The headset and Fulcrum Redmetal 29 SL wheels (with their subtle stickers) are installed. Is it starting to look like a bike?
The wheels are between the stickers and the brick wall. These seem nice, but I’ll wait to pass judgement until I’ve ridden them for a while.
I’ve been building up a pile of parts for the new build. Above you see a free Surly Karate Monkey fork and some flashy cork Ergon grips I picked up in Melrose, SA. In the next photos you’ll see a mix of parts I had in my garage and several used parts I’ve found. Highlights include an almost new crank, very new-ish hydro brakes, $20 tires and the saddle, seat post, pedals and chain from the M2.
About an hour into a two-minute pedal swap I came to the realization that I had a seized pedal axle. The 8mm allen head on the pedal axle was stripped, my vice grips wouldn’t grab the axle, and I was running out of options. I tried penetrating oil, heat and large blunt objects. Nothing was working.
As a last resort I put the crank arm, pedal axle and attached vice grips in the freezer and went to bed. The next morning the axle came right out. I would not have guessed that freezing a steel axle in an aluminum crank arm would have helped, and it may not have, but in any case the axle is out.