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@M.O.H.
Seeing dmczone's lovely Mavic crank, and browsing the posts of people's current builds, makes for nice thoughts. It's great to see people getting down and building their own machines, something I discovered just 5 years ago. Now, after I think I've built my last bike along comes something else. I have actually started thinking of selling a bike, my 2nd build, a 1982 Trek 730, so maybe I haven't gone completely mad.
Anyway, since building and riding my first fixed gear, a 2009 Chesini Pista (photo a few pages back in this thread), I started getting interested in an English fixed gear from the 40s or 50s, a time when fixed gear was what most people rode, for racing, touring and simply getting to work. They called them road/path machines back then. Then, an unrestored one from 1954, with all period parts apart from the pedals, came up on ebay and in my size - the walls started closing in and the world ceased to exist, and I bought it.
It turned out to be filthy and the paint completely shot so I had it repainted and repro transfers applied and got to cleaning everything. 10, perhaps 20 years of oil and grime had to be got off and a lot of elbow grease used but it's getting there. Attached are 2 photos; 1 showing the shot paint and a hint of the grime between the crank arm flange and the BB cup, and a 2nd of the bike on its way to assembly. Got tyres today for the 27" Weinamann rims. Hoping to have it all ready by Saturday for a ride with a maniac Japanese friend who has about 16 English lightweight machined from the 30s to 50s... will I make it?
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