Ben's ever expanding Gazelle collection

Thought I'd just turn this into a Gazelle builds thread.

I currently have 5. If anyone has as an interesting Gazelle frameset in 56/56/58 drop me a PM. There is always room for a few more (I have no more actual room)

5 Attachments

1st is a 1991 AB frame. Common as muck and being built up as a fast road bike for the winter.

2nd is a 125 special edition. Its number 25 of 125 853 frames. Campag 11 speed

3rd is a 1989 AA 653. Rides like a dream

4th is a 1978 531 Champion Mondial CX set up as a 'Gravel' bike.

5th is a 1978 A Frame converted into a French style 650 randoneur build. Some build detail further down in this thread

Wheel rebuild on the A frame is starting. Debuilt the campag gran sport/ mavic wheels. Gave the hubs a rough polish and paint fill to match the pacenti brevet rims il be using

3 Attachments

Nice nice nice, keen to see the 650B fun - sub’d! 👍🏻

Can I ask where you’re getting the rims? I’ve only seen them around for £85 each, which is a bit of a stinger... Also, before you commit to building to these hubs would you consider getting something with a freehub body so that you can potentially use them for other stuff further down the line? 🤷‍♂️

I'm going to stick with the old school hubs on this build, I feel bad for always fitting modern stuff to old bikes...
Also, this way I don't need to stretch the back end.

I'm going to fit an 8 speed freewheel. Hopefully it all works out fine, but who knows.

We have shifters and brakes for the AB.

1 Attachment

Subbed. I’ve always dreamed of owning an ab gazelle. Where did you find them?

When doing the pant fill on the hubs whats involved? do you just drop the paint into the letters, wait for it to dry a little and then polish off the excess?

It depends on how deep the engraving is. The deeper it is, the more paint you can scrape off when its wet. I like to have as little polishing as possible at the end as it allows the paint to sit prouder and have more 3d feel. But i make it up as I go along..

Front wheel done. I laced it up...it was wrong. A pro sorted it

1 Attachment

Wheels done. Although I only have tyre at the mo.

Tyre clearances and brake drop for those interested.

That is a dia compe 750 brake for reference

4 Attachments

Both tyres on. With the rear inflated to 60psi there is marginally less clearance than I thought previously, but more than enough.

1 Attachment

Giving the seatpost a little love and paint. Lots more paint to go, it takes ages to dry.

2 Attachments

Bar choice on A Frame is tricky.... should I go full rando?

1 Attachment

Did that cx frame come from Isambards?

The 653 is beautiful- I wonder what you think of the Deda Murex stem?

Yep, frame was from isambards. It wasn't cheap but had a fresh respray and they were great to deal with.

I like the murex, it feels great and you can change bars easily

Honestly if you paid the last listed price then I think you got a really good deal on it.

I did , and got a few quid back due to a paint/rust issue. So I was happy and it handles great.

You need a monostay for your collection ;-)

Any update on yours then?

Progress is very slow, I'm hoping to have it ready for spring

Yes. I agree. I'm looking

Bars and stem on order for the A frame. Nitto 135 rando and Technomic tall stem

Had a few set backs. I serviced the headset this week and the crown race was very pitted. Annoyingly the crown race from the original old Japanese headset is really tall so none of the races we had in at the shop or other local shops worked.

I ended up taking a dremel to the original crown race to remove the pitting and then smoothing it back by hand. It has been mostly successful and the headset now functions at about 80% smoothness. I will do some more hand work to get it perfect .

The Dia Compe 610 brakes i ordered were just too short, so I'm having to go with the cheaper 750's instead. I've swapped out the stock pads for v brake pads to get more adjustability.

I'm also running it 5 speed due to the hub spacing

Someone on here must have a crown race in a parts jar somewhere - put up a wanted thread! I know I’ve had various old ones in differing depths but gave it all up in a job lot a year ago... worth an ask, this place is pretty good for it 👍🏻