Paragrafrytterklubben -- Principia appreciation

Hi everyone. I've just bagged myself a REX frame (nothing else, just the frame) - in the lovely yellow Linda McCartney livery - well, what's left of the yellow paintwork anyway LOL!!

My intentions - after having the frame inspected for cracks, corrosion and general suitability/roadworthiness - is to build it up as a single-speed for use to/from my local train station (<3km).

I don't know much (or rather anything!) about these wonderful beasts - other than that they are stupidly light.

I was thinking of using a fork from an '07 Langster (black, skull decals, think it's carbon - as fitted to the poo-brown version) as this has a straight steerer tube so should work with the standard REX headset.

I had briefly considered a Kona Project 2 fork (if maybe only for looks LOL) - but that uses a 26" wheel - so that idea went out the window pronto!

All build/component hints and tips greatly appreciated - thank you!!

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/380564/#comment16724184

Selling my Rex, please take a look
If it was a couple of cm bigger I'd definitely be hanging onto it and building it up

Picked this up on eBay a while back and swapped the groupset and finishing kit over to something a bit more modern.

Haven't been able to wean myself off the huge spacer stack it came with, too comfy.

So fast and light feeling, love it.

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Were the Principia branded headsets from the early 2000s by Chris King? This one is on a 2001 Rex:

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Chris King did do some but I've only seen them in silver and the Principia font is Chris Kingy looking and they came with CK etching on the small parts. I think we're mostly FSA. Acros did a principia fit one but i think they were Acros branded aftermarket only

I think the Chris’s King ‘familiarity’ on Principia bikes is because CK offered a ‘devolution’ style which combined 1 ⅛ and 1 ¼ bearings which are common in Principias. I agree OEM-fit seems more to be FSA (I have several Principia branded spare FSA ones) and Stronglight on the original Rex with 1” fork

Should anyone need this devolution king headset mentioned above, I have one laying around, minus top cap

Hi, I've still not started my Rex rebuild - but have been (slowly) gathering parts. Parts of note are: I have a carbon fork from a Langster (the fork with the skull decals on the side), and am considering some shiny Campag Veloce cranks/rings (to use in single speed config). But, I still don't have any wheels or tyres. One thing which could be the deal breaker is the max tyre width I can get away with. Anybody have experience of running 28+ tyres? Cheers!

I'm pretty sure mine was 25mm max. I had flexy narrow alloy rims and the tyre would touch the chainstay when honking it out of the saddle. Clearance from the original mizuno fork was similarly tight although that won't be an issue for you.

The catalogue for the 2001 Rex (my model), gives the max width as 28mm. Do you know the year?

No, I don't know the year. It's the yellow Linda McCartney livery if that helps :)

Yours will be late 90's same as mine I had the black ano version of the same frame. My 2001 Ellipse SX had a little more clearance

Hmm. I may have to rethink this build then. My route to the station - via the town centre - involves a section of pretty shoddy cobbles, and I've already had an 'off' before on my old Langster.

Linda McCartney team was 1998-2001 and spec for the 1999 Rex does 28 mm so they should fit in the frame but you'll probably only have 3-4mm for any rear wheel flex. This working will likely depend on tyre/rim combo and how you ride. Maybe my 25's rubbing was down to wheel flex. My later Ellipse SX may have had the same clearance then but the stays or wheel being stiffer eliminated the rub probably the wheels as the FSA's were soft 🤔

Dredge perhaps but this has been used by my oldest for years and skipping the middle one has now gone to the youngest who is delighted. It’s a great wee bike.

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I'd love to find a smaller Principia bike like that for my children. What frame is it?

It’s called VOLA.
Apparently one for sale here in Denmark. Nothing to do w me.
https://www.dba.dk/herrecykel-principia-vola/id-1118792590/