Current Projects chat and miscellany

The Youngs frame is lovely although the fairly recent paintjob is mint it is going up to Mario Vaz (He did the last re-spray!) next week for some needless expense. "I don't want this bike to look like yours!" is the rule so my dark purple Olmo sits too close in both our eyes. Ubiquitous ral 6019 is the route I'm taking then kind of period town bike for the bits. Box section rims, gumwall tyres, brooks etc... Oddly for such a compact frame 52/53 the clearances are huge and mudguard eyelets point to a more relaxed previous life ergo a simple and comfortable build is planned.

Even odder Mario reckons the frame probably is a Holdsworth as they built a lot of 531's for Youngs down the years and as he was in their paintshop during this time there's a chance this will be the 3rd time he's coloured it. A tiny tiny chance.

And oh, it was more than £119 but less than £121 if that makes things any better.

Nice to see how you bring your Holdsworth to life.......

Damn! That is lovely, and what I've been looking for for the lady friend also!
Perfect paintjob! And sounds like good tubing, tell me you paid a lot of money for it to appease my jealousy :p

I encouraged my gf to buy this for £100
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320783092213?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648
I was informed that 501 tubing isn't the best in terms of weight, but in the real this frame looks lovely, well constructed and paintjob is great.
It's 54cm seat tube though so it may be just too big for her unfortunately :( we'll see when it's built up a little more

The Youngs frame is lovely although the fairly recent paintjob is mint it is going up to Mario Vaz (He did the last re-spray!) next week for some needless expense. "I don't want this bike to look like yours!" is the rule so my dark purple Olmo sits too close in both our eyes. Ubiquitous ral 6019 is the route I'm taking then kind of period town bike for the bits. Box section rims, gumwall tyres, brooks etc... Oddly for such a compact frame 52/53 the clearances are huge and mudguard eyelets point to a more relaxed previous life ergo a simple and comfortable build is planned.

Even odder Mario reckons the frame probably is a Holdsworth as they built a lot of 531's for Youngs down the years and as he was in their paintshop during this time there's a chance this will be the 3rd time he's coloured it. A tiny tiny chance.

And oh, it was more than £119 but less than £121 if that makes things any better.

Nice to see how you bring your Holdsworth to life.......

Haha that is pretty crucial, everyone's bike needs to be their own!
This frame has a great story behind it, with a great price too :)
Love the look of nice gumwalled tyres, do you have the parts already of does the search continue?

Post pics as it develops!

http://img.techpowerup.org/111110/Capture947-20111110-171149.jpg
1977? Mercier Service des Courses, R531, Dura Ace 7200 equipped

http://img.techpowerup.org/111110/Capture947-20111110-171149.jpg
1977? Mercier Service des Courses, R531, Dura Ace 7200 equipped

Does that need a longer rear derailleur cage??

Does that need a longer rear derailleur cage??

I don't feel the need for it, although it came to my hands with the same chain it has in the photo and with a 52t chainring. Since then i upgraded to a NOS 53t and just serviced the whole bike and parts. all gears change nicely, even the 53t chainring paired with the bigger cog.

I don't feel the need for it, although it came to my hands with the same chain it has in the photo and with a 52t chainring. Since then i upgraded to a NOS 53t and just serviced the whole bike and parts. all gears change nicely, even the 53t chainring paired with the bigger cog.

What I probably meant was a longer chain in retrospect, but it probably needs neither as you say it performs absolutely fine :)

Very nice.

Did you pick that up in France ages ago? or was that someone else?

What I probably meant was a longer chain in retrospect, but it probably needs neither as you say it performs absolutely fine :)

yeah, i thought of that too.. i'll probably buy a new chain when spring comes around

Very nice.

Did you pick that up in France ages ago? or was that someone else?

actually a friend sourced it here in portugal from someone who went to france to live/work for a long time before returning to portugal (very common in the 70s around here).
it seems that the bike was kept in garage and was never ridden for more than 20 years. front derailleur was missing. cables and hoses were dead but the rest was ok. i just touched up some rust spots, gave it a good clean and applied new decals from that australian guy.

dropouts are vitus and it has amazing panto details. rides very well too. wheels are original, g 40 clinchers laced to dura ace hubs.

It's up here in Leeds. Happy to help if anyone ever needs any bits and bobs doing though.

A fellow Leeds lad!

Where do you work, mate?

Well... I have repainted it but badly, deliberately, rattle canned, in the hopes it will look old quick and therefor theft proof.
Cheers for the offer of the forks, I think I'm just going to drill mine, I have some spare drilled ones but I think I'm just going to stop being so precious over a set of old steel track forks and pop a hole though them... Going to put up some before after and during pics very soon I hope!

No probs, you could always use a clamp on brake hubjub have them in at the moment.

Ive had a chance to take some more photos of the rack in my flickr

New tyres on the hack.

image by brommie owner, on Flickr"] image by brommie owner, on Flickr[/URL]

New tyres on the hack.

Those are some fat tyres!

More cushin' for the pushin'.

A fellow Leeds lad!

Where do you work, mate?

Leeds Uni.

irritatingly I have lost the bit adaptor for my socket wrench, and my chain tool, so it's unfinished today

bit annoyed with myself, especially as I started out with the adaptor this morning and it's rolled away somewhere during the build. Just need grips and a couple of cables and the chain putting on, can't wait to take it out!

Just bought my first geared bike :s

Was a good price though and comes with Ultegra shifters, cassette, front and rear derailleur.

Going to get it re-sprayed, some new wheels, new saddle/bars/tape/pedals/cables and then have it ready for some serious riding come Spring. It rides ok now, but needs a few tweaks and the Boardman font has to go really... Sorry Chris.

I'm sure this has been discussed a 1000 times, but any recommendations for a new wheelset that doesn't cost the Earth would be good.

Mavic Askium or Shimano R500.

why not ride the boardman through winter as is then freshen it up come spring?

^This is a splendid suggestion

You can always wrap electrical tape/inner tubes round the logo'd sections

I'm sure this has been discussed a 1000 times, but any recommendations for a new wheelset that doesn't cost the Earth would be good.

Nice bike. What's your budget for wheels and what sort of riding do you intend to use if for, i.e. commuting, training, sportives even racing?

My new bike

I have enough pieces but still I lack some...

I'm sure this has been discussed a 1000 times, but any recommendations for a new wheelset that doesn't cost the Earth would be good.

I cant really recommend them, as I have zero experiance of them. But I was very impresed with the spec of thse for the price!
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=65&products_id=520

why not ride the boardman through winter as is then freshen it up come spring?

^This is a splendid suggestion

Indeed it is. I shall do just that

Nice bike. What's your budget for wheels and what sort of riding do you intend to use if for, i.e. commuting, training, sportives even racing?

Not commuting, that I'll always do fixed. It'd be longer rides/training/sportives I guess.