PolarLava::Blog

I'm now 5 months in with Project Yokota and have acquired a number of additional parts towards its build. First up would be the "good as new" Look HSC Carbon Fiber Fork:

Next up would be a Marin 1-1/8" 90mm Handlebar Stem:

Being the headtube, headset and fork are all 1", I need a 1" to 1-1/8" Stem Adapter for the above stem:

Also to deal with this same issue, instead of the 1" stem cap that came with the headset I bought, I need this new 1-1/8" Carbon Fiber Stem Cap:

Digging deep into my pocket I bought the most expensive thing I've had to purchase yet, a set of SRAM Rival Brake/Shift Levers:

And digging almost as deep I bought a SRAM Force Carbon Fiber Crankset. But that's for my Pinarello Quattro, but the purpose was to take the SRAM Rival Crankset for this project:

Similarly I bought a SRAM S60 wheelset for the Quattro so I could repurpose the DT Swiss R1850 Wheelset for this project as well:

So at this point the cost of this project has been:

• Yakota Legend Frame - $113
• Sandblasting and Powdercoating - $150
• FSA Orbit X Theadless Headset - $40
• Most Ocelot Saddle - $30
• Look HSC Carbon Fork - $139
• Marin 1-1/8" Handlebar Stem - $21
• 1" to 1-1/8" Stem Adapter - $7
• 1-1/8" Carbon Fiber Stem Cap - $7
• SRAM Rival Brake/Shift Levers - $203
• SRAM Rival Crankset - $185 (The cost of the Force Crankset as this wouldn't have been much cheaper.)
• DT Swiss R1850 Wheelset (w/Continental Gatorskin tires) - $300 (Estimate of what these would cost had I bought them.)
• Current Cost: $1210

This round I got a number of the most expensive parts purchased which really pushed up the cost of this build. That being done I now have a litany of smaller cost items and only a couple of roughly $100 items to go. At this time these items are all sitting around waiting for some other critical components so the actual build can start. Hopefully within another month or so I'll have acquired enough of them to get started with that.

Previous installments in this series:

• Project Yakota
• Project Yakota - Update 1

So here's where I am after 4 months with Project Yokota. I had to buy a Park Tool BBT-22 ($22) to remove the bottom bracket that came with the frame. Being a tool this is something I can reuse, so I am not considering it a cost of this build. Removing the handlebar stem, the front fork and the headset was relatively easy and didn't require any new tools. Once I was down to just the frame I took it to be sandblasted and then powder coated...bright yellow:

I had the fork done as well being it was only about $10 even though I don't plan on using it.

Next up I bought a new headset. I'm switching from the old style threaded headset to an FSA Orbit X Threadless Headset:

And most recently I got a steal of a deal -less than half the price I've ever seen it for, on a Most Ocelot Saddle:

So at this point the cost of this project has been:

• Yakota Legend Frame - $113
• Sandblasting and Powdercoating - $150
• FSA Orbit X Theadless Headset - $40
• Most Ocelot Saddle - $30
• Current Cost: $348

Not too bad as the expensive parts are yet to come with the fork, wheels and drivetrain. That's when the cost will really start go up, so let's keep that between us and not tell my wife. :)

Previous installments in this series:

• Project Yakota

Because I don't have enough bikes, I bought another one! Well, actually just a frame. More specifically a 54cm, 1989 (I think) Yokota Legend steel frame. And it looks like this right now:
If you click on the image it will take you to the gallery with a few more pictures from the Ebay auction. I paid $113 for it with shipping, so a reasonable sum. That's only the beginning because my intent is to build it up with and 8 or 9 speed cluster. (That's a 16 or 18 speed for the non-cyclist.) So in order to finance this I'm planning on stripping my Centurion Ironman Expert that I bought from a friend in 2008 and selling just the frame. The details of that project can be found in the Rehab: Centurion Ironman Expert post.

Anyhow, I'm doing this for a number of reasons. The Centurion is an awesome bike, but it's a 57cm which is just too big for me. After rebuilding it I put it on the road once and it now is my indoor trainer bike. It just doesn't fit me so I've decided to sacrifice it for the sake of this project. I'm going to strip the parts and sell the frame for the cash. Depending on how much that brings in --more than I paid for the Yokota, should help finance the parts I want for this bike. I can also use the parts from it to rebuild this in the meantime or if I get enough for the frame, sell these parts as well. I'd sell the whole bike, but I believe I'll get more for it by parting it out. Plus selling a complete bike is a hassle, at least shipping it is. And I don't know how long it's going to take to accumulate the cash and in turn parts to build this out the way I want it.

Another issue is the condition of the paint. As much as I'd like to restore this bike now, after receiving it the finish isn't in as good of condition as I had hoped. Thus I'm thinking about having it stripped and repainted. Obviously an additional expense, but one that in the long run should be worth it. I'm looking forward to this new adventure and will post more on it's progress in the future. But right now it's all just a dream!

You can read each of the installments in this series:

• Project Yakota - Update 1
• Project Yakota - Update 2
• Project Yakota - Update 3
• Project Yakota - Update 4
• Project Yakota - Yokota Legend K

In a case of unfortunate timing with little control over the situation, last week I started riding again after a 3 week layoff.  This was most unfortunate as I was really starting to feel I was hitting my stride.  I was moving from the drudgery of getting in shape, to the fun of enjoying riding.  So where did it all go wrong?

Things were great, but then I got up early that Monday morning to take care of our dog and noticed my upper respiratory system felt searing.  This is a clear sign that you shouldn't ride as it's only going to aggravate the situation and make it worse.  Thus I didn't ride, but things quickly went from bad to worse.  I went to work that morning and promptly left after my first meeting of the day.  I was out that day and worked from home the next.  On Wednesday I was feeling better and went to work.  Apparently things weren't in full recovery, because by late afternoon I was back home in bed.  I stayed in this largely dysfunctional state until Friday when I trudged off to the doctor.  Having a history of these sort of issues I had no desire to get pneumonia again.  I seemed to be on the mend, but they sent me for a chest X-ray that was clear.  Unfortunately I still had a lingering runny nose and chest congestion that continued into the next week.  They put me on a course of Z-pak Thursday and after two doses I broke out in hives and quit taking it.  I continued to feel better nonetheless and just ended up resting for the third week and taking the usual array of meds that I have from my allergist.

I actually dealt with the situation rationally, but felt last week I could start working out again.  On Tuesday I was still wondering if it was going to really pass or whether I was going to backslide yet again.  (This is a common problem for me when I get sick.)  But fortunately things did get better.  Unfortunately, I sort of in a mini getting restarted mode.  I'm remaining positive about it and other that an occasional lingering cough I'm generally over it.  The biggest issue at the moment is during one of my coughing fits during the second week I popped something in my sternum.  This only hurts when I take really deep breaths, cough and/or sneeze…particularly sneezing.  OUCH!  This is probably going to take some time, but I refuse to let it get the best of me.  Onward and upward.

Although they weren't completely shot, I've scrapped my NiCad batteries for my lighting system.  Looking back it seems I last replaced them at the start of 2005. (See Old, Fat & Slow)  That means I got four seasons out of them before they started to wain.  That's not too bad as I think I paid about $35 for them (5 - D cells) at the time.  And that was an improvement as they were 5000mAh rated where the previous replacements were 3000mAh or so if I recall.  So these most recent ones were the third set of batteries since getting the lighting system.  But that seconds set took its toll on the minimal/cheap wall transformer charger.  At the end the second set had a short in one or more of the batteries and it cooked the charger pretty good.  It still worked, but ever since its had that classic burnt electronics smell whenever you used it.  It's long been a concern, but these things they cost money to fix.  So towards the end of last season I started exploring options for replacing the soon to be failing batteries.

I'm using the original 10W halogen lamp for now, but may upgrade to a 12W lamp later.  I'm also using the mounting system and battery case (soft belt mounted as I use it, or can be frame mounted).  But to power it I've now purchased and assembled a set of five 10000mAh NiMH batteries with a new duel operation trickle or quick charger.  There are several advantages to this new setup:

• I've doubled the power rating so these should (theoretically) last twice as long between recharges.
• NiMH batteries don't suffer from the memory effect that NiCad's do, so these should last longer without the worry of having to completely drain them before recharging.
• The extended charge time of these batteries should allow me to continue to ride long distances later in the fall.  Typically I end up tapering off my riding in the fall because as the days get shorter and it stays darker later into the morning, I run out of battery juice before I run out of pedaling juice.
• I'll sleep better at night knowing that the old charger is now gone and not posing a scary fire risk.