From Frame to Frameset

Previously on MondoBlahBlah... or...

Read the entire story of the research, acquisition and assembly of my new Cycles Toussaint Velo Routier v2.

The frame has been bought, the boxes opened, the parts examined. At this point there's nothing to do but put it all together and see if it's a bike. This is likely to take me a while, as I've never done it before and I don't have all the appropriate tools. I want to do as much of it as I can myself, but I'm not too proud to ask for help from my friendly neighborhood bike shop. The next few posts will cover the ins and outs of my efforts to assemble my brand new bike.

Frame Protector
First things first. The Velo Routier is a steel frame and as we all know, steel rusts. So before I started hanging components on the frame, I gave it a good spray with some Progold Steel Frame Protector. Progold is one of the two widely available aerosol products that make it easy to apply a protective layer inside a steel bicycle frame, the other being J.P. Weigle's Frame Saver. Eco-minded artisans may want to use boiled linseed oil to achieve the same effect. More power to you.

Progold straw injection site

A word of warning about the Progold. As noted in the comments on Amazon.com, the little straw that fits into the spray nozzle doesn't fit very well, and sure enough, on my first good spray into the hole in the fork crown, it went flying into the fork, never to be seen again. I spent a little time at a futile attempt to get the straw to come back out the hole I shot it into, but that activity is akin to psychological torture, so I gave up pretty quickly. I just grabbed a straw from the nearest can of WD-40 and was back to the races. Hopefully only you and I, dear reader, will ever know that there is a little plastic straw in the right fork leg of my Velo Routier.

Speaking of frame protection, I plan to put one of those clear plastic stickers on the chainstay to protect the paint from inadvertent chain slap, but that can wait until later in the build. Depending on where the cables end up, I'll probably also add some Jagwire cable protectors, but again, that can wait.

Headset
Okay, as a newbie, the installation of the headset was the part of the build causing me the most anxiety. I only had to watch one or two videos like this (https://youtu.be/lUy_tpAi0Xk) to convince me that this is the procedure best handled by a professional. Yes there are plenty of videos out there showing you that you can do it using nothing more than a hammer, some pvc tubing, a threaded rod and a couple of bolts, but still. The idea of bashing the fork crown race on my brand spanking new bike with a hammer gave me pause. So I begin my build report with the confession that I took my newly unboxed frame and fork over to Big Mig at the local Bicycle Place and had him install the headset for me. Within minutes he had transformed my frame and fork into a "frameset".

Bottom bracket
There are many people on the interweb who insist that before a bottom bracket can be installed on a new-from-the-factory frame, the bottom bracket shell must be "faced" and "chased" which basically means scraping any excess paint from the "face" of the shell and reaming the threads so everything is nice and smooth and even. I asked my pal Angus at Cycles Toussaint if this was necessary and he said they hadn't been doing it with the bikes they have been assembling. He did, however advise me to clean the BB threads well "like a baby's bottom." While I was at the Bicycle Place I asked Big Mig for a second opinion and he concurred, further clarifying that with cartridge bottom brackets such as the one shipped with the Velo Routier DIY kit, there's no need. Other types of bottom brackets are apparently touchier.

Shiny silver stuff - The Velo Routier's Crankset

Anyway, since I was asking him about it, Big Mig just went ahead and slapped the cartridge in while we chatted about it. A slathering of grease, a twist of the wrench and before I knew it, he was done. So, now the forks are attached to the frame and the crankset is installed. And what a pretty crankset it is. Honestly, though  Rene Herse cranks are obviously a bit lovelier with their loopy spiders, and Velo Orange cranksets have fluted arms and their cool etched logo (and don't even get me started waxing poetic about the Drillium!!!), the Velo Routier's smooth, spare shape is just the kind of shiny silver stuff you want on a bike like this. The form truly follows the function and the simplicity of the shapes with their mirror finish just really appeals to me. Sure, I'm also a fan of the old Shimano 600 Arabesque shifters and fancy lugs, but on a TIG welded frame, simple is better.

Next up ... the Cockpit!!!