Jordan's Bike Blog

I want to quickly highlight some of my exploits in cold setting vintage steel frames. This can be essential skill when resto-modding vintage steel mountain bikes. Adjusting the rear drop-out width from either 126mm or 130mm to a more standard 135mm spacing will allow you to fit an 8 speed HG freehub, which in turn can accommodate an 8, 9, 10 (and sometimes 12 - i.e. SRAM NX) speed cassette for 1x conversions. This was something I had always heard about, but always felt it to be a risky endeavor. I wasn't sure how you "measure" your effort to avoid bending your chainstays too far, and didn't really know how to ensure the right and left side would bend equally (to maintain frame alignment).  As with most things, there are numerous Youtube videos, blog posts, etc. about the topic and I would be remise if I didn't link to Sheldon Brown's method. However, it is my opinion that Youtube's RJ the Bike Guy outlines the best method for cold setting here .  Using a ...

Following my "failure" with the Fiori dinglespeed, I set off looking for another canvas to complete my 1x10 winter commuter build for my partner.  Oddly enough, a quick scan of local Kijiji ads and a lovely (well-priced) mid 90's Kona Fire Mountain popped up. I was quick to hop on this one given the prestige of some of these old Konas. To find one in my partner's size, and within budget felt like a real treat.  This one in particular had a lot of potential - a straight blade 1 1/8" Kona Project 2 fork, ultra thin "Race Light" chromoly steel frame tubing, and rear 135mm spacing meant that this frame offered up a lot of potential for a fun build!  Great silhouette on this one!  It didn't take me long to strip it down, throw in the rear 26" wheel with 8sp freehub, and some Surly Open bars to get things mocked up. I really loved the silhouette with the inverted Surly bars! The only downside to this one is the kooky looking stem. Short, 1 1/8" ...

Late summer I was looking for a project and decided I would tackle a winter commuter build for my partner. I was getting the hang of home wrenching, and had a few parts kicking around so thought I could put together something kind of cool to help her commute to the office year-round.  Luckily, my partner is of average height, so there are lots of vintage mountain bikes out there for her. We ended up settling on this Fiori Avventura for a mere 70$ Just really like the lighting in this photograph Once I got it home and stripped down, I figured I would simply apply the easy, relatively fool-proof 1x conversion equation: add a rear wheel with 8spd freehub, pop on a 10speed cassette, rear mech with clutch, and a narrow-wide chainring, add some funky alt handlebars and were done! Or so I thought...  The older, 126mm rear hub spacing threw a bit of a wrench in my plans. With little knowledge of cold-setting steel frames (at the time), or an ability to think outside the box when it ca...