Progress in Process: The Sam Hillborne

The Sam Hillborne frame has been here for several days now, just waiting to be built up. Daily, we wait as the delivery drivers bring different parts for the bicycle, and every day it seems like there's just "one more thing" that's needed to get it all together.

Hillborne frame with its crank, derailleurs, brake pads, and saddle attached.

At first it was exciting to at least be able to see the frame and know that it wouldn't be long until it could be on the road. Now, I think it's more annoying to just be able to see it and know that it's going to be awhile before it all happens. As the process moved along, the fenders were the next piece of the puzzle to be mounted.

Sam works on attaching the fenders, which wasn't as easily completed as one would think

It actually starts to look like a bicycle at this point, I think. The fenders seem absolutely huge to me, but that was nothing compared to pulling out the Grand Bois Hetre tires, which also seem monstrous. Just prior to the fenders, the bottle cages were mounted.

Dueling bottle cages adorn the Hillborne frame

The fender mounting turned into quite an ordeal (and still isn't entirely resolved). Since I purchased some rather large tires, it seems that mounting and adjusting the fenders seems to be a bit of a challenge. But, slow and steady wins the race.

Gorgeous lugs

The lugs on this bike are so pretty, and while I think a complementary or contrasting color on the background of the head tube could've made the colors pop even more, it's still quite lovely.

Next came along the stem and handlebars, as well as the rear rack.

Nitto stem/bars and rear rack were added

After these pieces were put on the bike, the next step was the wheels and tires. As stated, the tire/fender/wheel assembly was a challenge. For starters, the Honjo hammered fenders arrived bent, which definitely didn't make me happy. Fortunately, Sam was able to get them back into proper shape. While I "helped" by adding rim tape to the wheels, Sam did the real work of putting the tires on the wheels and getting them mounted.

Tires and wheels were added, though they will need some adjusting to work properly

The tires are just so incredibly wide. I knew when I ordered them they wouldn't be thin (nor did I want thin tires), but they're wider than my Pashley's tires.

Next on the agenda was getting brakes and shifters in place. While I thought this would be the fastest part of the process, it was also rather time consuming.

Brakes and shifters are on; cables are attached

The last piece that's been completed is the bar tape that has been wound around the handlebars. I wrapped them, and then rewrapped them, and then did it again (just for good measure). I really wanted to see how perfectly I could get it done, but then ultimately decided that it was okay for it to be just okay for now.

Cork bar tape and twine surrounding Nitto drop bars

While all of the parts (sans pedals, which could be a post all its own) have arrived, it looks like the remaining work to be done will be getting the rear tire to fit properly inside the fender without rubbing occurring, getting the chain on the bicycle, and then, of course, getting everything tuned up. I'm excited to see the bicycle all complete, and even more excited for the first ride!