T-Minus One Front Derailleur and Seatpost and Counting...

More progress in the riveting Mecacycle saga, as some wheels rolled out of Spaceman's Custom Wheelhouse for the old Turbo.

To me there's nothing sweeter than the joining of a fresh rim and spokes to a good hub with experience. So that's what we got, new IRD rims and 14/15 DT spokes, with an old Campy Veloce front hub with fresh balls and cones, and a slightly less old Veloce rear au naturel (really, do those need anything... ever?). Nothing fancy, 3x F+R, but a reliably solid platform, and as you would expect from the Spaceman's Wheelhouse, tensioned and trued to perfection. So how is this Graveltech quality you might ask? Well jerkface, it just so happens I've been saving the short ends of individual rolls of cloth rim strip, and by patching them all together, I've created a patchwork of full rim coverage from what would ordinarily be trash. HA!

The front derailleur is still in the planning stage, but the routing to it is hooked up and looking pretty nice.

The stops are so French though, 4.5mm instead of 5mm... Damn you Napoleon! I've got a plan for that though, more later. The seatpost, if you recall, must be a quill type, since there's no split seatpost binder or room for a clamp on the frame.

Since the one it came with is too short, and a longer one in 26.6mm ain't quite in every display case, I reckon I'll just have to make one myself.

With a hacksaw and file, 1" stem top-cap and bench sander, early Shimano 600 brake lever pivot and tap, and a crappy old SR seatpost and drill press, even you could have a quill style seatpost! Don't forget the random fasteners, and for the love of the sweet virgin mother of god, WEAR YOUR EYE PROTECTION!!!

Although this prototype looks promising, it is too short as well. But hey, wouldn't you want a little practice before hacking up your Thomson post? This is Graveltech motherfuckers, where only good enough is GOOD ENOUGH!!! Ohhh, I think there's something in my eye....