Saffron Frameworks Dream Bike

1" steerer though : (

So I've looked into this a little bit more and found these forks from Devlin:

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I contacted Devlin and showed them the Woodrup failure.

He said he'd seen a few failures of this type, all caused by the same design fault: There is a massive step in material thickness from the mount to just the fork blade, which causes a very focused stress concentration in that area. By putting a reinforcing plate on the back and extending away from the mount you can spread the stress over a bigger area and lessen its affect on the materials.

He even thought it would be possible to do this on stainless blades like 953.... which would be fucking amazing. But I feel like I need to ask around a bit more and find out if anyone else has done it / seen failures / kept all their teeth.

I'm not fully against the idea of innovation, but the fact that I can't find any other examples makes me think twice.

More research....!

Interesting stuff. My Croix de Fer's steel disc fork weighed over 1.4kg - practically a frame in itself - I wonder how much innovation went into that, or if it was simply a safe play with overbuilding it. In all fairness, they're pretty sturdy bikes in general. Ended up swapping it for a carbon one which weighed half of that. 1 1/8" headtube though.

Ha ha!

Remember he built the frames for Roberts. He knows a thing or two when it comes to that.

I haven't actually spoken to Winston about it yet (as daft as that sounds).... It was Devlin who was messaging about the Max option.

I like the research and I wanted to dig around for interesting options for Winston to have a look at. His initial suggestion was going with the disc-specific 853 blades, which are definitely safe but will look out of place on this frame - weird rake, beefy ends. And not stainless, although that consideration is new.

But yeah, I chose Winston because he knows what he's doing. I won't be doing anything he's not happy with.

You both need to be happy with this :)

Indeed!

In other news, the parts pile is slowly building... I'm trying to get most of the stuff before I pull the trigger on the frame, so it can be built with the exact components in mind.

Sram Red 22 etap levers and medium cage rear mech (still waiting for the front mech).
Sram Red 22 chainset (170mm, 52/36) and GXP bottom bracket, Force 11-28 casette, Red 22 chain.
Record 1" threadless headset, Deda Superleggero stem, black Kaleido bar tape.

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I went for Red etap mainly because it's wireless and it's easy to install (I don't have to think about hiding the wires). I also prefer the way it looks to the current Dura Ace (and I can't afford high-level Campag), and there are rumours that the next gen DA will be wireless too, so I'm gambling that it's okay to have a frame with no wiring holes or cable stops. The future is wireless, people!

The stem might end up being wrong in terms of bike fit, but it was a bargain on ebay and seems to be a solid choice for this kind of build.

Not holding back! Enjoying this thread. What colour is the bar tape?

Black with the colourful bits in the holes : )

I did more shit photoshopping:

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Despite having them as the starting point, I'm not sure I like the lugs... and I couldn't be bothered to put different wheels in.

I think this is going to be amazing. All modern parts on an old/retro frame really can work. It always looks bad when its just a random mix of new and old. I would love to do a build like this with a master x-light or a tommasini techno. Whats your ballpark budget for the finished build?

I'd like to bring it in for under £6000, which I think is probably a little ambitious for this kind of project. I'm hoping to make about £2000 from a clear-out (including the matching Roberts bikes), and use savings for the rest.

Have you seen what battaglin have done with the portifino disc? Could you use oversized lugs for the headtube like a long shen or would that make all your other nervex lugs redundant as well? If not it would solve all of your other issues with fork options. I've not seen any 1 1/8 headtube lugs as flashy as the nervex ones but i have seen people embellishing standard lugs. I can't seem to post the link but if you put elaborate lug cutting into YouTube a video comes up straight away ozwald cycleworks. So it could be possible to make a 1 1/8 kind of nervex replica? Or just use a different lug set altogether. The elaborate ones tend to look better against a single colour tube maybe with a contrasting colour headtube but if your going for a flashy paint job as well the nervex lugs could look a little too fussy. I'm exited and inspired by your project and a little bit envious

Hadn't seen the Battaglins before. I definitely think it looks weird trying to wrap lugs around a massive tapered head tube like that!

If I decide not to use the Nervex lugs then it'll be because they don't sit well with the rest of the frame / build, in which case I'll probably go with 1 1/8th steerer and some sort of bilaminate front end. There are a few other advantages that make that option tempting; it looks great, you can design pretty much anything, and it gives you a lot more flexibility in terms of geometry as you're no longer restricted by the angles of the lugs.

Richard Sachs makes 1 1/8th" 'Newvex' lugs based on the old Nervex design but tbh I'm not a massive fan of the tall top lug. Also, as I understand it, the problem with steel disc forks is more about blade thickness than the steerer diameter, so if I go with the Nervex idea I can just use the ones I have.

a couple of good examples:
(first one by Gregory Townsend, second one by Chris Bishop)

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oh, and Saffron:

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That Bishop is beautiful. I assume a bilaminate front end adds a fair bit to the budget? Its a shame the Richard Sachs lugs are so tall and llwwelyn have used something similar on the colossus but its tall also. So many choices eh. Good luck with it

I haven't asked Winston about the price for bilaminate lugs yet (or if he's even up for doing it), but yes I would assume it'll add a bit to the price. On the Saffron website (iirc) they quote 300 quid extra for it... which is a bit of a hike for sure.

My thinking at the moment is it's actually my preference over the Nervex, but only if it doesn't break the bank. It would be great fun coming up with ideas for lug designs, and I really like the idea of pairing that kind of front end with a super clean, fillet-brazed seat cluster - with those notched-and-fluted top eyes over the top.

A bit more money for the bilaminate headtube and i guess a fillet brazed seat cluster will cost a bit more than using lugs as well but you can't put a price on your happiness. You'll probably regret any compromises more than you'll regret spending a little more to get it looking exactly how you want it 😁

Two more bilam, I think they looks quite nice when kept simple.

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That Royal H is great!
Yes, those simple curves work really well with the smooth fillets : )