Roman's 650b Sam - 87cm PBH

Roman's 650b Sam - 87cm PBH

Roman here! This 55cm Sam is the second bike I got after starting work at Rivendell almost 7 years ago. The frame started it's life as a 700c caliper Sam and has had various drop bar and upright cockpits, been set up 1x10, and rolled on 700x33-47mm tires. It's seen lots of fire roads, done plenty of camping, and even one brevet. I've loved it in every iteration and if I only could have one Rivendell, it would be this one.

That said, I suffer the affliction of being a obsessive tinkerer -- a blessing and a curse that I think many of you may relate to. I get a fun idea in my head and have a hard time putting it down. So, when I realized a blemmed 52cm Clem fork would pop right into my Sam, I couldn't help but dive down the rabbit hole that led to this beautiful frankenstein. I dented the chainstays to increase my rear tire clearance and then shipped the frame off to a local build to have canti posts brazed on for 650b rims -- placed so I could still mount a 700c wheelset with the pads all the way at the top of the slot. Again, it's gone through several cockpits and a few drive trains, but I'd say it's pretty locked in at this point...though I've been itching to put a Nitto Face-plater stem on there...

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Roman again! A customer asked me about what I did with my tail light and I figured I'd include it here for those interested -- the light started its life as a B&M Secula Plus fender dyno-light. Inspiration comes from John P. -- he flipped an even earlier B&M tail light and it made me want my own.

Read on for steps below -- otherwise disregard! Also, these should make more sense with the light in hand.

The clear/red plastic front "lens" is glued to the black back section and takes some exacto knife prying. Once you have those separate, the little circuit board should come right out (or fall out if you're not careful!). I removed the included square-headed bolt (this will make sense once you have the light open) and then bolted that to the clamp you see on the seat tube (I used an old water bottle cage clamp similar to the ones linked). I drilled a hole in the flat section of the clamp and bolted the back section of the light to the clamp with a M4 button-head bolt -- the bolt head sits against the seat tube and the nut is hidden within the light.
Flipping the light also meant that the original holes for the connectors face up, so I covered them up. First I filed off the taller shoulders on the back plate so that the shape matched the front lense. Then, I bent the spades to face down again and I drilled a hole in the top (now bottom) of the back section. I stuck a rubber grommet in the hole and ran a dyno cable through a rubber washer gasket. Once the spades were connected, I used super glue to attach the lens to the back section and then wrapped the seam in electrical tape to make double-sure it stays water-tight. I'm actually taking a second stab at this idea to refine things, but it is a back burner project.

 

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