Brass Bits?

[Justin Kennedy (Brooklyn, NY)]

I love the look of the brass dust crank cap on Antonio's Susie build, which got me searching for where to source it. I see Velo Orange used to stock these but are currently sold out. And I know Blue Lug has them in stock but it seems kinda crazy to order such a small part from Japan. 

Does anyone know of other sources? What other similar brass bits elevate a bike?

[lucky...@gmail.com]

They’re not brass but gold ano, nonetheless Cable Cherries by Forager Cycles are an awfully pretty little accessory and small enough to look brass. Also available at Velo Orange and Blue Lug.

On Dec 30, 2021, at 09:01, Justin Kennedy (Brooklyn, NY) <thesix...@gmail.com> wrote:

I love the look of the brass dust crank cap on Antonio's Susie build, which got me searching for where to source it. I see Velo Orange used to stock these but are currently sold out. And I know Blue Lug has them in stock but it seems kinda crazy to order such a small part from Japan. 

Does anyone know of other sources? What other similar brass bits elevate a bike?

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[Bill Lindsay]

The more important message regarding Blue Lug and other "distant" online sellers, is to remind yourself to add all the fun little bits whenever you are buying the bigger bits.  Absolutely every time I order something from Rivendell, I try hard to remind myself what tiny things that may have caught my eye: silver shifter plastic washers, brass ferrules, a roll of newbaums, a hillibike sticker, etc.  Blue Lug has TONS of really great stuff, just remember to add brass bits next time it's worth the effort.

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Justin Kennedy (Brooklyn, NY)]

Yes, absolutely. 

[iamkeith]

Monebikes and Ocean Air Cycles come to mind.  Funny you should mention  this.  I've been trying to decide what color to repaint my beat-up quiclbeam, and think I decided on this.  I'm not sure if it's the brass that makes it look so good though, and hadn't considered it until now.

[Eric Marth]

Hi Justin — I'm a brass nut. Here are some raw brass bits worth considering. 

Blue Lug

• Brass headset spacers (for 1" and 1-1/8" steerers)
• Brass crank bolts
• Downtube shifter boss covers 
• Brass tire valve caps (crazy expensive) 
• Brass stem caps for 1-1/8" threadless stems

Bolts

• Button head brass hex drive screws (For downtube bosses)
• Brass socket head screws (For bottle cages) 

Bells

• Crane makes a ton of brass bells but some have a clear finish that prevents them from weathering, developing patina, aging, etc. 
• Tomii brass bell
• Sim Works / Honjo brass turtle bell

Shifter washers

• No. 12 brass cup washers 
  • These are available at any hardware store. Sometimes called countersink washers or finishing washers. They fit Silver 1 & 2 shifters. Riv tried to have something like this custom made but I figured out these off-the-shelf-deals work just fine. I gave Will, Vince and James a bag of them at the Philly Bike Expo. Recently seen on Grant's blog. Have yet to find US-made. 

Cable housing ferrules

• 4mm shifter ferrules (Wheels Mfg, made in USA)
• 5mm brake ferrules (Wheels Mfg, made in USA)
• Brass cable ends (Nissen for Sim Work)

Barrel adjusters

• M5 barrel adjusters (David Kirk, made in USA)

Fenders

• Sim Works / Honjo brass fenders (These are over the top, even for me)

A note on gold anodized

• I think gold ano almost always looks like garbage and a pale imitation of brass. Velo Orange has some QR skewers advertised as having brass components. There is a brass cam washer but the part of the cam visible when the skewers are installed is gold anodized. Many other gold parts out there, equally ugly. 

[Ryan]

Nice colour...that is the colour of my mixte...looks good with brass bits. Go for it. That's a very elegant frame. I like the simplicity of the lugs.