And now for something completely different….okay, pink. This week I built Jen’s Pink Grammo TT. As with the Orange Grammo build I had to select beers for the job. This is no easy task. Jen’s bikes are always more difficult to build…for some reason building your own bike is easier. The beers have to match both the bike and the person it is being built for. Well, those of you that know Jen, know that she is tough, independent, and not to be pushed around. To match this, I went with a BrewDog Punk IPA….aggressively hopped, tastes like no other beer, but strangely well rounded. Jen also has soft, elegant side that needed to be paired with a beer with an air of sophistication. Enter, Fuller’s London Pride, a beer that can stand in the presence of any other and peer down its nose.
The pink of the Grammo is a definite attention getter. I have to admit that this pink is edgy enough for man or woman to ride. Again, like the Orange Grammo TT, we went with a SRAM Force TT group and a K-Force Light crankset. I was practiced with the bottom bracket adaptor installation this time around, so that went in nice and easy. The cable routing was again a piece of cake. The challenge with this build was that the seatpost is a mile long, which meant that it needed to be cut. Cutting, no problem. Measuring, no problem. Cutting and measuring for a bike that is not yours, stressful. I ended up having to cut 7cm off the bottom and was glad that this resulted in the right fit with plenty of engagement in the frame.
This build was started and completed on a Tuesday night, but I wasn’t happy with the brake performance. I decided to trouble shoot with fresh eyes on Wednesday evening. It turned out that the brake housing was not sliding properly as it entered the lever. The steel liner was separating from the plastic outer which bound up on the cable when the brakes were activated. Simple fix….step one: grab a Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA (this after all should be considered a race ready tune-up of sorts), step two: remove handlebar tape and replace brake housing, and finally, re-wrap handlebars. The bike now stops like a dream.
Here are a couple of shots of the finished product! Forgive the wheel mismatch...the rear was on there for fitting use.
Oh, and another of the Orange Grammo TT.
Jen is riding the Pink Grammo TT on the Ironman Wisconsin course tomorrow, so will have a ride report soon.
Jerome and JenLabels: Grammo TT, Orange Grammo, pink Grammo
