Jim,

My brother Chris rode this 1990 Titan Half-Track as a mountain bike and commuter untold thousands of miles before handing it over to me in August of 2006. The 4130 steel frame and fork are extremely sturdy but remarkably comfortable for every day riding. I didn't exactly need another bike, but had open a certain niche left vacant by my other bikes. Thrift, durability, theft deterrence, was the objective for an errand bike and a commuter to the train stop without much worry as to whether it would be there on my return. I'd been wanting to build fenders from car license plates for years, and after a few hours with a drill press, a rivet gun, a rubber mallet, a bench vise, and some tin snips, I had some super durable, reflective fenders with capacity for 26x2.1 knobbies. I plan to have some instructions as to how to make your own license plate fenders online when I get the time to put it in order.

The Titan is currently a seven-speed with components almost entirely appropriated from my parts bin, including an RX100 road crank with 39t ring, 13-30 7-speed cassette, M730 36 spoke black hubs on Matrix and RM-20 rims, Suntour XC Comp thumbshifter, Incredibell, parts from 2 different Fisher 1.25" threaded headsets, Dia-Compe and XT brakes, Avocet 1.9 commuting tires, a well-worn Selle Italia Turbo saddle and an old Cannondale touring bag of unknown original purpose. The only item that I actually bought for this project was a Nitto Albatross bar from Rivendell, because nothing makes a bike more comfortable. Alterations to the frame include cantilever mounts and cable stops (from a mangled old Miyata) grafted with pop-rivets, since that was a more feasible option than the original u-brake with the rear fender. A MacGyver-ish porteur rack is in the works.

Andy

www.andyduvall.com

andyduvall@gmail.com