Miss Modern

From the 1949 Claud Butler catalog
Much more where this came from.

Hillman



Spotted in downtown Melbourne when I was there for the Track Worlds earlier this year.

More photos HERE

 


 

Coppi



Fausto Coppi bike, said to have been ridden by Coppi himself, in the Museo di Campionnissimi, Novi Ligure.



Giame saddle




Angel Garcia photo

More photos HERE 

Condor Superbe

Images from Ebay item # 170839836982

Ron Cooper

I have wanted a Ron Cooper racing bike ever since Richard Oddy brought his 1969 Cooper on our first ever Retro Ride back in 2002.

Early this year I posted a wanted to the Classic Rendezvous email list, and within a couple of days I was in negotiation with CR listmember Gabriel Romeu for his celeste Cooper frame.
Gabriel emailed a few photos, and I was sold as soon as I saw the four neat holes in the bottom bracket shell.

The frame arrived in the mail 4 or 5 weeks later and, as is my wont, I quickly assembled the bike for the following morning's ride with the Solo bunch.

Most of the parts were handily lying about, but the Roy Thame sacrificed its wheels, to which I glued a pair of 25mm Continental Competition tubulars.

My plan was to build a basic Campag Nuovo Record road bike, but, as I rummaged around, it became inescapably obvious that I should use a lightweight OMAS headset and titanium bottom bracket which presented themselves.

Continuing in this vein, after a couple of rides I felt compelled to replace the steel Nuovo Record derailler pivot bolts with titanium Super Record parts before venturing onto the Butter Chicken loop with Gayle.

The initial build left a bit to be desired.
I struggled with the 14-21 cluster on the wheelset, and the modern Brooks Professional saddle was a bit wide, so I found a 14-24 freewheel and a rough looking old model Pro which has become more presentable with use.

Gabriel had told me the frame took a 26.8mm post, but my 26.8 post seemed to slip every couple of rides, so I reamed the seat tube out slightly to take a nominally 27.2mm SR Royal post.
While I had a broken collarbone recently, Gayle very kindly came round and buffed the post, which I had de-anodised with ovencleaner, to its current shiny finish.






The Salsa stem was quickly replaced with a plausible looking 14cm TTT Record that came at very good price from ebay.
To further improve my hillclimbing performance I replaced the expander bolt with an aluminium part that requires a 7mm allen key, a tool which is never to be found when you need one.
MORE PHOTOS

Headset	OMAS
Bottom bracket	OMAS Big Sliding titanium
Crankset	Campagnolo Nuovo Record 175mm, 41/53
Brakes	Campagnolo Record, standard reach, pre 1978
Brake levers	Campagnolo Victory
Shiftlevers	Suntour bar end shifters
Front derailler	Campagnolo Nuovo Record
Rear derailler	Campagnolo Nuovo Record Pat.82
Hubs	Campagnolo Record, wide flange 28h
Freewheel	Suntour Ultra 6, 14-24 or 14-26
Rims	Fiamme Red label tubular
Saddle	Brooks Professional
Seatpost	SR Royal ESL
Stem	TTT Record 14cm
Handlebars	TTT 44cm

***************************************************************************************

So, what about that Holdsworth?

Readers with long memories may recall my plan to touch up the worst of the paint damage on my Holdsworth Professional frame and build it into a late 60s racing steed as it once was.
The more astute among you might well infer that my long silence on the subject says that all is not well.

After months of desultory action, I gave up on my efforts to touch up the paintwork, ordered a set of transfers from Lloyds and entrusted the job to the multi-talented Walter Thorburn.

A couple of weeks later, Walter called to tell me that beadblasting had exposed a crack underneath the bottom headlug. Being financially and emotionally invested in the project, I rejected the idea of chucking the frame in a skip, and set to replacing the downtube and headlug.

The first problem is that I needed a plain, long point headlug.

The Holdsworth's lugs look like a modified Prugnat Type S, which are probably fairly easy to find, but I decided it was better to make some progress while I was still in the mood.

I dug out a set of Prugnat lugs with triangular cutouts and a some bits of scrap tube, and brazed bits of steel tube scrap into the cutouts. After a morning of filing and sanding I had a passable lookalike of the original.

I quite probably have the correct Reynolds 531 downtube in my inventory, but chose to use Ishiwata 024, because it was closer to the top of the pile, just the right length, and a bit heavier, which seems appropriate on a frame that is earmarked for this year's edition of l'Eroica.
It's a few years since I have replaced a downtube, but to my eyes the end result doesn't look too bad at all.

While I had the frame back, I took the opportunity to cold set the rear dropouts to 126mm so that I can use a 7 speed freewheel. Usually my inner purist would frown at this, but I figure that I was already across the line in the sand when I decided to get the frame repainted, and anyway, a sub-athlete like me needs a wide range of gears for a life threatening outing like Eroica.

More Condor

In response to Oli's question in the comments on the last posting:

When the Condor frame arrived on Tuesday, I had collected most of the parts I thought I would need, and even built up a nifty pair of suitable tubular wheels.
Some of them have worked out, and some others caused me a bit of grief in the attempt to get the bike rideable for the SOLO bunch ride on Friday morning.

First up, the frame needed some love before any parts went on.
At some time the BB threads have been stripped, and rebuilt with bronze, so I ran the Campag taps through, and faced the shell.
The headtube had never been reamed, and is splayed from having oversized headset cups pressed in, so I reamed and faced with the Campag tool, skimming a couple of millimetres off the overall length to accomodate the still-low stack height of the Campagnolo Gran Sport headset.
The forkblades were bent to the right. I did a fair job of straightening them, using my Hague fork jig as a reference, but I may yet ask Oli Brooke-White to get them perfect on his world famous VAR fork straightening jig.

The drivetrain went through a few iterations.
The Campagnolo Record derailler that I wanted to use didn't have the capacity for the 52/42 rings and 14-26 freewheel, so I swapped it for a 1970 Nuovo Record, which turned out to be too worn to use.
Third time lucky, I degreased an '81 Nuovo Record as an interim solution.
Eventually, I'll get the drivetrain configured to work with the Record derailler.

The Campagnolo crankset, bottom bracket and pedals are all temporary.
I have a set of Campag 'con denti'* track pedals in need of a home, and a lead on a set of TA Professional* cranks.

Where I can, I use Suntour Ultra-6 freewheels on bikes with 120mm dropout spacing, but on the Condor the chain catches on the seatstay when shifting from the smallest sprocket. I dug up a nice looking Suntour Perfect 5 speed freewheel, but one of the sprockets was too worn, so I am using the largest 5 sprockets on an Ultra-6 14-24 until I can get an IRD 5 speed 13-24 from the House of Dogboy.

Most of my English bikes have centrepull brakes, so I was planning to use a pair of Universal Super 68 sidepulls, until I found a set of unused Universal Extra calipers lurking in a box of Trademe acquisitions. These are the 'period correct' Universal sidepull, so the 68s can wait for another project.
The gold Universal brakelevers are undeniably a taste crime, but I want to milk the last mileage out of their perished and tattered gum hoods before I swap them for a pair in plain aluminium.

Headset________________Campagnolo Gran Sport
Bottom bracket__________Campagnolo Record
Crankset_______________Campagnolo Nuovo Record 172.5mm
Chainrings ______________Ofmega 42/52
Brakes_________________Universal Extra sidepulls
Brake levers____________Universal
Shift levers_____________Campagnolo Record braze-on
Front derailler___________Campagnolo Record 1st Generation with cable stop
Rear derailler____________Campagnolo Nuovo Record PAT. 81
Hubs__________________Campagnolo Gran Sport 32/40
Freewheel______________Suntour Winner Ultra 6 14-24
Rims__________________Fiamme Red label tubular
Saddle_________________Brooks Professional, butchered
Seatpost_______________Campagnolo Nuovo Record 27.0mm
Stem__________________Cinelli Mod.1 steel 13cm
Handlebars_____________Cinelli Perfection 42cm

*John Barron photo

The Condor is landed

Words to follow
MORE PHOTOS HERE

Zeus 2000 Centrepulls

somecmavicetc038_edited
Originally uploaded by curmudgeon1957

To my mind, the second finest centrepull brake in history.

Though completely surplus to my requirements, I may have to build a bike to justify having bought them.

Trademe mishap

PA020284
Originally uploaded by bensondoc

Darryl Parker was just fooling around on Trademe and accidentally bought this early 90s Colnago Master.
It's had a pretty hard life, with a welded-up righthand rear dropout, and mismatched Ergopowers, but its also got some zoot period kit, like the Cinelli Grammo titanium stem and Royce bottom bracket.

The titanium USE seatpost, though a period correct blingpiece, is an unforgiveable taste crime, so if you have something more suitable, like C-Record or Chorus aero post, please get in touch.

"...like an old scuffer in stolen shoes"

This morning dawned crispy cold and fine, a total departure from the meteorological norms of the past few weeks.
I stayed abed until it was finally warm enough to sustain normal life, but such a fine day calls for an outing on a shiny new bike, and in the Roy Thame I had just the thing.
Furthermore my newly acquired Marresi shoes needed a tryout, so I kitted myself up, pumped up the Thame's tubulars and took myself for a lap of the ride known to Auckland's cycling community as 'the Shitponds'.

The Roy Thame is probably the twitchiest bike I have ever owned. The steep head angle and light frame combine to produce a mild shimmy if it is ridden one handed with a tight grip on the bar- loosen up and it goes away.
With 28 spoke tubulars it feels fast and buzzy, but I never got out of the small chainring, so the proof will have to wait for another day.
To my surprise, the narrow SR World Champion bars (only 38.5cm at the hoods) did not feel too bad. At the drops they measure 41cm c-c, but I didn't spend too much time there today.

Holdsworth Professional

P1010026
Originally uploaded by bensondoc

An unexpected addition to the stable.
I traded this, plus a yet-unseen parts package, for my Condor Italia loaner.
Like CT-B's Holdsworth Italia it was built by Reg Collard for the F.W Holdsworth retail shop.
The lack of chrome and brazed on brake cable hanger suggest 1968 or 69.
Despite the italian influence that held sway at F.W Holdsworth, this frame is a laidback Luxo-Cruiser, with 103cm wheelbase and parallel 72.5 degree angles. It has a full set of braze-ons, including downtube guides & stops for bar end shifters.

I should point out that I don't have any secret knowledge about these frames- everything that I think I know comes from Norman Kilgariff's excelent Holdsworth website, especially the pages on the Holdsworth Campagnolo professional team, and the Holdsworth Professional.

The Way to Fame is on a ROY THAME Frame

From INTERNATIONAL CYCLE SPORT July 1977

Meet Roy

Rideable, but as yet unridden.
MORE PHOTOS on Flickr.

The final build is a bit different to my original plan:

Front derailler___________Suntour Superbe FD-1500
Rear derailler____________Superbe Pro RD-3100
Shiftlevers______________Suntour Superbe bandmount
Crankset________________Sugino Super Mighty 170mm, 50/42
Bottom bracket___________Sugino Super Mighty
Brakes_________________Gran Compe standard reach
Brake levers_____________Suntour Superbe CB-3200 with Olimpic hoods
Seatpost________________Suntour Superbe
Stem___________________SR Royal Extra Super Light 13.5cm
Handlebars_____________SR World Champion 41cm
Headset________________Tange Levin CD
Bar tape________________Cateye Shiny handlebar tape
Pedals_________________MKS Sylvan with Christophe aluminium toeclips

The wheels pictured are the 28h Fiamme tubulars that I built for the Broomies Wall ride. If Roy and I get along, I will build a set of Araya 20A clinchers on Superbe small flange hubs.

Market forces as a cure for CBAD

Despite a compelling financial, logistical and commonsense objections, I made an unsuccessful effort to acquire this WB Hurlow on ebay this morning.

This one is a late'70s racing frame (no mudguard eyelets) with similar seatstay treatment and lug cutouts to my Roy Thame.

The components, which look to be original, include a rare first generation Campagnolo Super Record rear derailler and fluted 2-bolt seatpost.

Washout

Friday's Breakfast Ride/Critical Mass double session was the highpoint of a weekend washed out by biblically foul weather.
Saturday dawned miserable, as forecast, so I headed for the shed to fettle the Roy Thame.

Lacking 5/32" balls for the Campagnolo Pista headset I wasted most of the morning cleaning up a Stronglight A9 before I realised that it's stack height is too high.

Mid-morning, the postie brought a pair of standard-reach Gran Compe brake calipers, which saved me from swapping my last pair of Superbe brakes off the fixed wheel Ritchey Breakaway.

The Superbe seatpost and SR Royal stem got some red paint applied to their flutes and cutaways, while the deraillers spent a morning in the tub of degreaser to soak off a the mung of three decades.

A detour to the component dating page of the Vintage Trek site suggests that my random assemblage of Superbe parts is from 1977-78, about the same vintage as the frame.

The band-mount shiftlevers are probably from the early 80s, and are not necessarily an indication of true progress unless you like complexity for its own sake.


Late Saturday afternoon I abandoned the idea of riding the Okoroire mid-Winter Fun Ride on Sunday. Torrential rain alone would not have kept me away- I rode in it last year and in 2005, but adding gale force winds to the mix seemed excessive.
Having ridden Okoroire the last six years, I guess I'll have to compensate somehow later this year.

With no ride to go to, I forged ahead with the Roy Thame on Sunday, installing a mix'n'match Sugino bottom bracket, followed up by all the other components bar the headset.
A pair of white NOS Olimpic lever hoods were wrestled onto a set of Superbe brake levers, and rummaging in a box of unsorted junk produced a brand new set of whiteCateye plastic bar tape, easily the most awful bar covering ever, but totally appropriate for a 1970s short distance TT weapon.
To maintain some colour coordination CT-B has promised a matching white Turbo saddle, and red brake cable housing is on order.

Roy Thame is here

and it's a fine thing, albeit more of a single purpose device than I had hoped.
Frame geometry is 74.5 degrees parallel, and there is only a righthand downtube shifter boss, suggesting that the frame was built exclusively for TTs, not a pastime that I have engaged in for about 15 years, nor ever shown any aptitude for.

On the positive side, it is as feathery light as you would expect of a 531SL frame, and devoid of rust and dings. Even the Campagnolo Nuovo Record Pista headset seems to be useable.

A previous owner has used a pair of clamp-on shiftlevers, and rigged up a front derailler cable guide under the BB, and being no latter day Alf Engers I will do the same.

RT v1.1

Yesterday's assertion that I have a couple of "a couple of incomplete (Suntour Superbe) groupsets" turned out to be wildly over-optimistic.






What I've got is a pile of deraillers, a pair of LD-2000 clamp-on shiftlevers, and a brakeset that is currently on another bike. Of course, I am only assuming that the RT frame takes a short reach brake...

The rear deraillers are a mix of basic Superbe RD-2100, with steel hardware; and about 1-7/8 Superbe Pro RD-3100, with aluminium pivots and pulley bolts.






There are a couple of OK looking Superbe FD-1500 hinged clamp front deraillers, and I think that a little more rummaging will eventually expose one of the weird band-mounted Superbe Pro FD-2000.


I have two pairs of brake levers, without hoods.
My one spare set of hoods is earmarked for Team McCall, so I will get a set of white Olympic hoods from ebay which will complement the black/white colour scheme.

My Superbe seatpost turns out to be Sugino Super Mighty, which is OK with me, and the Super Mighty crankarms have a decent set of factory-drillium 50/42 chainrings.


Suntour and Sugino catalog pictures from Mr Gami's catalog scans page

The Roy Thame Masterplan, V1.0

Dan Rosser, whose CBAD makes my own look benign, asked about my plans for the Roy Thame frame.
To the unafflicted this is an ill-advised and frivolous purchase, but while pondering Dan's question I realised that the RT is the ideal recipient for some early 80s Japanese kit I have been hoarding.
Early Suntour Superbe is fairly uncommon nowadays, but I have accumulated a couple of incomplete groupsets.
Sugino Mighty cranks are near enough to be good enough, and I have a hollow SR Royal Extra Super Light stem that is too cool to leave in a box.
Wheels will be Araya 20A clincher rims on small flange Suntour Superbe hubs. Back in the day we used to frown on 20As, but for this project their silver finish and low weight cancel out any concerns about durability.

A black frame with white graphics demands a white saddle, which puts me in the market for Turbo or a Rolls. To offset the monochrome paint, I will fill the flutes in the seatpost and crank spider with red paint, and use red brake cable.

Crankset_______________Sugino Mighty 170mm
Deraillers_______________Suntour Superbe
Shiftlevers______________Suntour Superbe or Simplex Retrofriction
Brakes_________________Suntour Superbe
Brake levers____________Suntour Superbe
Hubs__________________Suntour Superbe 36h
Rims__________________Araya 20A 700c clincher
Seatpost_______________Suntour Superbe
Stem__________________SR Royal Extra Super Light
Handlebars_____________SR Road Champion
Pedals_________________MKS Sylvan or Suntour Superbe Pro

Roy Thame Campionissimo

Another totally unnecessary ebay acquisition from Hilary Stone:

"Offered for sale is a beautiful 23·5in ctt c1978 Roy Thame Campionissimo frame in very good condition. Top tube length is 22·5in and rear dropout width 124mm. It is almost certainly built from Reynolds 531SL tubing. This frame has some beautiful touches - the lugs and bottom bracket cutouts are modelled on Colnago - Reg Collard who built many of the Roy Thame frames openly acknowledged the influence of Colnago on his frame building. Roy Thame was the brand name of the F W Holdsworth shop in Putney during the second half of the 1970s "

 According to Norman Kilgariff's Holdsworth website, Reg Collard, who also built CTB's splendid Holdsworth Italia, was the 'specials' builder for the Holdsworth retail stores which in 1964 became a separate entity from the manufacturing and wholesaling business.
The shop-built frames were branded Roy Thame in 1975 (after one of the owners) when Holdsworthy Ltd withdrew permission to use the Holdsworth brand.

While the lug cutouts evoke Colnago for some, the motif of three overlapping circles was used by other English builders such as W.B Hurlow and Stan Pike.