Bike runs drives and stops but the shifting isn’t great. Halfway through the build I thought it wasn’t even possible with this crank but I took a break and then it was all fine.
Gearing is a 3×1, Jimmy Warren style from the old Riv Reader. Will at Rivendell builds “triple singlespeeds” this way.
I was really lucky to find an $8 17y Surly cog at Community yesterday.
Jimmy said to use an old derailleur, and when I tried with a singlespeed tensioner, sure enough no good. I ran the H and L screws all the way in, and used the “road” end off a double-ended brake cable to set the pulley wheels under the cog. I recall people swap the “guide” pulley for the, uh, other pulley but I haven’t yet.
Brakes brake great! I had to true the rear wheel for the XT parallel-push not to drag, but… true wheel! Avid SD in the front. Kooka levers from the Cannondale as donated. I love the minimal shape, but I was worried they wouldn’t pull enough cable. 35mm from the anchor to the pivot is the lower limit of V-brake cable pull. The opposite: they’re awesome.
Kooka!
The pedals are from the junk drawer. Someone gave me some mixed pedals with cages in various states of wreckage. I sawed on cage to match another one and mounted them on the best bodies to make fake Suntour “track” pedals like Bridgestone(?) spec’d back in the ‘80s. They match the wear and color of the bike, and someone could have conceivably done the same thing 30 years ago, not in 2025.
Build pics:
Crizzle called this PW PROTO 1 which is very funny for those who know. Then he gave me a 1 1/4” King headset, black on black sotto voce, like the nicest headset that exists.
Hilariously I was so stoked to find a 1 1/4” fork with a long enough steerer that… I bought a 700c (Rodriguez tandem?) fork instead of a 26”. Right there in the description, 100% my fault. Then I missed out on a 26” Pepperoni fork.
Stripping the paint. 1 1/4” fork and shorter stem acquired. I need to source some rub-off letters to put BIKETINKER on the top tub. Ideally I’d put drop bars on here but the stems don’t work for that. I’d also love to make this a singlespeed for the lightness but I haven’t even measured the chainstay yet.
No Cannondale will ever be Otto
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