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26 ain't dead – The story of a Steel Frame
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Posted 7 years ago
Many years ago (well, Halloween 2006 to be precise) I snapped my Sanderson running into the front of a parked car.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/7h2MWw]Crash_018[/url] by Peter Atkin, on FlickrShortly after that I placed an order for one of the limited run of 853 Inbred frames and in early 2007 it was delivered, and built up precisely like this:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/768Bxy]Inbred 013[/url] by Peter Atkin, on FlickrAbout 2-3 weeks later, at walking pace in Lee Woods, Brizzzle, a Stick went through my back wheel, and travelled precisely half a wheel turn to wreck the mech and do this to the mech hanger:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/5jCW66]DSCF0028[/url] by Peter Atkin, on Flickr\
[url=https://flic.kr/p/5jHdjU]DSCF0032[/url] by Peter Atkin, on FlickrI took that photo that night. I was gutted. After asking some advice I decided there was nothing to loose by attempting to straighten the hanger, which was a slow careful process using a vice, controlled aggression and an old hub axle as a fulcrum….. But it worked, and it’s still working today!
[url=https://flic.kr/p/5jH8YA]dropout 027[/url] by Peter Atkin, on FlickrThe next winter I SS’d it for a while, mud tyres and everything!
[url=https://flic.kr/p/7vnGxZ]IMG_1459[/url] by Peter Atkin, on FlickrIt was well known at the time that the 853 frames in particular had very little chainring clearance to the chainstay (I measured it at 2.5mm) and despite fitting 3 new middle rings in a year it only took that long for chain suck to work it’s way through the stay. I couldn’t stop it… 🙁
[url=https://flic.kr/p/4Qgcfi]IMG_5531[/url] by Peter Atkin, on Flickr[url=https://flic.kr/p/4Qkobu]IMG_5525[/url] by Peter Atkin, on FlickrI nearly did a 2ft drop off (I usually did it) on my way home that night!
So, anyway, I took it to Argos Cycles for a respray and a new stay. Rather than copy the old design I asked for a straighter one, which lost 2-3mm of mud room and gained maybe 5mm or more of chainring clearance.
Now I can get my finger in there! This worked. To this day chain suck just doesn’t happen. You may say frames don’t cause chain suck, and you’d be right. But poor design in that area makes the consequences of chain suck a lot, lot worse. A fact I’ve proven.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/55A3dG]IMG_7251[/url] by Peter Atkin, on FlickrAnd once rebuilt the bike looked like this
[url=https://flic.kr/p/55A18Q]IMG_7246[/url] by Peter Atkin, on FlickrI rode it like that for a few years but after I discovered that vee brakes won’t stop a fully laden bike plus me plus trailer on a wet Cornish hill I decided i needed a disc braked touring bike (sensible IMO) and repurposed the Inbred into a tourer of sorts:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/ekUXKF]IMG_1968[/url] by Peter Atkin, on Flickr[url=https://flic.kr/p/em25rA]IMG_2179[/url] by Peter Atkin, on Flickr[url=https://flic.kr/p/nSiG7s]IMG_3963[/url] by Peter Atkin, on FlickrTo be fair, it made a bloody good tourer/commuter and I did a LOT of miles on it in that guise.
Last year however, 2 weeks before our tour I found this:[url=https://flic.kr/p/wHCyrd]Untitled[/url] by Peter Atkin, on FlickrI think the weight and strain was literally pulling the seat tube apart.
I quickly repurposed my Croix de Fer into a 3×9 flat barred tourer, and it did rather well. That set plans in motion for a dedicated tourer and I now have a Tour de Fer which is ace.
But I never forgot about the Inbred.
The frame sat in the loft for nearly a year (I had a Saracen Kili Flyer as my main bike, I didn’t need 2 steel hardtails) but after I swapped that for a Trek Stache, I decided to sort the old One One out again.
This is just meant to be a cheap repair to last a year or two, then maybe I’ll get a new seat tube put in, so it’s a cheap powder coat in and off the shelf colour from a local firm and some cheap (and they are cheap. And crap…) decals off eBay, after getting someone to run a weld over the crack and then reaming the seat tube out
I’d saved a lot of the parts off the Saracen, and I had a few bits lying around, so all I’ve had to buy is a chain, cassette and chainring which cost me just over £30 all in.
So now, with a new lease of life, she looks like this…!**fanfare**
[url=https://flic.kr/p/HhBZpt]Untitled[/url] by Peter Atkin, on FlickrSo yeah, nothing earth shattering really.
And yes, I know some will think I’ve wasted money repairing an old, obsolete frame (again….) But that’s not the point.
I like the frame. Its fits me perfectly, It’s amazingly versatile (Proven point again!) and almost infinitely repairable, and how often is that touted as an advantage of a steel frame? Lots..! So that’s what I’m doing.So I’ll keep repairing it until its utterly shot, then hand what’s left on the wall and remember the many thousands of miles and the good times. It’s a keeper, this one. 🙂
p.s.
Have you noticed the one component that’s never changed?Posted 7 years agoNice story! good work for sticking with it!
Mine isn’t quite as as dramatic. Bought a year old 2nd hand Dekerf Generation from Recycle in Penge in 2000. Race face, LX, suntour thumbies, lime green Z2 Fly Bombers. flared the headtube a few years later, took it to Chas Roberts, who brazed & reamed the headtube and added reinforcing rings, painted it blue and new decals (badly – see pics below!).
Went through few wheels, Marzocchi MZ comp forks then disc brakes arrived with a Reba Team fork.
Bought an 853 Dialled PA on the preorder offer (2012?), which freed up the dekerf to be sent off for more extensive froo-frooing, disc mount on the back, hydro guides for cable stops, canti bosses removed and dents filled. And spangly paint with forks to match. Set it up rigid singlespeed (salsa cromoto, Phil Woods EBB), as the PA was taking care of the ruffty-tuffty end of things.
Handling was razor sharp, so took the opportunity to introduce a little more comfort, grip, and calm the steering down a bit with a 3″ knard on a Hugo up front. Cleaned up a tiny jpg of the logo and sent it off to Greg Moorhouse for a pewter headbadge too.
(I’ve shortened the brake hose since then!)Posted 7 years agoNice 🙂
My Soul at it’s birth, Xmas day 2008;
[/url]Picture 015 by IamDeathside, on Flickr[/img]Been my only mtb since, it’s seen off wheels, forks, drive trains and too many contact points to count. But still going strong and still putting a smile on my face. I should perhaps show it some love…..
[/url]IMG_20160529_194924 by IamDeathside, on Flickr[/img]long may it remain my only mtb 🙂 but road bikes, that’s different story…..
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