Project 1X1: The Rest Of The Bike

The Project 1X1 so far.....

Project 1X1 is now being ridden and working out well so far. I built a new set of wheels using Velocity USA's Cliffhangar rims and DT Swiss spokes. The hubs are from Velo Orange and are their "Fixed High Flange" models. That all can be seen in detail in my previous posts here, here, and here.

Now I wanted to talk about the rest of the bike, and what I have done, and then give a clue as to what is coming up.

First off, I will admit that this 18" frame is a wee bit on the small side for me. That doesn't mean it won't work, as I recall, most of the past owners so far have been my size. They made it work, so, hey! Why couldn't I? The first thing needing addressed was the front end height. It was way too XC-ish for my purposes. The bars needed to come up. I purchased a Dimension stem in a 40° rise to jack up the bar height, then used an old Salsa Cycles riser bar to finish it off. A pair of old Ergon grips cap those off, and levers were some old parts bin cheapos bought at an ancient version of Frostbike in the 90's. Well, maybe those levers were free. I recall I paid a buck for some DX levers and Crazy Dave threw these Exage levers in for nuthin'.

Since it is a single speed and all, that's it for the front end. I still am running the old, 80's era Shimano cantilever brakes, and with a little dialing in on the reach of the Exage levers, I have some good feeling stoppers, for now. They still may get nixed for linear pulls later on, but I have a reason for hanging on to these. You'll see........

Seat post, saddle, and bottle mounts. You've seen this before!

The Ergon saddle and generic silver Bontrager branded post I had on here before was nixed mostly because the Ergon saddle didn't fit me right on this bike and the saddle I wanted to use was already connected to a great seat post. That being a Salsa Cycles Shaft post.

The saddle, seat post, and the silver bottle mounts I have attached to it are maybe things long time readers may recognize. They are the components long seen on my OS Bikes Blackbuck. That bike got a newer WTB SST saddle and a Thomson post, so this was languishing in the parts bin. I figured "why not? So, I popped that on the Surly here and it has been much more comfortable. That 1996 vintage SST fits great and still feels wonderful.

I figured Salsa Cycles dropped the Shaft post since it was a legacy product from the original Salsa Cycles and was designed by Salsa's founder, Ross Schafer. Too bad, since it is one of the smartest, albeit heavy, designs ever created for a seat post. Anyway, this one lives on as the post for Project 1X1. Those bottle mounts were something I got in a $5.00 buy of a parts box long ago. Sometimes I actually use it for, ya know, a water bottle cage. Really! Most of the time I don't, and I couldn't be bothered to remove the bits. At least I know where they are.

That's fixed!

I purchased the Velo Orange hubs and with the "flip-flop" design you can run a free wheel and a fixed cog, or two of each, if you want to roll that way. I've stated before that I wanted the fixed option to get a better ride on ice and snow with control that you cannot get with a freewheel driven rear wheel. So, this is a 19T fixed Surly cog and lock ring. I've already ridden it and the fixed gear stuff has mostly come back to me. I need to work on some more skill at that though!

The other side has an 18T cheapo Dicta/ACS type freewheel on there that is essentially expendable if the Winter is harsh enough where drive train bits will get roached. Sure, I could slam on a White Industries freewheel, or one of those new Profile ones, but why? It will just get destroyed over the Winter. I can rebuild a Dicta freewheel easily, so the choice is a no-brainer.

So, that's a basic rundown of the Project 1X1 as she sits today. Things will be evolving though, and one of my first changes past this point will be in the tire department. I've mentioned the Surly Extraterrestrial tires before, and they are in now, so I will be getting those soon and putting those on the Velocity wheels tubeless. Oh, and I will be using some Veocity tubeless valve stems to do that with, by the way. They've got a nice design for their valve stems, which I will detail when I get around to setting up the tires.

The next "big" change for the Project 1X1 is the tires.

When I get those going, I will be using a new sealant that I am trying out that is supposedly good down to -30°F!! Yep! That's right- negative 30. Not that I am going to ride in negative 30 temps, mind you, but I may test this out in sub-zero weather depending upon the Winter and the circumstances. More on that soon.....

Remember the cantilever brakes? Well, after I get these supposed 2.5" monsters set up tubeless, my next idea is to find some full coverage fenders to slap on there. Cantilever brake yoke wires tend to straddle the tire with plenty of clearance for a fender. Linear pull cables- not so much. That is why I am sticking it out with these old canti brakes, in case anyone was curious on that point.

Then one of the final planned upgrades will be to go with a Tangle Bag. Surly in their early days had the foresight to attach fender mounts to the 1X1, but apparently rack mounts hadn't pierced their consciousness as a viable, versatile accouterment for a bicycle yet.  Oh well.... I'll get by with a frame bag then. I need a place to stow my Jethro Tool, a tube, and maybe some stuff I pick up at the store. I'll probably get a top tube bag, something "gas tank-like', as well. Then maybe I'll look at getting a front mounted LED light for night time prowling about. That should about do it then.

So, that's where I am at and where I am going with this project. I should have the tires up and running very soon, then the fender search will be on. I should then be commuting and errand running and what not all over the place on the Project 1X1. Stay tuned for more soon......