Unsubstantiated 'Cuevas' Turbo roadie frame and the Choose your own adventure Townie build!

I got this 'Cuevas' road frame from the old Spokes and Strings shop in Brooklyn in 02' or something I think. They had this one and a bunch of other that they claimed to have purchased when Cuevas closed their build shop. Which is around the time when Francisco died if I'm not mistaken. I went to the old Cuevas bike shop in queens to check it out and met his son Fernando. From what he was saying it wasn't a true Cuevas frame made by his father and wouldn't really comment on it's origins. I assumed it was some sort of not quite finished experiment/abortion since it was originally raw and not quite finished when I got it..

More here..

Regardless I def remember it riding real nice when I built it up a while back. It's obviously not been built up in a really long time..

Right, why am I telling you this shit.. Well, I've been kinda wanting to build up a super chill cruiser/townie type jam with a few speeds in back, single ring in front and some north roads bars for a while now. Both my tall bikes have north roads on em and they're kind of rad. Anyways, I was going through possible candidates when I spotted the 'Cuevas'. It's not a contender but I thought you'd all enjoy having a peek due to it's overwhelming aero oddness..

Here's the main thing- I've been wanting to build a bike up around this for a loooong time:


Campy single sided clamp on shifter = WIN

I bought it on ebay around the same time as when I got the Cuevas frame. I just got it for the hell of it cause I thought it was neat. Only $15 bucks too :)

The idea behind this build closely resembles the premise behind this old commercial:



Though on the other hand it's a bit of a FAIL since the only road frames I currently own that'll fit me have shifter bosses. Which could easily be removed of course. Though the implementation of which for a measly clamp on shifter would undoubtedly put a considerable twist in the panties of many a bike snob. Which certainly doesn't make me want to do it any less, in fact, quite the opposite!

So here's the choose your own adventure portion of the build. Which one shall it be? You decide..

Tonights contenders are these two pretty beat to shit basement find steel road frames I got for free. Neglected over the years to be tripped over, scratched, dinged and rusted from floods. No matching fork for either due to front end collisions no doubt..

DeBernardi:


Guerciotti:


Either way the sparks are gonna fuckin fly!

So untwist those panties folks cause they're mearly Cycling Trivialities. The great thing about steel, what the frames are made out of, is that you can use these things called torches that get really hot and enable you to remount said shifter bosses with a process called brazing. If one would choose to do so of course. Though spending any time and money required to renovate either of these frames would be better spent getting ones head examined..

Also keep in mind I was originally thinking of building a tall bike from them so consider this possible action as the lesser of two evils..

So choose wisely and we'll move on to the next chapter in our story..

Unsubstantiated 'Cuevas' Turbo roadie frame and the Choose your own adventure Townie build!

Choose Your Own Adventure Townie Chapter 2: Components!

That's it- The DeBernardi takes it! Time to break out with the cut off wheel, files and fine sandpaper :-D

..or is it???

With a frame picked out it's time to move on to components. There's lots to choose from but take care to choose wisely for there are many potential plot twisting complications around each turn..

Cranks:

What we have here is a set of Paké's, Andel 1.0's and a set of Campy Pista TANDEM cranks. Please note: While the campy cranks are the obvious choice keep in mind that I will have to switch out the axles of either the road or track MKS pedals to make it a right hand drive. The NOS arm in the bag is a matching Tandem Pista arm from a different year. Though the only problem being that the shield on the drive side is closer to the crank bolt hole and is engraved while the NOS one is painted and in the middle. The ugly looking arm is actually a Strada road arm which could use some work but would match more perfectly..

Chainrings:

Suntour Superbe 44T or a Sugino 75 44T? (The Campy cranks have a 44 Campy ring on there now)

Yes, using track gear in the front should be fine with a wide ass 7 or 8 speed chain. I can always swap out a ring if need be..

Bars, Brake Levers and Grips:

Some Nitto alloy Northroads style bars or the chrome jammies I took off some junky dutch bike.

The two larger brake levers do not have matching opposing sides for now and the Cane Creek ones would require a slight shim to fit the alloy bars..

Stick with the cork cheapy grips or..?


Seat posts:

Vintage Campy fluted, Vintage Shimano DA fluted (shim needed), Kalloy Suspension, Ti post from an unknown maker..


Stems:

Cinelli 90mm (needs work), Cinelli 100mm and this wonky Major Taylor stem that also needs a little work..


Headsets:

Vintage Dura Ace, Tange or Campy Brev (missing bottom race)


Derailleurs:

Vintage Dura Ace or Shimano 600? They both need to be rebuilt/completed..

Bottle cages:

Bottle cage, bottle cage, Whisky Flask holder, Bottle cage..

We all know what the answer to this one is going be you alchy bastards so:


Which flask is it gonna be:

Honey, fake croc or nood..

Accessories:

Vintage stop/pocket watch holder or a wireless WTF ever computer..

Brakes:

All I've got that's worth while is these Campy Athena- ssSHIT.. wait, I've got some similar old Dura Ace single pull ones as well. Spaced on those..

Shifters:

..and so the plot thickens!! Stick with the original plan or take a potential step towards unraveling everything and having to start the whole story over again :-O

Please note that whatever I've left out I either don't have enough to choose from yet or you have no choice in the matter at all..

Chapter 3 has more in store for you than you could possibly imagine! Let's see if ya'll can make it there first..

Choose Your Own Adventure Townie Chapter 2: Components!

Two new BURLY tools for the shop!

I made my way up to Albany this past weekend to pick up the Surface Plate I got a wicked good deal on. Also a good deal was the two ton engine hoist I got from Harbor Freight:

SO STOKED it wasn't orange like they usually are!

It just so happened that the day I went to pick it up they were running a big sidewalk sale and had marked it down from $199 to $159- AWESOME! I picked up a couple 8500lb straps (also on sale) as well and I was gtg!

It was a long battle filled with many perils but in the end I won out. Now I just have to build a vertical standing push cart to move the beast into the shop itself..

Looking forward to the next tool hunting and gathering adventure!

Two new BURLY tools for the shop!

Speaking of Townie-Cruisers, check out this classy Olmo!

This was mentioned to me in response of yesterday's Choose your own Adventure Townie build:

It even has the single sided clamp on shifter too!

Very classic.. Def want to do something similar with more of a WMD touch..

Thanks Jolan!

p.s. - Why is it that more of you fuckers aren't sending me your shit?

Speaking of Townie-Cruisers, check out this classy Olmo!

40&1/2 cage, RC Broham Rack and WTF Townie?!

This one's SURE to get me the hairy eyeball:

aaaaahahaaha, YES! I'm super stoked on how funky and awesome this bike came out!! Specs etc later on since I'd rather talk about the funny shit I made more right now..

Like the RC Broham Rack! (BETA):

For those of you who don't really get the title, please refer to Nintendo's RC Pro Am from 1987 (1:40 to be specific):

The idea came to me during one of my stonier moments a while back and I'd been dying to see it come to fruition. It's the very first rack I've ever made and I basically slapped it together in one afternoon. So yeah, there's lots I could improve on. Like having barely cleaned up the welds! It could def be a bit lighter too. The actual 'speed arrows' could def be either thinner steel or maybe even some other material. Tho they most def make the fucker sturdy and stiff as hell. You could transport a keg on that thing and not have it bend!

While the RC Broham rack is just kinda a fun and reminiscent idea of times when video games weren't consuming everyone's souls, I think this next one is something people would honestly be interested in:

The 40&1/2 cage (BETA):

Yes, I made a cage that can carry any 1/2 gallon container of milk, ice tea and apple cider.. THAT CAN ALSO CARRY A 40oz OF BEER!!

I DARE you to tell me that's not pretty fucking awesome! I mean, how many times have you gone grocery shopping and had to deal with the awkward extra weight on the one side of your bars during the trip home? I never had a rack before this one so that's just how I carried shit and getting milk always sketched me out. No longer tho!

As for the 40oz bottles, I did come up with the idea to make a cage for that first. Not being a drinker however, stalled that idea for a while. Until I realized that if I could make the cage more dual purpose by carrying a 1/2 gallon container as well, it could feasibly make for an actual sellable product..

I basically want to test the cage out myself, make a few tweaks on the next version and see what I think. Perhaps give a couple out for others to test for their feedback. Then if there's interest, I would LOVE to make a bunch more of these! Lord knows I could use some supplementary income these days. I'd just have to make a nice jig first to keep things consistant. The one pictured was all done free hand with a vise..

So yeah, if you're interested, have any thoughts or comments def let me know:

TheTripleC@hotmail.com

Be sure to put 40&1/2 cage in the title of the email or just drop me a comment here..

As for the wacky parts group on the Townie bike itself, read em and weep:

***

Beat up, front end impacted DeBernardi frame resprayed ala rattlecan

Yamaguchi straight blade forks (formerly owned by the man himself, Mike McCarthy)

OG HED wheels with original 7 speed freewheel style hub

Gatorskin Tubulars

Stronglight Ironlight Cranks

Shimano DX pedals

Dura Ace 7 speed rear Derailleur

Vintage Dura Ace Headset

Campagnolo single sided shifter

Campagnolo fluted seat post

Campagnolo Athena Brakes

Selle Turbo Saddle

Dia Compe Brake levers

Cinelli Stem

Nitto Bars

Nashbar Cork Grips

***

Yeah, like I said- NUTTY!

More pics on my flickr..

Originally titled: The choose your own adventure townie, this build came about due to a crazy amount of weird and random bike parts I'd accumulated over the years. Some were take off parts from frames I'd bought or found in the trash. Others, like the yamaguchi forks, were just something I snagged off ebay cause, well, they're AWESOME! The forks are great cause the dude I bought them from lived in Manhattan. He told me that he originally bought them off Mike McCarthy back in the day when they used to train together. Apparently, Mike had swapped out the fork I bought for a CF one and then gave it to his buddy. Who then sold it to me. For like $60 bucks. Then my dumbass relinquishes it to a friggen wack ass townie build- douche. So yeah, stoked on that purchase! Not sure if it'll stay on there but it def gives me a kick seeing it in front like that, hehe..

Not to mention those fuuuucking RAD HED wheels! OMG I was SO stoked to put that pair together!! I got the front wheel while buying a Specialized HED3 off some dude a while back for $300 for both in super nice shape. Then, I got the rear from a local cat. I didn't know the hub was a threaded freewheel at first when I went to check it out. But since it was a matching set I felt like they just needed to coexist together. Then I thought, HOLY FUCK I should totally blaze these on my townie! With the help of a couple of tubular Gatorskins, history

was made. A HISTORY EVERY PERIOD CORRECT WANKER WILL GET HIS PANTIES IN A TWIST OVER- MWAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Seriously tho, this shit is hilarious and totally for kicks. I get period correctness and all that but I don't see what's wrong with having a little fun with a bunch of random used parts bin parts either..

Anyways, enough of that shit, repost the 40&1/2 cage so I can feed myself. After all, it's how Ahearne got his start with the Whisky flask cage..

40&1/2 cage, RC Broham Rack and WTF Townie?!