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When I got my Ti456 I built it up pretty conventionally.
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But it wasn't getting enough use, so I decided to keep my Explosif as winter mudplugger and transform the On One into a commuter.
Step 1 was to take the Pikes off & On One 440mm Carbon forks on. Tyres swapped (to 2.4" Vredestein Killer Bees). All very nice & quick but head angle felt quite steep ... and it wasn't really getting fugly enough to deter anyone from finding it desirable.
Step 2 was to get a 29er front wheel built (Pro2 & Stan's Arch rim from JRA) & shod with Racing Ralph 2.4". Rolls quickly, bit more forgiving but front end now a bit high. But fuglification coming on nicely.
Step 3 - mudguards. Yay!! Major fuglifying plastic surgery.
Step 4 was to swap the nice risers for Fleegles. Fuglification enhanced by adding bell & lights.
Step 5 - make it a bodged singlespeed. DMR Tensionseeker sought but never found tension - in fact it exploded and only the ziptie makes it work. Regrettably I've lost the fuglifying zeal and a Forward Components EBB is on its way.
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P.S. It's a neighbour's garden but I can convey any messages for improvement.
I've seen worse..... 😉
That frame is crying inside! Good idea to put the 29" front wheel on, will roll better over the roots/rocks found on the typical daily commute. 😉
29" front wheel on, will roll better over the roots/rocks
London towpaths, a few minor offroad bits, quite a few steps, potholes etc. All the usual things that call for 5" travel front & rear. 29er sorts 'em out.
🙄 why why why do that to such a nice frame? 🙄
TF Tuned sticker on a rigid fork is a nice touch 🙂
So you took this year's pants-creamer, a 10/10 hardcore hardtail forged from titanium that other people claim changed their riding and their lives forever ... and turned it into a hybrid. This is good work. 😀
you sick evil twisted person.
well done.
Thank you all. 😳 I'm bashfully proud of my achievement.
Glad someone spotted the TFT sticker - so far no one I've met on my daily commute has mentioned it, possibly as they're blinded by the L&M light.
other people claim changed their riding and their lives forever ...
It's changed mine too. Now I bravely tackle the Bandstand steps off Narrow Street rather than riding round it. Tough stuff, you know.
two 2Mb images. I'm glad I've got fast broadband 🙂
Apart from the mudguards it looks betterer now......
Seems like a rather pointless exercise in spending money to me.
Surely you could have gone to halfords or similar and spent much less money on buying a commuter bike that is designed for the job.
Then you
a) Wont cry when it gets stolen
b) Wont have turned a bike designed for one job into something it was never intended for
c) Look like a muppet with more money than sense
d) Have a bike that looks rather pointless
Sorry, its a hardcore frame fitted with commuter parts. Not just any parts but expensive parts. All that bike does is shout look at me and how different i can be. Surely that is the exact opposite of a commuter bike
How much does that abortion weigh now?
Excellent! glue a reinforcing brace between the Stays so its like the latest batch. 🙂
two 2Mb images. I'm glad I've got fast broadband
Detail is important. And how can it look betterer now?!
I like the 'new look' - put some knobblier tyres on it and use it as your winter mud-plugger 🙂
How about bar ends? With the risers
Ah, why I have it is an accident - planned to use it for its intended purpose but had to move, then needed a commuter and already had too many bikes.
Actually it's a hardcore rigid now and can tackle whatever you want, provided you're happy on a rigid. It just happens to spend most of its time on towpaths which which it copes rather splendidly.
As for weight, not much. Even with the tubeless setup about 22lbs (vague holding it in hand test only)?
This whole hobby is a pointless exercise in spending money, isn't it? Also known as having fun, but each to their own I guess.
Sweet, I would actually love one of those as a commuter too, but I don't think it has the rack mounts. Oh, and I can't afford it.
Try some Schwalbe Super Motos for speedier commuting!
i think it looks flipping ace.
my ti456 won'tsuffer the same fate, but my hummer is like your ti456. it's now a 69'er, but pic shows a 26" fr. wheel.....
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why is their decking on wheels? is that so they can change their mind when they realise its shite and wheel it off down the street?
😥
As for weight, not much. Even with the tubeless setup about 22lbs (vague holding it in hand test only)?
Ahh, the calibrated hand test. More like 25-26lbs then?! 😈
F-ugly before the change IMO and now still f-ugly but bizarely its starting to look more attractive as a commuter. No I dont understand my logic either.
why is their decking on wheels?
Sun loungers of uncertain vintage, I believe.
Ahh, the calibrated hand test. More like 25-26lbs then?!
Done it properly now with scales. Hand re-calibrated. 24lbs precisely.
TLR - Ti makes sense. Now all that salt, dirt, floods etc. won't rot the frame.
When you added your 29" wheel up front did you buy a new 26" rear wheel as well? Just so they would match?
When you added your 29" wheel up front did you buy a new 26" rear wheel as well? Just so they would match?
Good spot that man, but no. Pikes & previous wheels moved over to my son's bike (who was moving up from 24" wheels). So I needed 2 new wheels - I wanted a rear Hope Hoop and got the front built to match.
So yes, I am a tart but not quite as bad as that.
I doesn't look ugly/commuterish enough without some form of rim brakes. You are trying pretty hard with the silver fork crown/dropouts and cranks though
Could you fit panniers too? Also I think you need more lights. At least two kinds of flashing light at each end.
There are rack mounts, so panniers are possible. More lights? I've noted this fetish for multiple lights and don't get it - a big f*** off HID lamp works wonders.
Yeah, but I thought you were going for fugly? No matter how much safer it is, the Christmas tree look always has a slight air of hilarity about it.
Good point, well made. Maybe I need to question my determination ... maybe a mediocre level of fugliness will be enough to see off the towpath chavs.
Lecht rocks/Farticus - I'm considering putting Carbon forks on a Ti 456 do you think popping a 29er on the front makes a big difference or is it just a mild improvement over a 26.
Is there an issue using a 29er fork on 26 frame, i'd have thought it would just slacken of the head angle or is that the problem? Any advice appreciated/ 😉
More ugly is needed. How about one of those new crud fast fenders?
Haddock - that's a 26er fork (440mm) with a 29er front wheel, not a 29er fork. Handling is fine in the set up shown, but advice from Brant was not to try a 29er sus fork.
Farticus - you have sown evil seeds in my mind!
I'm building up a full sus from the parts of my 456, but am loathed to get rid of the frame - 💡 Ti 456 Hybrid 😀
haddock - my hummer has the on one 26" CF fork and a 29" wheel.
little bit of toe-overlap, but geometrically it seems to work really well 😀
however it works well, if a little lightening fast with a 26" fronth too 😀
i think the 29" may distress you due to the toe overlap.
Its just a thoughts at the moment, may loose the road bike and do a 'speedster' I dont think i'm man enough for Single speed though (dodgy knees excuse).