Hey all,
I’m Jamie, and new around here.
After almost 10 years away from MTBing, I’m finally getting back into it! I was living in London, and after falling on hard times sold all my bikes bar a road bike to commute on. It inevitably got stolen, which I replaced with a £200 Langster just to get me from A to B - I learnt to love a fixie as the freewheel was knackered.
Anyway, my luck changed and I found myself working for a cycling magazine (as a developer). The company had an enduro team and I was lucky enough to be gifted one of the ex-team bikes (a Bianchi Ethanol 27.1 FSE). This coincided with a move out of London and down to Cornwall.
After a few rides I had started to remember how much I loved fast singletrack, but I really wasn’t getting on with the enduro bike. It was too big for me and was a bit too much bike for the trails I’m riding. Plus, even though I used to ride full-sus, I developed a hankering (need) for a steel hardtail.
After getting my head round all the new standards and changes in the industry I decided to swap the frame out for a Cotic BFe. A few weeks ago I won a current one (142 bolt through rear) on eBay and have ordered all the parts needed to rebuild it, using what I can from the Bianchi.
I know you all love a build, so here’s some WIP in progress photos:
Plan is just to get it finished and rideable, so I’m reusing as much of the Bianchi as possible. Brown seat is going, if only because it’s like sitting on a plank of wood! I’ve had to change the cranks & BB (Bianchi was BB30), and have decided to just go with Shimano XT for both. New cables throughout, and a brake bleed although the fluid that came out was a very grubby blue, not pink, so I think someone has used the wrong fluid in them. 😒
I couldn’t not add a few nice touches though, so have ordered some custom graphics for the Fox 36s using the same colours as the frame. Can’t wait to see how they turn out!
I’ll add some more once I’ve finished it and taken it out for a thrash. Look forward to getting back into riding proper, and chatting bikes on a forum again (was MBUK in my day!)
Cheers!
No replies yet?
People must be working.
Not me though!
Welcome back,
APF
(No one look at the valves, he's new so he gets a week's grace period to sort them out)
Welcome to the waffle!
Welcome to STW! nice bike, always fancied one of those frames
PS. Carpet needs vacuuming
I'm pretending to work!
I right like that, but then I am a Cotic fanboy. Get it muddy!
I was lucky enough to be gifted one of the ex-team bikes
*angry face*
A cotic I see, you’ll fit in nicely here then ... 😂
BFe looks niiiiice! 🙂
IT looks weird with the seat right down and the forks right up...
But i do love a nice story 🙂
Welcome in and enjoy.
hello
nice bike& finish on the skirting too. 😉
I love my BFe, so think you've made the right choice. Good to hear someone coming back to the muddy side.
Hurry up & get it built, you'll love it when you have.
Hello and welcome, we're not like the others we're your friends.
Where in Cornwall?
Wow, amazing replies. I shouldn’t have expected any less!
Valves will be sorted when new tyres arrive, although I suspect that might take longer than a week. Can I get a permission slip for extenuating circumstances? 😂
The carpet isn’t carpet at all. It’s patterned vinyl that has the wonderful ability of looking grubby immediately after being scrubbed, great choice by the landlord. 😒 Also, it seems to have been stained by the tyres (a red-ish brown colour). It’s not actual rubber on the surface, more like a reaction. Any ideas on a way to get rid before we move out? The skirting is siliconed down. Don’t ask me why. It’s everywhere in this place, except in the shower, which leaks... 🤣
Seat has just been plopped in for now, and the steerer will need cutting down I think. On that note, do they ride much better at 140. I.e. is it worth reducing the 36s when I next open them up? Running 15mm of spacers under the stem too which is a bit daft. Equally stem could be shorter to hit the recommended geo.
RE: it being a gift...it took a lot of arm twisting, and arrived in a terrible state. Will have to grab a photo of the chunk missing from the 36s!
Just outside Truro, although moving to the coast shortly. Usual trails are Cardinham up at Bodmin, although I’d like to find something closer.
Postie is due tomorrow, so we’ll see what he brings!
Lovely bike. They look mint those new Cotics.
Welcome to here.
Nice looking bike on the way....
Do you have any relationship to a Louise and have you locked the sudocreme out of reach of the cat?
Welcome back, looks a nice bike you're building there. Your brakes probably did have the correct oil, it gets contaminated over time. I've just bled a set of Shimanos and what came out was black from the seals deteriorating
Can I get a permission slip for extenuating circumstances?
The clock is ticking...
Hiya and welcome!
The best bike forum on the net.... Once you master how to post pics....and you have.... You are a member of a special club on here and are allowed on the VIP forum away him all the plebs and ruffians.
Lovely looking build by the way, looks like a hooligan. In a good way! 😃
Ok ok, I’ll get the valves sorted. What’s the verdict, aligned with brand or model?
I’m pretty sure it was the wrong fluid. Whilst grubby and black, it was definitely blue.
He doesn't know!
Hahahahahaha! He doesn't know!
😉
Regards. The forks, I've got the previous BFe and am running the forks at 160mm, which is so much fun to ride with.
It just comes as a shock when you forget you haven't got the same travel at the back....
And the valves, I reckon the brand as that's normally on both sides of the tyre whilst the model isn't always.
Important question. . . Do you know anyone called Louise?
Welcome and enjoy the new forum.
I’m guessing the Louise thing is something I should know about right? 😆
Louise is a STW thing.
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-life-changing-things-did-you-manage-to-avoid/
See also,
Sudocrem
Wee/shoe interfaces
Bomber ownership
My footwear
Pudding
And more.
You'll like it here. Honest.
Louise is a thing.
FTFY
Nice lawn. How many chainsaws you got?
Caught up on that thread. My Louise was a Dominique who left me with such deep scratches I bled through my work shirt the next day. Never again...
Another motherflipping Louise!
😀
So, the postman has been, I've been for a ride (and its possibly the most fun I've ever had on a bike!) and he came again today with a few custom goodies. Here's a snap from the work stand:
Proper photos to follow when it's not pissing it down outside!
And yes, the saddle is still fugly and the valves are still in the wrong place! 😘
Lovely looking bike, but what the chuff is going on with that saddle? Did you steal it from your nanny's shopper?
If you'd clamped it on the seat post, which is generally accepted as better than gripping the frame, nobody would've noticed the abnormal height of that power socket.
Welcome (back)
The trick with valves is to get them lined up with absolutely nothing. Far harder than it sounds but it's worth it just for the wailing and gnashing that it'll provoke
I clamped on the frame just because I didn’t like the idea of the bikes weight levering on an extended dropper post. It’s already temperamental enough!
That saddle is vintage! 😆 It’s a DMR one from about 2005 I think. One of the few things I kept kicking around for some reason.
Need to get some more brake fluid and rebleed as I’m not too happy with the results, but really I just want to thrash it now!
I clamped on the frame just because I didn’t like the idea of the bikes weight levering on an extended dropper post. It’s already temperamental enough!
Fair point, I forget about that only using a dropper part time and rarely if ever using a stand. But then the comment was only a ruse to mention the real issue of wall socket positioning.
Looks great and sounds like you are enjoying it. Welcome and enjoy!
looks great, get those cable shortened!
Looks sweet! That is a proper job!
nice, get some tape on the headtube.
That’s a nice looking bike (apart from the saddle) and I hope it brings hours of fun, I had an older 26” Bfe and it was a great bike. Loving the matching fork decals 👍🏼
Loving the matching fork decals
That's the kind of precision we like.
But I'm just intrigued about the partially obscured artwork above the radiator. It looks like some kind of Warhol-esque thing involving Marmite.
