The Slow Twitch Project

The Good Doctor's Bike Build Project...
It all began after I got my spandex spanked while riding a Time Trial in Asheville this summer. I was going to participate in the Omnium there and had strapped some aero bars on my Trek 1200 in order to attempt the 20 kilometer Time Trial. I had ridden the bike twice to get some practice in and thought I might do alright. I averaged 23.5 mph on the course and felt pretty good about my effort. Who knew I could travel that fast and get passed by no less than 4 riders that went off at intervals of 30 seconds behind me??? I did reasonably well in the Road Race the following day and got pulled from the course in the Criterium on Sunday. I left lots of room for improvement and have been mulling it over since.

That desire for improvement in Asheville next season, combined with a desire to learn more about the workings of the machine, has brought me to a rather scary idea for a Winter project: Build a Time Trial machine. The scary part is a novice mechanic doing his first build, hence the name "Slow Twitch Project" that implies videos with me crying, bewildered, and with multiple parts/tools scattered around as screeching violins play.......

The project began by making several purchases off eBay. The first was a 2004 Motobecane Nemesis frame/fork and a few other odd parts. I have purchased pedals, base bar, and derailleurs. I already had wheels, bottom bracket, stem, and a crankset. Perhaps the most daunting purchase was the headset. There seem to be a bewildering amount of types/sizes. After quite a bit of research I came to the conclusion that I needed a Campy compatible integrated headset and settled on the FSA Orbit CE. I also purchased a Park PCS-1 repair stand that is en route.

I was going to wait for the repair stand to arrive, but I had to stay home with the children this afternoon and was itching to get started. Armed with Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, a bevy of tools, the frame, fork, and headset, I started my project.

Hmmm, the headset doesn't slide all the way down on the fork? Any of you Ramblers got a Crown Race Setter lying about???? Ah, the first snag of many. Cue the violins............

It is indeed the mother of invention. Let's see, a Crown Race Setter for $65 that I might use once? I don't think so. Cheap, uh, guy that I am, I chose to go to the hardware store and purchase a piece of 1.5 inch PVC pipe and a 1.5" to 1.25" PVC adaptor. Voila! A $4.20 Crown Race Setter. Here's the picture of the Frame/Fork/Headset/Stem AND the Crash version of a Crown Race Setter.

Good Doctor