Bob Jackson Columbus NEMO with carbon rear triangle

I’ve built this up mainly with parts that came on the Cyfac I recently bought and rebuilt (see other thread) so it’s very much a mix! All of the groupset is Shimano, but from across a wide range of eras!!

The frame is interesting - lovely fillet brazed Columbus Nemo with a Columbus Muscle carbon rear and bonded in. When I got hold of the frame it had a set of carbon forks with it but they were a bit shot, as was the headset, so I spent a bit of time looking around for alternatives.

I settled on a Stronglight needle bearing aheadset from SJS and sourced a set of brand new Columbus chrome threadless forks from Condor - these blew the budget a bit (costing more than I spent on the rest of the build!) and some might frown at the chrome rather than carbon to match the rear - but I’m a big fan of nice springy steel forks and I fancied giving these a go - in the end, I think it looks ok.

In terms of parts, the full build is:

Bob Jackson ‘Nemo frame
Condor Columbus chrome threadless forks
Stronglight needle bearing headset
Shimano Dura Ace 7400 (1st generation) 8 speed STI shifters
dura Ace 7400 front mech
Ultegra 6500 rear mech
105 5800 cranks
Ultegra BB
Level (Ribble) seatpost
Unbranded silver bars and stem
Brooks c17 saddle
Ultegra 6700 hubs on DT Swiss rims with Shimano 8 speed cassette
Conti Ultrasport tyres

In some ways the mixed groupset shouldn’t work - 8 speed shifters and front mech, 10 speed hub, 8 speed cassette, 9 speed rear mech and 11 speed chainset!! But actually, it works perfectly.

One thing that’s struck me in building this is the quality of those 7400 shifters - all metal parts and feel much more “solid” that todays models - incredibly easy to set up too.

The frame geometry is interesting - it’s a very “tall” bike with a super high BB and therefore v high stand over for a frame of this size - almost like a track frame - it would have been a custom order when new so the person buying it must have had their reasons….pedal clearance for crits maybe?

Anyhow, here’s some pics:

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Some more pics:

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That’s beautiful.

9000 chainset would be a great upgrade over time and a silver seatpost

Thanks!

That's a great shout on the silver seatpost - I think you're right there - ref the cranks - I've got some nice looking SunTour ones that came with the Cyfac but they are 53-39 and my legs aren't up to that anymore, hence using the 105's (which I already had in the garage) - again, I reckon you're right that silver would look better!

Though the 105s were there for their compact sizing.

I really like the 9000 groupset, but on this really tick the black/silver components, decals and carbon rear stays.

Nice bike but the carbon rear end and chrome forks is not really working for me.

I’ve decided to sell this if anyone interested? Just too many bikes/projects on the go…..

Nice bike. Great colour.
What is the max tyre clearance like at the back please? 25? Or more?

What are the actual frame measurements?

Yes please, inc the bb height mentioned in the description .

Ain't the front wheel backwards?

I hope this will go to someone who will install a carbon fork

It’s 56xm horizontal c to c on the top tube and 55cm c to ce on the seat tube (57.5cm to top of the slightly extended tube) 👍

It’s running 25mm and wouldn’t take any more than that (no room under the brake bridge for more)

The BB, to the best of my measuring ability, looks like about 29.5cm

Eh?

You should be able to read the logo on the hub correctly when you're on the bike. Doesn't really matter though

Ah I see! 😂

Now in the classifieds as a split but happy to sell complete too 👍

Change of heart - made it a bit more “traditional” and now intending to keep it for a while!!

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I dont really get it, looks weird with the carbon rear end

Playing about with it really!