Perks Timetrial bike build 50cm

I was looking for a small track frame when @chris_gee suggested this rather beautiful thing. It's Columbus EL and made by Andy Perks, son of the great John Perks. Although not a fixie I felt this was worthy of a restoration as with so much carbon and alloy frames about these days its nice to have something a little old school. I have a 30" inside leg so needed something hobbit sized. It's in very nice condition apart from a nasty bit of paint missing on the non drive side seat stay that will need stabilising some way as its on top of rough chrome and quite flakey.

I had the option of buying a few bits so got the wheels you see (granted not a pair) which consist of a mavic cosmic rear 700c and a Campag shamal 650c front, and a nice old campag chainset, bit ratty but with forged chainrings, I also got a simplex record copy rear mech and a suntour front. Handlebars are some cheap cowhorns but should look good. Chris was kind enough to chuck in some nice blue cork ribbon too...

This is a build on a budget as I'm broke - and my track frame budget was blown out of the water!, without adding gears into the mix but lets see how it progresses. It's a lovely thing with some beautiful fillet brazing. 0.4mm wall thickness at centre of top tube on this tubeset! The camera has bleached the colour slightly.

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I like it, look forward to seeing the build.

Thanks mate. Managed to get seemingly the last blue concor saddle in microfeel whatever that is, in the country at a reasonable price. They were very expensive on eBay but found one at Planet X. Couldnt really afford it but they only had one and it seems quite thin on the ground for a classic saddle.

I've also got some ofmega NOS downtube gear levers for nineteen quid. Look nice with old style campy tensioners. I wanted simplex retrofriction but wasn't prepared to pay thirty quid used. Reigning it in now. Would like something like an old edco bottom bracket, this plastic cup nonsense doesn't sit well with me.

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@Perks

Shoved these on the plastic. They seem a bit thin on the ground with everything 31.8 these days. Should look incredible. Although @Si46 might tell me I've got the wrong ones as I'll take his lead on this. He's also recommended putting gear shifting on the bars, although admittedly more expensive I think he's right as those head tube eyelets are crying out to be used. The other thing I noticed is the fag paper clearance on the front wheel means somebody has drilled the callipers, structural integrity aside, I only hope the blocks line up with the braking surface, but we'll see. I also managed thanks to Simon to get a new back wheel to "match" the front, which will look great and a bit easier to get tubs for being 700c than the front. Couldn't believe the price of 650c tubulars.

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No I won't :) - These are my favourite bars. Can be a bit fiddly to fit brake and gear end levers on them but not impossible. I ran my Rychtarski with these bars.
If you run brake and gear cables internally you will need to drill another exit hole near clamp but do not drill it in line or the same distance from reinforcement as this may weeken bar. (they are very strong though so don't worry)
I used Shimano and in friction mode (makes for nice smooth changes and multi gear jumps)
Are you running double chainring or single?
Simon

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Was thinking of using a double purely as I want it to be more versatile for everyday training over comparatively sort dual carriageway distances. It's a legacy piece really, as when I was a kid cycling I could never afford one of these, in fact as an adult not much is different! What to you think about the campag 8sp levers? Do they rely on indexed gears? I forget.

Wow... I like that.....

I've not got much experience with the Campag tt levers as they are not so abundant as the Shimano and Shimano work so well. You will need to check on any Campag shifters to see if they have a friction option.
Friction definitely seems to work well allowing for very smooth and multiple cog changes. Remember that if you are using friction you don't need to confine yourself to 8 speed shifters as in friction mode shifters will work on any number of gears and any make of gears (sprocket spacing becomes irrelevant ).
It is worth going for the bar end jobies of some sort as changing gear is not so easy on a lo pro with downtube shifters and of course impossible to snick into a lighter gear when you're running out of legs on a steep hill etc etc
I have attached pic of bars after taping.

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Okay all. I'm back from the brink with this.

I'd shoved it all on ebay, but the fact that not one bit sold, frame, wheels, bars, crankset, saddle is either divine intervention or I'd paid a bit on the toppy side for everything. This wasn't the sellers fault. I should have done more research. After watching a complete lo pro mercian bike go for £110 on ebay, thats a testament to how bad things have got.

The reason for my sale was a small apartment, and getting the credit card bill down - but I'd be missing one vital point. Andy Perks didn't build many frames, and this one is a doozy. Beautifully made with loads of stunning brazing, and chrome, and just rare. He's not in the best of health, and frankly I'd like to get him some pictures over.

In retrospect for something rideable on a regular basis, tubs were not one of my smarter ideas, as I remember the enthusiasm of boundless youth got me into them in my cycling days, and thats kind of gone now as I get grumpy at all sorts.

Theres a few bits I need. 27.2 seatpost in silver, a 26mm stem and a tub, plus a chain. I have brakes, they just need new blocks. The biggest hurdle is an 8 speed derailleur, as the one I have only does 7, and the rears an 8 speed cog.

Anyhow. I'll post a few wanted ads and carry on regardless. I think it wants to stay with me somehow...

@Si46 back on with this finally. Will a pair of Shimano Ultegra SL-BS6480 bar enders have a friction mode? Found some cheap you see. Thanks mate. I think they have an override for "emergencies" lol.

Yes I'm pretty sure they work friction as well as indexed. Friction is really nice when you get used to it and you can fine tune as you go and make big sweeping changes smoother.

They arrived (you were right, they work friction or indexed) and I managed to get the matching derailleur. Shame the cogs campag due to the splined hub fitting, but heard they all work together anyway. I saw campag bar end shifters but they were nuts money. Just need a cheap 8sp chain from somewhere, just seen an HG40 for £7.99 - that's not bad.

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Okay its going woefully slow, as I'm skint, but at least now have a pair of 700c/650c sprint versions of these. bought the back one to match my front, so now have a nice set. I also have a chorus seatpost, and a bottom bracket thanks to some very kind pricing on here. Just need a chain really. Not overly concerned about being a weight weenie just want it period.

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Gruelling is a good word... but... built up tonight, only bugbears being...

1. I need a tandem gear cable for the rear mech, as using thumbies on a 355 bar.
   
2. One of those Tifosi bottom brackets at 111mm for a double chainset
   is a crap fit for campag, despite saying its the right taper its some way off the chainstay and
   
3. the suntour radius front mech I picked up is total gash, with
   worn adjuster screws and a massive bump in the cage profile which
   hits the chain on its outer detent so bought a new one. Might be
   something to do with the poor chainline courtesy of the tifosi BB
   though.
   
   

I had a centaur sealed unit but the LBS managed to mangle the cups putting it in another frame.

Pics to follow. Sorry its taken so long, and not been about, but I've been broke.

@Si46 I got the Shimano bar end ones, but regardless of how much you swing on an allen key they don't grip that well internally on the 355. I think its because they wont sit square in a curved section.

Managed to destroy a valve stem (non removable of course) with crappy Halo extenders - complete bobbins.... Gah! Anyone know any valve extenders that are actually well designed with a thread that actually isn't sloppy. I know about the PTFE tape thing.

Here we go. The bottom bracket thing still perplexs me. The inner ring is about 10mm away from the seat stay, so according to that I'd need a 102mm in tifosi "Campag taper - lol" for that to be right... (running the recommended 111mm) Just getting some cheap shimano road pedals, as on my other bike.

I built this even though I couldn't really run to it, as I'm always running out of cash and flogging things on, and this time I thought no. And the other thing of course is heading into January 2018 with a hall full of parts isn't the most inspirational thing.

What do you think about the angle of the mech, could it go another couple of links? I closely followed two formulas, but think it looks short. I still need to hook this up but need a tandem cable inner.

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I think you can get Campag bbs down to 103mm. It sounds really narrow but the taper is different to Shimano.

Chain does look a bit short. What's it like on the smaller ring? Looks like a big jump which might end up a bit slack if the derailleur is short. You could always go 1x at the front if it's too much for the rear derailleur.

Yes going for a 103, 111 seems to be an oft quoted figure but I think old mirage and chorus may have used the shorter one. Good point on the chain/chainset I know what you mean. I was keen to get the tricolour 600 as its a mech I grew up with!

Bought a proper campag bottom bracket. Those Tifosi things have cheese alloy cups, questionable threading too. absolute crap. Then it just remains to whack the pedals on and see if the gears actually index. I need some cabling with a removable teflon sleeve, certainly for the back brake as where the cable enters the frame on the top tubes, even though offset its raw cable in there, the OCD in me says no! Also got a new Dura Ace front mech. It's been a lot of fun project and a beautiful, craftsman built frame. When I had the BB threads reamed and finished at the bike shop, he kept commenting on the quality of every braze. It's a usable TT as its not a lopro, which suits my back better. As to whether I get to keep it with my delicate finances at the moment remains to be seen! Topeak valve extenders turned out to be the way to go. Great design with no leaks, and no PTFE tape required either.

Gah. Up for flogs soon due to impending threat of job loss and credit card bill. Not even ridden it yet. Wheelsets timewarp really. Comes with a spare new vittoria 650c front as it's close clearance, any thoughts of bunging a juniores on there you can forget! A Beautiful thing. Front mech sorted.

How much would you want for it? I know someone keen to bring it back home to Birmingham. Perks made our bike polo goals.

Oh hi Neil. Well make me an offer via pm. It’s quite a rare marque in a TT variant yes. The wheels are quite a large part of the cost as they are mint, but let me know. It’s a beautiful thing, with fab brazing. I’ll throw in two new corsa cx 650c tubs as well, as they are the only ones that fit the fag paper clearance at the front. I believe it’s Columbus EL tubing. I’d drive it down to a services near Brum too… I’d keep it but the career appears to have stalled on both engines…

I love this thing even though it's not that practical, are there period TT bars not as long and low as these? I had the whole bike on ebay, and described the condition with tons of shots, I was asked about the wheels which are superb examples of unmolested shamals, and now the guy wants more pictures, I'm worn out with it particularly since the whole things starting for less than what the wheels cost me. I'm tempted to pull the listing and make this more usable. Would drops be incredibly odd/evil?