Norwid Esbjerg Tourer

I have decided on a lot of components already, but I'm not sure about the headset. I have got a Stronglight Delta needle bearing headset in my parts bin. Technically, I think it is in solid condition. Sadly, it has clear traces of use. See pictures in post #3 .

Or I could buy a Velo Orange Grand Cru chromed sealed bearing headset. It's shiny!

Opinions appreciated.

And thank you all for your enthousiastic replies!

I don't want to rush things. My goal was autumn 2015, but I am a little behind schedule already. I will post progress here.

subscribes. the best build so far in the forum

That headtube looks fantastic.

Where did you get the decals made?

I vote stronglight headset. All shiny VO look won't suit what will essentially be a very functional bike. Can't wait to see those brakes go on!

very good build so far, when you get to all the details of cable tidying, lighting choices etc give us all the details

Paintwork and decals done by Unlimited Colors in Venhorst, The Netherlands. I designed the decals myself in Adobe Illustrator, and had them validated several times by email before exporting a final version. Unlimited Colors have translated the files to their internal printingtoolset.

When collecting the frameset afterwards, I was shown the whole internal process and spraying facilities. Some major Dutch pro cyclingteams have their frames painted there, as well as the Dutch police and military forces. Very fluid workflow, fascinating to witness. I guess they liked my project as an unusual one.

So pretty!

Very cool. Thank you. I will see if I can get something similar done in the UK.

Hilary Stone rates the Miche headset the Stronglight is a copy from highly for durability. He sells lots and lots and lots...I'm assuming he knows what he's talking about.

As it's a tourer I would rate durability over shiny, but that's just like my opinion man ;)

Reliability, durability, comfort, and then looks and weight on par. That is the order I guess.

Hmm. Well, for a headset that is. Riding Marathon Plus tyres would take out all the fun of cycling.

Work in progress! Time for some pictures in this thread.

Replaced original Mafac pads with salmon Koolstop pads.
45mm Velo Orange mudguards, with plenty clearance to spare.

Nice and clean. Aligned for 32mm tyres.

Nice and clean as well. Tan sidewall tyres are helpful when aligning mudguards.

Very nice.

Looking good.

What is the boss for on the inside of the drive-side chainstays?

Coming along nicely.

It's intended for mounting a framelock. One boss on each chainstay.

Bloody lovely. Look forward to seeing it fully built.

I wouldn't trust a lock like that on a fancy bike like this. People can just pick the bike up and walk away.

Absolutely beautiful mate! Beautiful usage of the Mafacs.

Keep it up!

Best wishes from Germany

Chris

Wonderful bike!

Decent framelocks have the option to link a plug in cable or -chain to the lock so you can lock your bike to a fixed object.

Update! Some work done.

Decided to use tektro straddle wire hangers instead of mafac.

Two coax wires: one from the hub dynamo to head light and one from head light to rear light. Together in wire mesh guard...

... tied to the front rack...

... each going its own direction at the inside of the fork blade.

Wire guided under fork crown, entering downtube with a grommet.

Wire leaving left chainstay ( also a grommet ), tied to mudguard stay...

... and into to the rear light.

Tektro cable hanger, modified to adjust cable length.

Decaleur for the front bag.

I think the word I'm looking for is 'tidy'. Best hiding of lamp wires I've seen!

So so beautiful. Nice work.