A while ago I began thinking about the perfect bike for winter commuting. Growing tired of cleaning and replacing chains and having brakes which didn’t work on rainy days, I came up with the recipe for WINTER BIKE.
As with all my projects the basis for WINTER BIKE was a vintage steel frame, a 1976 Raleigh Super Course MKII. For obvious reasons I wanted a belt drive instead of a chain and the brakes were to be all sealed away where water or dirt cannot influence their efficiency. A reliable lighting system was also a necessity.
Since the plans for these components wouldn’t work ‘out of the box’ it was necessary to modify the frame in various ways. For this task I called on HØJMARK CYCLES. I admire his craftsmanship and wanted to be as involved as possible. Brian machined a seat-stay splitter from stainless steel and helped in brazing on all the pieces a frame needs for these parts and a few extras.
Winter might be over, but it will come back. Riding a bike in bad weather can have such negative effects on components. With this project, I’m hoping to keep things maintenance free for a bit longer than normal.
read more about the process in detail and see more pictures at Velonode.
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