So here’s an age old conundrum that nobody seems to have solved. Or at least nobody seems to have put on the internet. I have a very funky Kurve CNC machined rear brake caliper and an equally funky carbon fork on a fixed wheel bike. This always seems to happen as you generally have to buy nice brakes in pairs, someone fits the front one to a fixie or single speed bike and there’s an overload of unloved rear brakes floating around. Hence how I got mine.

Notice that the pivot bolt that sticks out of the back of brake on the left is very short as it’s designed to go through a small rear chainstay, not a chunky fork. One solution is to replace the pivot bolt with a longer one but these aren’t available for the Kurve brakes (they are available for some Shimano brakes though). Another solution is to use a longer recessed bolt to bridge the gap. I’ve had to use a super-long 30mm recessed bolt just to attach a normal front brake, so I’d need at least a 50-60mm recessed bolt… and these don’t exist.

So my solution was to make one. I thought I’d share the process just in case it helps you out of a sticky situation too.

First, this is what happens in a normal front fork…

Now this is what happens when you use a rear brake with short pivot bolt… it doesn’t work!

Even using an ultr long recessed bolt doesn’t work…

So I need to make a longer bolt somehow. I’m also keen to keep the ‘recessed’ bolt feature, as it’s not only neater but is how the fork was designed to accommodate a brake bolt. I could try and surface mount a bolt but this may end up damaging the carbon fork’s outer shell. So you’re going to need some kit…

So first thing to measure stuff. Insert the brake into the front of the fork and hold it in place. Insert a spare bolt or allen key into the rear of the fork until it comes into contact with the brake pivot bolt. Make a mark on the allen key where it exits the back of the fork. If your fork has a recess (like mine) then mark where the allen key first exits the fork, niot where it finally emerges from the recess itself. Obviously, this is how far in the pivot bolt is inside the fork, or to put it another way, how long a custom recessed bolt shaft would have to be to just touch the brake pivot bolt but not screw onto it. Mine was about 40mm. Now add 10mm to this measurement to allow for a good overlap with the pivot bolt when it’s screwed in. I.e. now a total of 50mm.

So now we need to get some recessed bolts to use as parts. Seeing as my fork seems to be very wide, I got hold of two 30mm recessed bolts from my local bike shop. I’m a “known person” so I got them for free but expect to pay about £3 each. Put it this way, there’s a 35mm titanium one for $7 Toronto Cycles or a 30mm steel one at SJS Cycles for £6.99.

So I need to make a bolt 50mm long so I can do that with a 20mm recessed bolt and 20mm of the threaded tube from the other bolt. So next thing to do is to use a hacksaw to chop 20mm off the threaded tube part of the long recessed bolt. File it as flat as possible and offer up the ‘unchopped’ end to the end of the existing recessed bolt, so you have a nice, clean interface between them. Now we need a way of joining them together…

You’ll also need to chop the threaded bit off the normal bolt. Again, measure it so that it’s long enough to fit entirely within the normal recessed bolt and has enough extra thread to screw into the threaded tube… but short enough to leave that 10mm or so of the threaded tube free at the end. Use s file to flatten the end of the bolt and remove any rough metal. Then carefully cut a slot about 3mm deep into the end with a hacksaw. It doesn’t have to be too neat but it does pay to be as accurate as you can. That’s it for the manual labour.

Now add some strong metal adhesive / epoxy glue (I used Araldite Rapid Steel) to the threaded shaft and screw it into the normal recessed bolt. Be sure to clean the thready first mind as any grease will stop the glue holding. Use a flat headed screwdriver in the slot you cut to tighten it. Then screw on the threaded tube to  the rest of the shat that sticks out (again, with glue). Leave to set for at least 24 hours (or whatever your glue instructions suggest.)

Now you should be ready to rumble. If all goes well and you have measured everything relatively well, it should just work like a normal recessed bolt, only a really long one! Thus…

Finally, don’t forget to swap over the brake pads as they are directional and because you’ve flipped the brake, the left pad will now be on the right and vice versa.

Now there’s no excuse not to use all those rear brakes cluttering up Ebay!

Been a while since I started the track bike project and finally managed to ride it a few days ago. Thought I’d share a few thoughts.

1) I love it! Managed to build the entire thing for about £475 all in. Very pleased with the quirky looks.

2) Yes I did go for the orange Velocity wheels! :)

3) Wow, it’s interesting to get your head round not ‘coasting’. My first ride was a slightly rushed ‘hack’ into central London for a meeting. Not the best time to learn but I survived. I did have a proper panic on Highgate West Hill though when I realised that if my newly fitted and untested brakes didn’t work, I was only going to speed up until I hit something. On a mountain bike, I can hit 40+mph down that hill, so the outcome of a runaway fixie makes you shudder. Dislocated kneed and a fat lip at the very least.

4) I went on a taster course at the outdoor velodrome at Welwyn Garden City courtesy of Welwyn Wheelers. Turned up, paid a fiver to hire a bike and had an hour’s tuition and introduction into track cycling. It was brilliant. Ok, it’s out of season now so the hardcore stuff isn’t so hard, but come the new season, I’ll be back… and I have the bike for it too! Check it out if you can, really friendly, slightly scary and a great story for the pub.

5) It’s been interesting to see the difference in attitudes that exist in the cycling world, and nothing splits them like a ‘fixie’ bike it seems. I’m from hairy-legged, beer drinking, mountain bike stock and was amazed at relatively icy approach of the London fixie scene. I visited a special fixed wheel bike forum called londonfgss (London Fixed Gear and Single Speed) and, well, I may as well have turned up naked to a WI cake sale. Everyone seems to mildly hate each other and dismiss you if you have gears or like any colour other than silver or black. Very curious bunch and not somewhere I’d recommend a newbie fixie rider starts off. Maybe progress there when you have thick enough skin. It reminds me of the tension between skiers and snowboarders back in the day. It’ll pass, hopefully.

As a contrast, there’s a great forum for retro bikes called (unsurprisingly) RetroBike. Completely different scene. Same kind of narrow focus but packed with people you wouldn’t mind having a pint with.

Anyhoo, will report back if anything mad happens but for now, that’s the latest bike chapter closed. Now I just have to ride the damn thing.

Just bought a Giant Omnium track bike and looking to get a set of road wheels. Now, being a bit of a designer, ye olde boring black and silver rims just bore me to death. Seems the British only like black and silver so I’ve got to get them custom built. My local bike shop, Bike & Run in East Finchley (who incidentally, have some right nice bikes in their new showroom!) are lined up to build ‘something’, just got to decide what colour. Luckily, Velocity do a range of bonkers colours (I already have orange ones on my MTB) so just a case of Photoshopping my bike with a few options and choosing.

Thought I’d share the results just in case it helps you decide your wheel conundrum too. I guess I should make this in flash some day so you can change the colours yourselves and change the frame colour. Maybe one day I’ll get the time…

I’ve uploaded the .PSD layered file here if you want to add your own frame in by hand. Just open the file in Photoshop, select the rim or hub layer and change the Hue/Saturation (Apple+U or CTRL+U on a PC).

(And yes, I know I’ve made the rear wheel radial too… just saved a bit of Photoshop time)