*Warning: This post is about my bicycle, and some viewers may find it incredibly boring.*

Many months ago, while sitting at the Shanghai Brewery, Angela and I were discussing our life goals. I decided that one of mine, as silly as it sounds, was to build a bicycle from scratch. So I started. Now, many months later, I have actually made some progress.

I had purchased several parts, but I did not realize that building a bicycle would require so many unique tools that most people did not own. I bought a few that I knew I would use later in life, but I needed to do several things to prepare my fork and was not willing to purchase the right tools. So I decided to find a bike shop. I found Factory Five. Factory Five specializes in fixed gear bicycles, but it was soon apparent that these guys were experts for all things bicycle. I brought in my fork and had the crown race installed, the steerer tube cut down to size and the expansion nut installed. I also bought two tires and two inner tubes. All of that cost me 190 RMB, or around $30. I could not believe it. What a steal!

As you can see above, the fork, headset and handlebars went together nicely. When I move the fork and handlebars in opposing directions, I can feel a very small shift that concerns me a little bit. I am hopeful that this can be fixed by loosening the stem and trying to get everything a little bit ‘tighter’. My only major frustration was popping one of my two inner tubes on the first installation. I became a little impatient trying to get the tire on, and when I get impatient usually things break. At least I am a step closer to riding this thing! All for now.