Before continuing work on Hornsby today, I paid another visit to the bike store. I’ve found brake calipers I want in purple, and wanted to ask if the store could get them for me, and if I could exchange the brakes I’d bought there. I showed the salesperson the brakes I want and he said right, that’s Growtac. After checking his computer, though, he said he wasn’t able to get them in purple.
Disheartened, I left the store with some purple bar tape but without resolving the question of whether I could return the unwanted brake calipers and associated bits if I were to get the purple Growtac calipers elsewhere.
(They’re made in Japan, and the place I’ve found them is in the US, of course.)
(To be fair, the manufacturer’s site doesn’t list the brakes in purple, either.)
Easy win
Back home again, I decided to start off the day’s work with an easy win: adding the cogs to the rear wheel. Dionysus’s cogs were due for replacement after five years of use, and I’d already purchased a new set before deciding on the Hornsby project.



The next step was to retrieve all the parts from Dionysus that I’ll be reusing for Hornsby (and hence maintaining the spiritual connection for this Bike of Theseus). I wanted to give everything a thorough cleaning and make it good as new before proceeding. (I somehow overlooked the shifter in all this — we’ll get it next time.)




After scrubbing the parts and hosing them down, I laid them out in orderly fashion. I didn’t want to use the detergent or degreaser on the bottom bracket, so I cleaned it up separately by hand.
With everything ready (except the rear derailleur), I coated the seat post in ParkTook Green Goo and then fetched the frame — at last! — from the box in my den. After a couple of minutes of fiddling with the seat post collar, I had Hornsby set up in the stand for the first time.




With the frame in the workstand, the next step was to screw in the bottom bracket and then install the crankset. It all went in without issue (and with plenty of Green Goo). The fork was a bit more of a fight simply because there were more parts to juggle and I didn’t have an extra set of hands. The shop had used lube for the headset bearings, but I wanted to add a bit more. Then I forgot the upper headset cup, and then the stem was just a bit too tight to slide over the steerer tube.
I got there in the end. With the fork in place as well, there was nothing stopping me now putting on the new wheels and getting a money shot.
Smaller parts
I’d left the rear derailleur for last. In addition to a general washing with detergent, I wanted to get the jockey wheels apart and have a go at them with degreaser. This was a good decision as the grime that had built up over the past five years was very reluctant to let go. It took a liberal application of the degreaser and then some persistent scrubbing to get everything up to snuff. With everything clean, I reassembled the derailleur with a liberal application of grease and mounted it on the frame.



We have the clearance, Clarence
With the drivetrain essentially in place, I took a moment to check the clearance between the chainring and the seat stay. This had been an issue with Dionysus and was part of the decision to go with a new frame. Hornsby has plenty of clearance without even thinking about spacers, and the spin test was very satisfactory.


Remaining bits
With one exception, the remaining bits can probably be done in a single day.
- Cut the steerer tube to length
- Install the handlebar and add the shifter and brake levers
- Size, cut and install the cables
- Install the chain
- Ditto the saddle
- Wrap the bars
- Add accessories: lights, bell, bag, pump, water bottles
- Trim the ends off the cord we whipped around the chain stay
That is the question
I’ve left the brakes off the list above. The Growtac Equal brakes are reasonable when purchased domestically, but the purple doesn’t seem to be available. The cost of purchasing in the US and shipping here is roughly double. And if I decide to go that route, the question remains whether the local bike shop will refund me for the brakes I’ve already bought.
Watch this space …
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