Skip to main content

LRB News ! - Issue #2

Seasons Greetings from LRB News ! 


Issue #2 is coming to you just a few sleeps from that long-awaited morning - when with high anticipation, you can rip open those oddly shaped and vaguely oily-smelling parcels under the tree to gasp in surprise and amazement that Santa knew just exactly the obscure 70's bike widget needed to complete the ideal LRB weapon.

Or will it be a complete Christmas Bike ?  Oh, the anticipation.

Now, LRB News !  has not been resting on it's laurels these past weeks since Issue #1 hit the streets.  Just like you, we have been out there picking through the scrap iron, perusing internet images of wet and diabolical editions of Paris-Roubaix, watching A Sunday in Hell ( again ), trawling ebay, and ratting through the bottom of the retired kit drawer.


Progress to date ?


After a dissapointingly brief and limited survey of the local tip shop line-up, a suitable candidate was selected from a somehow familar rogues gallery of heavily scarred and twisted Repco Travellers and K-Mart mountain bikes.  Although the LRB News ! service course is home to a collection of possiblities, it was elected to start with a fresh parts-bin magnet.  And given the condition of the internal workings of our base-line project, it is a good thing that the salvaged parts boxes overfloweth with rusty, filthy, replacement stuff.  But lets not dwell on the negative.  



Truth be told, it was the stylish solo shift lever and headtube badge, harking back to a less complicated bike-boom era, that sealed the fate of our project bike that otherwise might have ended up as recycled steel tomato tins.  The $20 all-in price tag may also have proven a motivating factor.  So, into the back of the wagon it went.


You know how it goes from here.  Complete tear down.  8.32 Kg's of rusty steel componentry hoisted into the recycling bin.  Removal of accumulated dirt, chain grease, and eviction of resident archnids.  Mock horror at the bearing destruction and general ride-wearyness of the internal moving parts.  All followed by a prolonged scratching of forehead ( jogging memory ) and then through boxes of bits and pieces.  The good news; nothing seems bent, and matching headset parts and a cartridge bottom bracket completed a solid foundation first round of preparation.  


Now for the running gear.


With most original pieces too shagg-ed to be re-used, naturally a second trip to the tip shop followed a few weeks later.  And fantastic news !  A bent and rusted donor bike relinquished stylish alloy 'bars, a front rim to be matched with parts bin period high flange hubs, a rear derailler, and weird Shimano 'A.ero' cranks ( yes, that is what it says on them ).


But that is quite enough titlation for now.  While the tech team at LRB News ! spend upcoming evenings lamenting the inflated prices of no-brand 22.2 diameter quill stems on ebay, and wrestling with the three dimensional puzzle of a second-hand wheel rebuild, we can at least revel in the solidarity of knowing that somewhere out there you'all are quietly cursing over seat post diameter 'standards', or  vocally remonstrating with a stripped crank thread...


Expect future updates as the LRB News ! weapon of choice takes shape.


Coming up in the next issue ( and in the new year ! ) we'll diverge with a little history.  Did someone mention suspension ?









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LRB News ! - Issue #9

LRB News ! Tech Spy Camera Reveals...  Hi all, and welcome to issue #9 of LRB News!  In the final week of build time before the big event, it seemed timely to send out our spy camera's to see what you all have been up to. Now Wes, it seems as though LRB has come around just in time to rescue your machine from a silent burial.  While I'm impressed by your under-floor insulation, and the bonfire-like stacking of flamable materials to near floor height, the team here at LRB News! have been wondering how on earth you have managed to dislodge the beast ?  And what else of value did you find on the way both in and out ?  Yes, look closely into the black centre ( at first glance we did wonder what this was a picture of exactly ).  A very tall skeleton lies in wait. Obviously your chosen steed has been sequestered away for quite some time ( juding by the life-time's worth of accumulated stuff piled in after it ) just waiting for the call to rise like a pheonix....
Post a Comment
Read more

LRB News! - Issue #12

 LRB in Pictures... While the elevator musics hums gently in the background as the points are tallied, LRB News! would like to share some previously unseen images from the Hell of the North. We'd also like to once again congratulate and thank all participants for their company on the day.    Stick with us, your patience is appreciated.  We'll get to your query as quickly as we can... Tall and tan and young and lovely The girl from Ipanema goes walking And when she passes Each one she passes goes, "Ah" When she walks, she's like a samba That swings so cool and sways so gently That when she passes Each one she passes goes, "Ah" And, ah...no, this is not quite the final issue of LRB News!  Lucky Issue #13 will round out the points and confirm who will receive the trophy as king of the Hell of the North !
Post a Comment
Read more

LRB News ! - Issue #8

 LRB Trophy Revealed ! Well fellas, here it is.  The coveted LRB trophy... This artisanal relic is what we all will be vying for at the inaugural L'enfer du Nord.                                   And what a masterwork it is. Carefully hand-crafted artefacts, masterfully patined as though pulled from a badly crashed and discarded machine from years gone by, and appearing as though assembled with other left-over detritus from around the LRB Service Course, this piece has been drawn together with the sort of laser precision only possible with modern artisanal tools and techniques. In order to take this beauty home as the centre-piece of your trophy cabinet, you will need to score points on the day in the following loose, and likely to change categories;          1.  Bike selection and build + adherence to the budget.          2.  R...
Post a Comment
Read more