On One Macinato

[Psyclist]

Here's my new bike (not actual pic) I get the frame delivered Tuesday coming. I ordered the Macinato fork too, but if the bike is too heavy, I'll opt for a Deda carbon one which is a few hundred grams lighter. This build will be done by the next fortnight or so and ready to ride

Parts I have so far, more coming through the post....

Disposable Stronglight crankset

Charge Spoon

Charge slice bullhorns with Dia Compe Dirt Harry levers and Charge U-Bend Tape. Uno stem.

Spank seatclamp (I'll sand it down so it's silver) and Hope spacers.

I have tyres,seatpost and callipers on the way too.

 

[wheres_my_beard]

Looks very promising. Which pedals and wheels have you got lined up?

Good luck sanding that seat clamp down! Don't be tempted to used too harsh a grade of paper, as it's a pain to get deep scuffs out later. Use a dremel if you have one, it'll cut your time down by a massive amount. Either way, it's well worth it if you persist though - here's some bits I did recently

 

[Psyclist]

Looks very promising. Which pedals and wheels have you got lined up?

Good luck sanding that seat clamp down! Don't be tempted to used too harsh a grade of paper, as it's a pain to get deep scuffs out later. Use a dremel if you have one, it'll cut your time down by a massive amount. Either way, it's well worth it if you persist though - here's some bits I did recently

That looks freaking awesome. Not sure if I'll polish mine up, or just leave it raw.

I will have MKS Touring pedals and Weinmann DP18 wheels from a friend when I get paid next. I'm trying to do a retro look, so I might sand down the Dirt Harry levers and polish them up.

I think it'd be awesome if you have the spare time to make a thread on how to polish up metal as I have no idea on how to do that.

 

[wheres_my_beard]

If you have a couple of hours free every now and again, it's fairly quick to get bit's done especially if they are flat or flowing shapes. There are chemical ways to get the anodising off, but I haven't tried any, but this has the potential for either a good clean finish, or causing dimples and pits in the surface depending on the quality of the underlaying aluminium.

In a nut shell:
Sand, sand, sand, and sand, then sand some more. Check the finish then sand some more. Then sand some more. Only sand in one direction, and stick with it. Then polish, polish, polish. And then buff. Then think about what you want to polish next...

I started with 400 grit paper, which is just enough to lift the anodised surface, slowly, then moved to 800 when I had a completely uniform surface (getting rid of scratches and scuffs in the process), then moved to 1200 when I had a smoother uniform surface, then moved to 1500. You may need to back to a more aggressive paper if you see scuffs from a previous stage, which is disheartening, but well worth it. Once that was totally uniform, I broke out the Autosol polish, and got busy with some micro pore clothes. I found working in small areas (about the size of a £2 coin), in a circular motion got the best results. I then buffed up and used polish with cotton wool pads (courtesy of Mrs W_M_B, not that she knows!). Do not use the same dirty part of the cloth for polishing different areas, as you may mark the surface with a build up of contaminates, wipe down the area with a second cloth before moving on to the next small area. I then buffed it all up with a totally clean micro pore cloth. Aluminium is filthy to polish, so be prepared to have black hands, and loads of black marks on your cloths, and possibly clothes.

Don't rush, but persevere. I did this on the sofa with the TV on so I wasn't obsessing about time, and just doing repetitive strokes with the sandpaper or polish.

 

[Psyclist]

If you have a couple of hours free every now and again, it's fairly quick to get bit's done especially if they are flat or flowing shapes. There are chemical ways to get the anodising off, but I haven't tried any, but this has the potential for either a good clean finish, or causing dimples and pits in the surface depending on the quality of the underlaying aluminium.

In a nut shell:
*SNIP*

Thanks! That's good advice

I just did this but I'm not finished as I'm going to sand it down a little more, maybe get a dremel as I have a drill already too. I'm keeping the clamp white, but I'll do the other lever when I get more sandpaper.

 

[wheres_my_beard]

Nice work!!, The clamp looks great already, like brushed aluminium, which it is I suppose! I found that taking my lever apart helped make the job easier, and avoid unwanted scuffing on other areas. I'm looking forward to seeing how things work out

Halfords have a good range of auto repair sandpaper, although it's got a fanicer name than that; it should last ages, especially as i was using about 2" square pieces.

 

[Psyclist]

Nice work!!, The clamp looks great already, like brushed aluminium, which it is I suppose! I found that taking my lever apart helped make the job easier, and avoid unwanted scuffing on other areas. I'm looking forward to seeing how things work out

Halfords have a good range of auto repair sandpaper, although it's got a fanicer name than that; it should last ages, especially as i was using about 2" square pieces.

Cheers again. I'll have my frame by tomorrow too by the way.

 

[djb1971]

It'll look great when it's built. It's nice to have a project bike and it always feels better when you've built it yourself

 

[edindave]

Look forward to seeing the finished build. It's going to be a beautiful machine.

I got my Macinato on Friday. Stock build. Size small, it weighs 9.6kg, just to give you an idea.

 

[Psyclist]

Look forward to seeing the finished build. It's going to be a beautiful machine.

I got my Macinato on Friday. Stock build. Size small, it weighs 9.6kg, just to give you an idea.

Cheers Dave for the info, I was told it'll weigh around that with my planned build.

Here's what she looks like so far....

 

[Harry_Palmer79]

Looking good so far, look forward to seeing it in all its glory! (this is the bike I would have got had I not snapped up my Flyer off gumtree)

 

[smokeysmoo]

Should turn out nice I quite fancied a Macinato myself, but the frames are too small for me

 

[Diggs]

Soooo tempted, my single speed was put together on the cheap after being rescued from the people down the road one morning (after checking with them, obviously) when they put it out for the bin men. If I did, I fear it may push Mrs D over the edge, especially as the last bike was the n+1

 

[Psyclist]

Looking good so far, look forward to seeing it in all its glory! (this is the bike I would have got had I not snapped up my Flyer off gumtree)

Should turn out nice I quite fancied a Macinato myself, but the frames are too small for me

Soooo tempted, my single speed was put together on the cheap after being rescued from the people down the road one morning (after checking with them, obviously) when they put it out for the bin men. If I did, I fear it may push Mrs D over the edge, especially as the last bike was the n+1

Cheers guys, I only have wheels and pedals to get next pay, then it's ready to be built

Still need sandpaper to finish off my clamp and do my levers though.

 

[wheres_my_beard]

How are the levers and clamp looking?