Sunday, April 28, 2013

Fenderbot and Sanding a lot

Hello and Welcome,
Spring is here at last :)  I have been busy cleaning up the front and back lawns and trying to get the shop/garage organized. The weather has been pretty nice as of late. And I have managed to take a few short bike rides. I wanted to do a post about installing the PDW Fenderbot reflector taillight . Somehow I never got around to it, my sincere apologies for that. And I would also like to talk about the performance (or lack there of) of the Fenderbot light.

Above: Let me start by saying I installed this Fenderbot unit for looks. The idea was to build a bike with the classic touring bike look. The Fenderbot was the only new fender mount taillight I could find. It is Not Very Bright and I would not recommend this as your only rear light. When I ride this bike (day or night) I will have a flashing Ze'Fal taillight mounted on one of the seat stays or clipped onto the tool bag.

Above: Save the card the Fenderbot comes mounted on and use it for a template to make you marks for drilling the mount holes in your mudguard or fender. You can also use the template for proper drill bit selection if need be.

Above: Here I have made my marks with a Sharpie for my mount holes. You will need to make sure your holes are high enough so the taillight will clear any strut mounting hardware. After taking a measurement I made sure to cut my template so that the holes would be high enough. This way I could rest the template on the wrap around strut mount when making my marks.

Above: To avoid the bit skirting around damaging the beautiful Velo Orange hammered fender while I am am trying to drill the holes I use a small scratch awl to make an indent in the center of my marks. These indentations will make it much easier to keep the bit "on target" while I am drilling.

Above: Here I am using the template to check my drill bit size.

Above: Fearing the bit might hang up or bind I chose to drill a smaller hole first, then re drill with the finish size. Quite a while back I was re drilling the holes in a rear bicycle rack mount to fit a larger old seat post clamp bolt. I was using a high speed DeWalt 8 amp drill and it bound up. I did not have the piece secured, and when it spun the piece it felt like it damn near took one of my fingers off. Fortunately it just hurt like hell, no real damage done.

Above: This is what the Fenderbot looks like mounted from the inside of the fender. The bottom nut shown is the wrap around strut mount.

Above: The "not so bright" Fenderbot tail light mounted on my Velo Orange hammered rear fender. It's not really hammered, it is more of a hammer effect :)

Above: Here is the L.L. Bean Bike finished. After adding the white piping I realized I had subconsciously built something very much like (in looks anyway) to the Parliament. Eventually I removed the wrench graphic from the fork blade. You may have noticed for the "test ride" I have another taillight clipped onto the Minnehaha Barrel Bag (tool bag).

Above: The Zebrakenko is pretty much ready for primer, just a few tiny hard to reach spots to finish sanding. It has not really been warm and dry enough to paint yet anyway. But now the weather is much better so I will be priming it this week.

I am considering leaving the head and seat post lugs unpainted and polished. I will see how shiny I can get them before I decide. I am really not sure if I should polish the lug with something or just clear coat it. I am open to suggestions. I am thinking about building another classic commuter. Or possibly a fixed gear bike, sort of a "Mixey Fixey"

The mixti frame is by far the most difficult frame I have ever sanded. Nooks and Crannies are fine if your talking about English Muffins. On bicycle frames they are just a pain in the @$$. I will not be sanding another mixtie frame any time soon. I may even look into paint strippers. Although I really do not like using any more chemicals than I absolutely have to.

This is what I hope was the last snow of the season. It did not stick, and within hours was just an unpleasant memory. I did some fast repairs on a new friends Department Store rigid mountain bike. I did not bother with pics although maybe I should have. It was cosmetically "pretty mint". Mechanically "not so good". It did have the old thumb shifters which I consider a plus. Department store twist type grip shifters are always problematic crap anyway.
That is pretty much all I have for now. So until next time, Please Ride Safely! And remember to always..RESCUE, RESTORE and RECYCLE
Cheers, Hugh

The Detroit RedWings have made the playoffs for the 22nd consecutive season! Well Done Boys!
A Special THANK YOU to those of you have been checking out Hugh's Online Bike Shop. The link to Hugh's Online Bike Shop is located on this page in the right column near the top, just below the followers / members. You probably noticed that I am now adding word links to components, tools and supplies ect. ect. that I mention in my blog posts. Like the Store these links are powered by amazon.com . I am doing this to make it more convenient to purchase things that interest you on the blog. Also if you are new to bicycle work, and you are not sure what I am talking about? You can click on the word link just to see some examples of what I am referring to. I look at this as a positive change and I hope you do too.
Thanks, Hugh

12 comments:

  1. Yeah, I love the Fenderbot (and its cousin, the Spanninga fender light that it's probably based/copied from) but wish it was brighter. I think it's because they're basing it off of a rear dynamo powered light. With a dyno system of 3W output, it usually divvies up to 2.5W front lamp/0.5W rear. But my rear 0.5W dyno lights always seem brighter than the battery powered equivalents, so I wish they would have at least made them 1W instead.

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  2. Cool tutorial :)

    SS

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  3. The LL Bean is looking pretty cool. I don't know if you had this issue but I had a problem with mounting a fenderbot two years ago in that I couldn't get it flush to the fender and it ended up rattling some. I solved that issue with a rubber grommet I fashioned out of inner tube rubber. Looking forward to seeing the progression of the Zebrakenko.

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    1. Hey Ryan,
      Dang! I just noticed mine (fenderbot) doing the same #&% %@$& thing the other day. Those old inner tubes sure do come in handy :) Do you have a (USA to EURO) crank conversion coming up? Or was that someone else who purchased those from Hugh's Online Bike Shop?
      Cheers, Hugh

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    2. for once it wasn't me ;-) but that is on the someday list.

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    3. Thanks for all the times you have used Hugh's Online bike shop. It is greatly appreciated!

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  4. Very informative! Just bought a road bikes and was looking at gadgets I could use. Thanks!

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  5. I really enjoy watching the evolution of your Blog, Hugh.I had something similar in mind when I started out but I am far to lazy to do anything about it. It seems there must be another stage coming for your site...greater exposure? I suspect that there will be developments in the Blogsphere soon that will make the interactive process even more dynamic. As usual, I only have a vague notion what I am talking about but Cass Gilbert over at While Out Riding did a total make over of his site this year and it is pretty slick.

    As always, I am amazed at what you are doing with the bikes. And how about Roadie Ryan? When he started his Blog he hit the ground running and is growing fast.

    I am haunted by the feeling that there is a next level...the Blog Drunk Cyclist has a multi-author format centered (very) loosely around mountain biking, Arizona, babes and beer.

    I wonder if there is an Old Steel group out there...

    tj

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    1. Thanks TJ
      I don't know if I will be revamping my blog anytime soon. It takes me a while to "get comfortable" with anything new. Especially when it comes to anything involving the p.c. or the internet in general. I have never promoted my blog other than on the blog's face book page. Not because I am humble or anything noble like that. But because I have no idea how to do it :)
      I am very pleased to see Ryan's blog (Ryan's Rebuilds) doing well. He truly is "a really good guy". I like to think we have had a little something to do with his success. Your blog has been very helpful to me. After reading your blog the first time, I said to myself "now that is what writing is supposed to look (read) like".
      I think the idea of a cycling blog where different people share their cycle related stories sounds like a wonderful idea. You might want to pursue or develop that idea.
      I know there are some Raleigh groups out there. And for "old steel" the last time I checked Cameron had the "Old Ten speed Gallery" up and running again.
      The road is calling, I`m gonna take a ride before it heats up. It feels good to say that "before it heats up" Just a few weeks ago I would have said "before it starts snowing again!" It has really gotten green around here these past few weeks :)
      Cheers, Hugh

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