Pake build is in a temporary state of ride-ability

My trusted aluminum Diamondback was being cannibalized for the last three weeks to help me finally make one ride-able bicycle.  All that time I have been without any bicycle at all and its been killing me!

Although not in its final form (I am still building the wheels at one heck of a lazy pace) I have finally christened the new Pake.

The last piece was the single crank - but I finished assembly at my folks cottage last weekend and took it on a quick 20km gravel grind to check the geometry.

What a huge difference between steel and aluminum.  I will have more to say on this in a later post. 

There's more work to be done but I like what I have so far.  One interesting note is that I am using a 6-speed twist shifter with a 7-speed hub on a 9 speed derailleur.  The range falls to the lowest denominator - that is - right now I have 6 speeds.  They are a bit on the high side but that will be remedied.

My portable shop.  I used my car's bike carrier for a stand and it worked really well!

Dirty Kanza 2013, here I come!