Scattante SSR Single Speed Road Bike

I don't have this bike anymore. It was fun to build, but other than a blast around the neighborhood every couple of weeks, I just wasn't riding it. But, if you want a fast and fun track-style bike, the Scattante SSR frame and fork is a nice offering. Don't expect a low-buck F&F to result in a low-buck build, however. I built mine up with cheap-but-good parts from a variety of online sources, and still dropped about $700 bucks. Ouch.

The cheapest clipless pedals I could find. I actually never rode clipped in, I kept platforms on the bike to facilitate quick spins around the neighborhood.

SRAM Omnium crank, super nice. I got a great deal on it from a buddy who worked there, I would not have bought such a nice crank otherwise.

ACS Claws BMX freewheel. The Scattante frame had neat socket-style fork ends (not dropouts, as Sheldon Brown will tell you). Calibration marks and chain tensioning screws made it easy to set up the drivetrain.  

These Weinman rims with Formula cartridge-bearing, high-flange hubs were $160 for the pair. I liked 'em.

Ah yes, there's the hub. Note the shallow sockets the axle nuts sit in, as a safety device. Even with nutted axles, I had to hassle with "lawyer lips!"

Tektro's most inexpensive brakes are the R530s, but they belie their low cost with a nice finish and smooth action. The pads need a fair ammount of bed-in time before they grab well, though--especially on the Weinman rims' machined sidewalls, which had fine grooves that further reduced grip.

This shot also shows the Performance chromoly fork's nicely sloping crown. The fork weighed a ton, as I recall. And, it's no longer available--or at least, not available now.

Tektro R200A levers go for under $30 bucks a pair. You can spend a lot more, but I don't think you can get a better functioning lever--unless you want your brake levers to also operate your derailers.

PricePoint bars and stem, $35 for both as a combo. Perfectly fine stuff.

Kalloy Uno radius-top, the best $20 seatpost you'll ever find. Get yours from Velo Orange and it won't have the logo--much nicer that way. The saddle is a Forte thing that came off my Scattante Roma flat-bar road bike.

And there you have it.

Schwinn Voyageur DONE(ish)

In addition to being the debut of my newly rebuilt Voyageur, these are also the first pics taken with my new (to me) Canon Rebel camera. I shot these full-auto, but I'm looking forward to really digging into the camera's features to take some creative photos.  

The crank is clear-anodized, so it didn't respond to polishing, but it cleaned up well enough. I soaked the chainrings in Simple Green to remove the greasy "gumline" from the old chain, and to my surprise the original Biopace decal stayed on. I wasn't worried about keeping it on there, but I figure it earned the right to stay after surving the long Simple Green soak. The chain is new, it's the cheapest 6-7-8 speed chain Nashbar had, and perfectly good. Grip Kings from Riv...more on those, and them,  later.

 

Original derailer, new Shimano 6-speed freewheel (not a cassette), new Jagwire housing. I have to crimp cable ends on there, I'll get the big bottle from Porkchop BMX. The derailer pulleys were really gummed up, a Simple Green soak took care of them. Since it's not a solvent, I didn't have to worry about harming the plastic or handling fumey/toxic/flammable stuff that I'd rather not dip my fingers into. So yeah, I like Simple Green.

 

Grip King pedals from Rivendell. Great pedals, and a great company. No clips, no cleats, no clicks. Just a big ol' platform, which is all you need. Read this.

Now, just because I eschew clip-in pedals, don't think me a "retro-grouch." I like indexing just fine, and the Voyageur's 6-speed downtube shifters are in SIS mode. That's Shimano Indexing System, which in 1987 was still a new thing. Mothers Mag Wheel polish brought back the shine.

Fresh Dia-Compe cable hangers and straddle wires, cheap but OK Dia Compe Gray Matter pads, and a polish job on the original cantilevers. Oh, and new Panaracer Pasela tires (not sure where I got 'em; I just Googled for a good photo and linked to where I found it). I forgot how fat 27 x 1 1/4 tires are, but boy is the ride cushy. And, the skinwalls look so much nicer against the polished rims than blackwalls do. Everything is blackwall these days.

 

You don't see headbadges anymore these days, especially ones that attach with tiny screws. This one reads "Schwinn Chicago," which means this is an American-made frame. If it said "Schwinn Quality," that would be Taiwan...which would also be fine.