Project Blackstar - The remake!

I thought it was about time that I posted a few pictures of my work in progress.

I bought BlackStar from Maverick a month or so back, and the poor thing hasn't turned a wheel in anger since she landed on my doorstep ... I've decided to take a trip down the singlespeed route, and add a little splash of colour to her in the process...

The old wheels have now gone to a better home, and BlackStar's shiny new(ish) hoops now have pride of place on the lovely stealthy frame. The harsh lighting in my kitchen does the colour of the hubs no justice. They're a lovely deep pink colour

The Flite Transalp has been swapped out for a NOS Alpes (bundled in with the wheels ) and the XT M750 Vs have gone in favour of a more svelte set of M960s. Tyres are going to be Ritchey Z Max (remakes). Cranks will be XT M737s with a Middleburn 34T ring. I'm still on the hunt for some brake levers to finish the build off.

Here are a few pictures of how she looked when she came to me, and how she looks tonight (note - cable etc will be cut/tidied up!):

Then:


Now:

I'm not a great s/s fan but if I were I'd be inclined to fit a somewhat beefier chain tensioner than that??

Something like this...

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/rohloff-dh-c ... rc=froogle

...would surely be more in keeping with the quality wheelset you've fitted??

It's plenty beefy enough.. It's at a bit of an odd angle at the moment but that'll be sorted - I only got the wheels on this evening.

£66 for a chain tensioner? I'd rather buy a short cage rear mech and use that..

You have CK hubs and you quibble over a Rohloff tensioner?

Here y'are...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rohloff-Speed ... 4cf5693b66

...save a tenner, and free P&P

We_are_Stevo":15b1omof said:

You have CK hubs and you quibble over a Rohloff tensioner?

Here y'are...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rohloff-Speed ... 4cf5693b66

...save a tenner, and free P&P

Click to expand...

Didn't say how much I paid for said CK hubs though

You know what We_are_Stevo..? The more I look at that Rohloff tensioner the more I want one... Will have to see how the funds look after the weekend.

I blame you entirely if I buy one and end up penniless

Its my personal taste, but I never liked Blackstar. The black/silver thing went a bit far IMHO. Sounds like the changes you are doing would make it look great (apart from the SS thing :roll: ;-) )

Have you thought about putting original decals on? I think they'd look great on the black.

Rob Atkin":1xq0eakr said:

Its my personal taste, but I never liked Blackstar. The black/silver thing went a bit far IMHO. Sounds like the changes you are doing would make it look great (apart from the SS thing :roll: ;-) )

Have you thought about putting original decals on? I think they'd look great on the black.

Click to expand...

Funnily enough, I have thought about putting some coloured '91 Cro Mega decals on it (I prefer these to the '92 decals even though it's a '92 frame).

As for the singlespeed - well, most of my riding will be done on smooth(ish) trails, so there's no real need for gears. The combination of a tight SS chain and E-stays will make this bike as silent as a silent thing... Well, apart from the angry bee trapped in the CK freehub

The other reason I went singlespeed is because I couldn't for the life of me get the gears to work properly. They worked up to a point, but the front mech was stretched to it's limits and wouldn't shift properly, and the rear mech just didn't get on with the cassette. I guess this is because the rear mech hanger doesn't hang straight down like a conventional one, which means that the rear mech doesn't sit properly under the cassette as it would normally. No, the mech hanger isn't bent - that's how it was!

I think some fluro decals would set it off nicely. I want it to be tasteful though and not like some mid-90s popstar!

I like the look.

I would be very surprised that if in practice that setup didn't slip :?

I thought that e stays were a wee bit flexy around the BB and out back - certainly the Haro Extreme I briefly had was.

I agree with Steveo that a beefier tensioner be used - I picked up my Rohloff for just over £20.

Failing that a BB mounted roller would look great and keep the simple lines of the e stay - Something like this ........



I used one for a while with great results.

Just my thoughts at the end of the day though