#primalprojects

It does seem a shame to hang a bicycle on a wall more than actually ride it, but this summer one too many of our more polished vintage builds have been dropped, bumped or scraped on the commute, so this winter a little hibernation is planned.

And that meant a challenge: could we build a beater exclusively from parts laying around in the shed? Previous posts will have told you we started with an old Peugeot frame and cobbled together functional but well-used chainset, bars, brakes and wheels.

A quick service of bottom bracket and headset (new bearings instead of lazy replacement sealed units) and we were almost ready to go. Then, a temptation – ‘maybe some blue cloth tape would work well with that colourway’ and ‘blue cables are only a few quid’.

So, both of those and a dirt cheap old colour-matched Concor saddle from eBay meant we didn’t quite hit the ‘everything from the parts bin’ target. But it does make for lock-anywhere transport that will deal with mishaps on the way home from the pub without concern. Which, curiously, has made it one of our most-ridden and very favourite bikes...

Funny how a project spirals. This started out as a semi-budget daily hack – a decent 531 frame with a tough powdercoat and bulletproof wheelset to chew up miles on a London commute. 

Pre-paint, it was an old Raleigh Quadra singlespeed being sold as a beater. Bought and ridden back in pouring rain to the Primal shed, we then stripped and sent off the metalwork to Armourtex for a nice, solid coat of standard navy blue. We sourced a set of Alex/Formula wheels donated from an unridden Charge Plug and bolted up a polished Raleigh chainset and bars. Simple. 

And that's the way it rode for about three months. Until we ordered a set of decals for an unrelated Peugeot PH12 restoration and couldn't resist tacking on a set of repro Raleigh Super Course transfers. After that we found some lovely upright bars from a dying Claud Butler. And a fluted SR seatpost. And some Brooks leather. And a period Raleigh bell. And so it snowballed. 

By now the build was taking on a sort-of town bike quality, like the '70s Triumph Trafficmaster or Raleigh Esquire three-speeds. Except this was much lighter and faster. We bolted up the Wald 'woody' rack which added a few pounds but still the ride was agile. 

Next came an idea to give this little 'sleeper' some extra legs, but without interrupting the singlespeed aesthetic. We had a set of old school polished alloy rims laced to a Sturmey hubset – not three-speed but two, and a kickshift instead of cables. Now the bike runs a standard 52/19 until you can pedal no faster, then gives you another gear when you kick back with your feet. 

It takes some getting used to – and if we're honest even after a year's mileage we still occasionally pull up at traffic lights in the taller ratio by accident – but it's well worth it for the extra gas you get on longer roads. Much as we love a fixed gear, this is a fun way of digging deeper when others have maxed out their cadence. And as you can see in the pics, the bike gets used as a result. 

Brakes are Campagnolo Super Record, levers Dia Compe, and that chainset is a retro reproduction with a Stronglight chainring – in fact barely any original components remain from the first-pass build, but I guess that explains why we always have such a shedful of spares. And, come to think of it, how this 'leftovers' project found its way onto the road...

Sun’s out, ideal time to build a beater. The rule is we can only use left-over bits from old restorations – so far the parts bin includes a slightly scarred Spidel chainset, a budget fixed/free wheelset we took off a build in favour of something more period, some Weinmann brakes and half a bottle of T-Cut.

Finally we found time to dust off the parts for our Dawes urban singlespeed project – a rescued-and-powdercoated 531 frame about to see some serious central London miles.

With that in mind, durability is key. The tough and wide Alexrims wheelset won’t be afraid of potholes and the odd kerb, while ever-reliable DiaCompe BRS101s (with Gold Finger levers) will help deal with surprise taxi doors and pedestrians.

Crankset and (not yet pictured) riser bars are BLB items, seatpost and stem are recycled and polished SR items from the shed. The brief was monochromatic aesthetic where possible, but we're wondering whether brown saddle and bar tape wouldn’t hurt – also picks out the check pattern on the sidewall of the Gatorskins.

We’re just waiting on the postman to deliver a chain, seatpost bolt and a lefthand brake lever to finish. And to wipe down some of those shed-soiled parts. More pics once it’s been for a ride.