Viner with Sora

Since moving house last month I have acquired 3 things:

1. A glorius commuting route of 30mins through Cambridgeshire countryside
   
2. A garden with shed
   
3. A renewed passion for cycling and messing about with bikes
   
   

So I picked up this Viner frame and am interested to try fitting some modern components onto it (MGOOF?).

I like the look and feel of brake lever shifters on others' bikes but have never had a set myself so I wanted to try them on this build. I found a lightly used Sora R3000 groupset (9 speed) which I'm hoping I can make work with this frame. The groupset is black so I'm thinking of keeping all components black except the frame if possible

I have so far checked whether the rear triangle will accept my current wheels - it will with a tiny bit of pulling open the frame. So I don't think I need to bend the frame permanently to accept the 130mm hub.

I've installed a new headset and seatpost and now waiting on a BB tool to be delivered so I can install that. The frame has the italian style of BB shell with two right-handed threads which I've read can lead to loosening of the left BB cup over time. Just threading the BB in by hand until the locktight starts the threads feel good so hopefully it's a simple install once I have the tool.

Some details about the frame from the ebay ad:

Brand Viner
Model Special Professional
Seat Tube (C to T) 60cm
Top Tube (C to C) 58cm
Head Tube 17cm
Bottom Bracket  36 x 24 ITA
Seat Tube Diameter 27.0mm
D.O.B 1970s
Country of Origin Italy
Frame Tubing Columbus SL
Fork Steerer  1” ITA
Lugs Prugnat
Mudguard Eyelets  Yes
Brakes Recessed Calipers
Dropouts Campagnolo 1010B
Wheelbase  100cm
Spacing 100/126mm
Paintwork Original
Weight (kg) 2.655kg

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Solid plans and lovely frameset too

Nice frame and lovely colour

Nice, are there stars cut out of the top of the bottom of the BB, fork crown and the head tube lugs?

Yes, stars all over the place

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I managed to install the bottom bracket. It was no easy task as the threads were super tight all the way from about one rotation in. Also the installation tool I have has plastic teeth. For fear of getting it stuck in there I removed most of the locktite that came pre-coated on the shells and replaced it with grease or copper ease.

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With a few more bits added. Hoping to tackle the stem, bars and levers this evening

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Stars = Frame is more likely to be the top Viner frame of its time. The Stella Professional, way more expensive than most frames BITD including the Raleigh Professional.

Decided to work on the drivetrain tonight instead and made some progress. Any opinions on the use of these quick links in your chain? Super easy to add/remove the chain but I've never used them as I fear it could be weaker than the rest of the links and snap unexpectedly. Am I worrying unnecessarily?

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Nice 👍 Sounds like I've stumbled across a good example!

Yup, portacatena dropouts and over BB guides put it at late 70's to early 80's. Cost more than an aluminium ALAN too. Exceptional condition for its age :)

Am I worrying unnecessarily?

Yes

such a beautiful frame. going to give a lovely ride I reckon

Actually the quick links are probably etter than breaking the chain links and rejoining them, especially on fancier chains which will fail if you try to rejoin them

100% this. I’ve definitely had more problems with chains I’ve broken and rejoined than when using quick links.

Getting close to a test ride 😀

However I can't get the shift levers to shift. The ratchet mechanism inside the lever sounds and feels like it's working but it isn't pulling the cable. I've made sure the gear cables are moving freely within the housing and have some tension but no movement occurs in the cable or mech. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? The shift levers I bought came with the cables already installed from a previous build. I didn't mess with them, just assumed they are routed correctly within the levers. Maybe they aren't?

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Remove the cables and put them back in yourself. It's an easy job and then you're sure everything is correct.

https://youtu.be/7-mwgMDo5PA?si=1VQ8ach3qSJuoSCc

And have a look at the BDHU thread before taping the bars:)

This really is a lovely frame. Enjoy!

Ha, guilty. I've been warned!

That workstand looks cool.
(Like the bike too!)

Managed to get the shift levers working and took it for a test ride commute this morning. The ride quality and gear shifting are a dream! Quite a few small issues still to resolve though:

• rear wheel slipping in the frame when under high load - i think it's because the dropout and hub contact is not optimal and my QR skewers arent the most powerful - maybe I can find a way to adjust rear hub spacing to be slightly smaller
  
• front brake drop is just too large - looking at replacing both calipers for a nicer set
  
• seat post slipping down. I think this might be a combo of slightly ovalised clamping area and excess grease from previous owner
  
• could do with a shorter stem
  

Thanks, I made it :)