The Fixie Project (part 2)

So I was able to get some track cranks of ebay the other day. They haven't arrived yet but I hope to see them in the mail soon. The front cog attached to them is a 40 tooth which is a good size given how hilly Brisbane is. Other than that my cold has put a hold on proceedings, also the wind and overcast skies are holding me from finishing the clear coat on the frame. Once the clear coat is on I will be able to start putting the bike together which will be very exciting!

I've chucked together some photos of the paint job as it stands. The base coat of white worked out great as the colours have really come up well. I painted particular spots in yellow first, then masked them and painted over the entire bike in brown. The masks turned out really well, and the lettering worked particularly well. The letters were from a scrap booking supply shop. I placed the letters and then painted over them, after which I used a sharp knife to lift the letters of to reveal the unpainted surface underneath.

River Fire

We headed up to the park on top of Highgate Hill (just up the road from our place) yesterday arvo to catch a glimpse of `Brisbane's best night out'. The river fire is a festival which culminates with a fireworks display and fuel dump-and-burn by an F111. The whole thing takes place down at Southbank which you can see quite well from our little park. We rocked up around 2 to get a spot and spent some time chatting to other locals including two of our neighbours.

The rotunda filled up pretty well later on in the afternoon.

The RAAF put on some nice entertainment with their formation flying.

Richard and Sarah (friends who have also moved up from Melbourne recently) joined us later in the afternoon.

The F111 fuel dump-and-burn was pretty impressive, it lit up the entire sky over Brisbane.

The fireworks went for a long time and were timed to music which was simulcast on the radio. It reminded me of the old sky show they used to have in Melbourne.

I'm paying for last night today as my cold has really come on in full force. It is a bit surprising given that we actually got a pretty early night. Oh well good thing it is Sunday and I can stay in bed all day surfing the web.

The Fixie Project (part 1)

Anyone who knows me is aware that I'm a bit of a gear-head. It's also true that fixed wheel bikes are a bit of the rage in the leftie circles that Kath and I frequent. As such I thought I might try to build my own. A fixed wheel bike does away with conventional multiple gears in favour of one gear that is fixed to the rear wheel so that when the pedals turn the rear wheel turns, in both directions. In essence you can't coast down hills because the pedals are always in motion while the bike is in motion.

I picked up a frame a few weeks ago at bicycle revolution in West End. They specialise in second hand bikes and have heaps of parts on hand which should prove useful in the coming weeks. The frame was pretty beat up with plenty of rust spots, however structurally it is fine. The brand of the frame is Popular which I'd never heard of, if anyone has I'd like to know.


I started by stripping the bike back to bare metal. Then a simple base coat of white and it is ready to begin customisation.


Looks a bit better without the rust. I've already started painting the top coat, brown with yellow decals. I'll be posting up pictures soon...

Brisvegas

So after completing the PhD I got a job at the University of Queensland. We've made the move from Melbourne to Brisbane and have found a flat in Highgate Hill. Keep posted for some random goings on in Brisbane.