, keeping that in mind, I won't borrow any images, words, or opinions on last weekends cyclocross event from anywhere, other than my own head - which, as per usual on the day, was in the midst of a 2 day "Hooray it's (insert name here) birthday" celebration, so my recollection may be skewed to the side of fucking awesome. BUT - hats off to NikCee, Brendan and their cast of helpers, for running possibly one of the best cycling events I have been to in many,many,many years. It made most other 'urban' cycling events seem like another version of Critical Mass. If you didn't spectate or ride, I would strongly suggest checking out the next event on the 29th of August. Anyway -for those that need all the 'formal' info - you will find it here, at the Dirty Deeds Urban CX pages. Which, like the races, is going from strength to strength. Maybe I should be falling over myself like every other Tom, Dick and Harry to  become an official sponsor and get a fancy banner ad...

Show me a bandwagon, and I'll tell you who'll be next to jump on in and go for a ride.

Right, so, things that have been happening here this week-

Wheels. Always a stack rolling out the door...

Alloy?

- The new C4/Kin Lin components have been working out super nice, a set of XR200 to C4 80/205 hubs with DT Aerolites, a hair under 1300g, and at         only $1250. I'll bang on about these next week when I have more time...

- C4 102/225 hubs to C4 V22s with Ti spokes - killer. 24 spoke front, 28 rear, 1500g. Big strong rim, perfect for 'cross applications.

- KinLin XR300 rims to Powertap, great look, and lighter than a set of Fulcrum Racing 3's, Campy Eurus or Mavic Ksyriums - with the Powertap...

- Phil Wood High Flange fixed to Mavic Open Pros with bladed spokes. Classically beautiful.

- Campy Record hubs to Mavic Open Pro. Classically classic.

Carbon? My oh my...

- Edge Composites 65, custom painted by Sun Graphics to orange Tune Mag180.

- Edge Composites 25 to DT 240.

- Edge Composites 25 to Extalites.

- Reynolds Assault to White Industries H3's with ceramic bearing upgrade.

- Reynolds MV32C UL to Chris King R45's.

If you have some wheels you would like built, or are thinking that your current wheels could be upgraded by something lighter, stronger, stiffer or more comfortable - call, email or swing past the studio to discuss your requirements.

If you think that 'cross bikes are hot right now, then Parlee Z1's must be molten lava. Dress them up in Campy Super Record and Edge Composites wheels, and they are hot, hot, hot!

Take a Z1 though, dress it in Super Record, New Ultimate, AX Lightness and Nokon, and you not only have molten lava, you have 5.9kgs of hand crafted carbon fibre ready to blow like Mt Vesuvius. (I'm taking that as the most ridiculous, yet hilarious, over description of a bikes 'hotness' ever)