21 May 2011

Toms Bullhorn Conversion

Avid readers of the Tokyo Cycling Club Forum might have noticed that PE rider Tom has asked for advice on how to convert his trusted Ti Vlaams workhorse into a solid commuter bike.

The notion of converting a 1.000 €+ bike into something for commuting into the city is hard to understand for somebody who lives outside of Japan. I for example would not leave my bike alone in the streets of Bremen unless it is a) a very old and not good looking bike and b) locked to solid objects by more than three means and c) I am drunk and I don't care any longer about important things in life. However I fully understood that the parameters in Tokyo are different. In this case I assume that the bike will be stored in Tom's office under his desk during working time.

The much discussed conversion plans included, among other during plans, a single speed drive and a bullhorn handlebar inspired by Travis Bianchi. Details can be found on the TCC thread.

Unknown by Tom I sneaked into his garage last night and secretly took a photo of the newly converted bike for the sake of the PE blog followers.
I think that the final design is both, intriguing and challenging. The design also provides an option for turning the stem 180 degrees to attend alleycat races in Tokyo.
Good luck Tom, we hope you will survive.

2 comments:

the ups and downs of a belgian amateur cyclist in tokyo said...

Thanks MOB for leaking this pic of my bullhorn commuter/winter training machine in the making.

Hiroshi-san has already willy-nilly begun to work out the blueprint of the transformation and place orders for real "eccentric" - made-in-the-U.S.A. stuff and other parts to power my VLAAMS Sirius Ti-1. Check out the c speed shop blog!

Titanium is not as indestroyable as most people believe but eventually (after - or if? - I get tired of my fixie adventure), I intend to revert to a normal road bike setup.

the ups and downs of a belgian amateur cyclist in tokyo said...

~UPDATE~
The kotei-fixie adventure didn't last very long for me and the return to the original normal setup was precipitated by a weakened left knee. My VLAAMS Sirius Ti-1 is about to be reborn at c-speed!