1984 Claud Butler Super Dalesman Tourer: a decade-long project

Thanks for your comment @Squaredisk, a respray is planned in the not-distant future, probably over the winter. I like his scars and chips, actually, but there is some bubbling getting worse on the downtube and want to pre-empt any major problems. Currently this is my only bike so I couldn't afford the 6-month lead time, it was hard enough being bikeless for 2 weeks this time around. I am planning for my second bike in the next few months, so after touring season is over I will send Claud off to Argos for a makeover.

However, I don't agree with you on the flat paint, or that the original looks "better", necessarily - It is clear from threads like this that aesthetics are a divisive topic! I like the retro-mod look rather than full-retro or full-modern and it's important to me to retain the original quality of the frame as I have been through it all with this bike and it wouldn't feel like the same Claud anymore! I am liking the idea of keeping the metallic blue paint but going for a very slightly darker tone of the same colour.

sounds good.

Thanks for the link! Gotta admit that I was hoping it was the same price as those really cheap 104bcd 4 bolt rings...
Fair point abut trying to keep it lightweight. I‘d keep the original paint, after all you seem to have a history with the bike and the imperfections add character blablabla etc. + it‘s a really nice shade of blue imo.

@Sig_Arlecchino indeed, sadly they're not super cheap :( I'd love to keep the original paint as it is honestly, but it really will need doing before long due to aforementioned rust. You can't see well but is concentrated around the underside of the bottom bracket and downtube bottle bosses. Argos did a beautiful job with another Dalesman, but definitely a departure from the original colour: https://www.facebook.com/240449079312854/posts/claud-butler-dalesman-531st-touring-frame-resprayed-in-sea-salt-bronze-with-cust/3393122927378771/. I really like the original blue as well and don't plan on making any radical changes.

I built up a black road bike with all "silver" groupset / finishing kit and @amey will be the first to mention the fact that it doesn't match. I bent over backward hunting for the silver cranks, which don't match the 26.8 seatpost, or the framepump. The stem and bars match but not with the bottle cages either, and of course the bottle cages don't match the bars, stem, seatpost or framepump BUT they match the logo on the DT.

This should be a fun way of me saying I love this build, follow your heart, and I hope you get to ride the shit out of this bike.

@youramericanlover I understand the appeal of uniformity, but in the current age of "Black Hegemony" as @Skülly put it, it's extremely difficult to achieve if you want gear indexing, etc. I have embraced the mix of black and silver wholly, and if done in the right way I think it looks amazing! That is with exception to Claud's black seatpost days which still hurt me inside a little. Hats off to you for the effort put in to your build, I'm sure it shows, even if the purists complain... and thanks for the nice comment - It's had 50 very fun miles on it this week so far and there will be many more to come :)

As a sidenote, I bent over backwards to find a blue anodized bottle cage to match my frame closely (Japanese NOS ordered from Poland) and it was the first thing @popdown said he disliked hahah - but I like it.

Yeah totally! I definitely failed in my attempt but I LOVE my black and only silver-adjacent bike.

Glad someone else said this before me. Please carry on on every thread where the bike has eyelets and sufficient clearance.

This is brilliant. The thought and reasoning behind the component choices mean they are all correct! Looks great.

Not to derail but aren't SKS Bluemels better, cheaper, and easier to install?

What a beauty! The braided silver cable outers look great.

Thanks @owsh and @si_mon628, pleased you like it. Braided outers are a bit hard to get a hold of, but they really finish things off nicely for these retro builds imo.

No, yes, hell yes.

Good answer

I'm still traumatised from getting that derailleur to play nice and @popdown is much braver than me drilling the stuck dropout screw! A real journey of emotions, Claud looks banging though!

Don't respray! OG paint is always better, battle scars and all.

Black and silver looks good, all matching was getting boring.

Glad you like it :) I really don't want to respray but I'm worried about rust and want him to last forever... We shall see. Not in a hurry.

This looks really great. Perfect mix of new parts on a traditional frame. I think the black cassette works well with the black mech. Interesting about the microshift shifter as well. Not thought about that combo.
I am also in the dont respray it unless you really need to. The original paint give the bike a really cool story. Can you fix the bubbling without a full respray?

Well done — proof that a bike is for life!

Great job on this thing, looks like pure fun to ride!
Edit: Some car wax from time to time to protect the finish? You can't put a price tag on the og stickers etc.

Thanks, yes it's a joy :) and I went over the frame with a couple coats of carnauba wax after removing surface rust and clear-coating those areas. Definitely did the job!

Sounds lovely!
Can you upload some close-ups of that sweet patina?

It would look a lot nicer if you wrap the bartape all the way against the fat part of the bars and put the electrical tape on top of the bartape instead of half of it on the bars itself.
Other than that great build:)

Fair comment! I'm a bit of a noob with taping bars and can't say it bothers me all that much but will give it a go next time - thanks :)

@MisterMikkel as requested... Not sure when we go from "patina" to "rust", but opinions welcome. Mostly just chips, but the drive-side BB has enough rust that I couldn't remove any more than you can see.

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