This year I built a bike instead of going out and drinking.
Yep. Built a bike in the last few hours of 06.
I had been wanting a slightly shorter frame for a while now. When I found out Seshin Bikes offered a 21.5" Liger (yes, the mythical half lion half tiger bred for its skills in majik) I was all over it. I got in contact with Ted @ Seshin, and he said they were sold out, but would be offering a new frame at the end of the year in 21.5"
So I waited.
And my wait finally ended in December:
This is a Seshin Megatron.
Its got a 21.5" top tube, and 13.65" chainstays.
This means that my knees will still clear the stem, and I'll be able to spin it much easier than my Macneil (which was 22/14.75").
I swapped over pretty much all the parts from The Macneil, except for the headset and bottom bracket.. oh, and Morgan gave me that wicked blue tire (which sadly has a bulge).
Even though BMX standards are pretty much set, I ran into a couple snags with the build.
1) I've got more crank clearance, so I can tuck in the Q factor a bit more, but the head of my sprocket bolt is stripped, so I can't remove it to take out the spacers... or the out-of-round tophat spacer the sprocket rests on.
2)My chain tensioners don't fit on the dropouts, which are too low profile. Taking a cue from Morgan, I'll go without, and just crank the axle nuts down 'BMX tight'.
3)With the rear end being so short, my brake booster will not fit. I've built it with a straddle cable for now, but I may have to redesign it.
Its almost there though. As you can tell, these things are quite nit picky.
Onto the ride.. its FUCKING INCREDIBLE.
It fits me so well, and feels so responsive!
After looping out a few times and finding out just how short it is, I've almost adapted. I have nearly dialed my hop 180°s in just the first short session.
I absolutely cannot wait to take this thing to Hastings.
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