Colner Single Speed

First full build for me so I promised myself I'd document this one!

So after after finally scoring a Pinarello Montello in my size from Corbleu on this forum a few months back, I've decided I cant subject it to winter abuse , its way to nice for my commute, which occasionally includes getting shoved on a train cycle carriage. Its tucked up until next Spring.

Instead I've picked up this Colner frame also on this forum from Velosoko.
http://www.lfgss.com/thread108600.html

The idea is to use some of the components already collected for the Montello build to see me through winter and singlespeed to save gear maintenance through the bad weather Who knows if it turns out to be a great ride I may keep it as well !

This is the frame as it arrived this week. The top tube and stays have had rough rattlecan touch up but its not too far from the original candy blue which is a richer darker blue than I had expected. Decals have seen better days. Ive been in touch with Greg at cyclomondo about making some new decals in case I decide to do a full restoration.

The frame weighs in at 2189g. The crumbling Columbus decal looks like it could be Aelle though this seems light for a 56cm Aelle frame. Also the seatpost is 27.2. Perhaps a mix of tubing . Im sure it will ride really nicely. The fork is an aftermarket Tange, not the lightest but looks good quality with forged dropouts .

Am planning to start work this evening, updates to follow!

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Just fitted my first Headset! A Nuovo Record in perfect condition I scored on ebay for the Montello. Put both cups in the freezer before fitting and they almost went in by hand. Secured them with a homemade headset press and fitted the crown race to the fork with a block of wood and a mallet, Cant believe how easy it was, glad I tried as my LBS quoted e £25 to do it. I have new grade 10 bearings from simplybearings, maybe overkill but the next step down was grade 100 . I hope these will last a while .

Forgot to mention I also sprayed the inside of the frame with rust prevention treatment. There's no signs anywhere on the frame but thought i should protect it through winter.

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Made some more progress over the weekend:

Whoever touched up the frame with a spray can didn't mask the chrome stay or dropouts so had to spend some time removing the overspray with white spirit. Fortunately the chrome looks in really good condition.

Not wanting to wear the anodizing on the Mavic SUP CD wheelset I have for the Pinarello , I managed to pick up a cheap set of FIR rims with machined sidewalls laced to some Veloce hubs on ebay. They were pretty dull and dirty but have polished up really nicely and should see me though winter at least .

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So on to components, this isn't a period correct build, im going with a mix of components - some from the Pinarello, and others that I like and perform well for day to day use:

Cockpit - i have a Cinelli XA stem and bars intended for the Pinarello. I think ill use my Cane Creek SCR-5 levers from my beater, I just find them really comfortable and they perform and look good.

Cranks - I have a choice of 3 from the parts bin: Sugino Mightys, Campag Chorus/Athena (Not sure which) or a set of Stradas which i just won cheap on ebay. I'll try them all and see which one goes best with the other components. Either way I plan to polish them up to a mirror finish.

As ill be running this with a single chain ring it may depend on what has the best chainline, I'd like to use my existing Chorus 102mm bottom bracket if I can but may have to go with something else. .

Seatpost I have a choice of an almost pristine Campag Aero post (from the Pinarello )or a Miche Aero post. I'm leaning towards the former, the Miche may be overkill but it will depend on saddle choice . The other option is a cheap polished Kalloy.

**Seat ** Id like to try a Black Turbo or a Rolls, haven't tried either before so depends which i find comfortable. Still on the hunt.

Tyres Wanting to go with gum wall , I picked up a pair of Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Classics cheap from Ribble, which are really nice, but the side walls are very pale and I think they will get dirty quickly through winter. I think Ill save them for summer. Mattyc has recommended a set from Raleigh ( http://www.lfgss.com/thread114989.html ) so will try these.

Bartape Fizik Microtex Classic White . I really like this tape, it has lasted 2 years on my beater and still looks great so will use again.

Brakes I have a set of Veloce Monoplanars I've wanted to use for a while . I know they're not period correct but they would go well with the hubs and the Chorus/Athena cranks if I use them . Only issue is the fork is for a recessed brake and the frame is for nutted brakes . It will mean drilling out the brake bridge, but gives a wider choice of brakes. (I'm reluctant to use an older set of single pivot calipers as this is my commuter and I just don't trust them in the rain!)

Rear Cog Gusset single speed conversion kit- I'm currently using this on my beater, its a quality bit of kit and it works really well. Also means i can convert back to gears if I need.

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PS if anyone can tell me how to get my images larger instead of showing as thumbnails please let me know !

A quick shot with wheels in place

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Nice, "Hands-On" project.

But there is no way that frame weighs 1189g .. A superlight fillet brazed columbus spirit frame might scrape in at 1300g for a small size, but it doesn't get any lighter than that.

A lugged Aelle frame - at least 1900g

sorry typo 2189g!

Was hoping to have this mostly finished by now but encountered a number of issues:

**Fork: **: The Tange fork that came with the frame turned out to have a 22.0 mm internal steerer i.e for french stem . I wasn't expecting this as it has threading for an iso headset and the seller didn't mention this in the sale. . As a result had to sand down my stem which took a lot longer than the couple of minutes suggested by Sheldon Brown!

The brake reach is also greater on the fork than the frame ( i guess its for 27") and the Veloce monoplanars I had in mind wont reach by about 5mm . Luckily by swapping out the brake pad cartridge holders the front brake will work and doesn't look too out of place. I can use Salmon koolstop inserts as well .

Unfortunately the rear brake bridge is for nutted brakes and the fork for recessed, something else I was unaware of during the purchase. As it has the cube style bridge I'm going to try drilling it out at work tomorrow, though the existing hole looks slightly off centre so I'm not sure how comfortable I am doing this.

Perhaps I should ditch the fork and pick up something better suited? Would be a shame now I've sanded down my Cinelli XA stem.

A lesson learned - check all these things before buying!

Other issues- the Campag Strada crank I bought on ebay turned up with major stress riser cracks in the usual place where the arm meets the spider. they look past the point of rescue and unsafe so have contacted the seller for a refund.

In place I can use either the Sugino Mighty cranks or the Athena set, still not sure which one, l'll try both one the bikes more fully assembled. Not too bothered about keeping it period correct but I guess the Sugino is more appropriate . Still also need to test the chainline prooperly , the chorus 102 bb i had in mind is too short for wither crank but he 114mm bb that came with the frame does, so it'll do for now .

Vittoria Zaffiro Classics as recommended by Vince arrived from Ribble, they're great looking tyres for £8.99 but the sidewalls are very pale and I think will look grubby quickly after some winter abuse (image attached if anyone's interested in seeing them in the flesh). Will save them for summer , have now ordered a set of Raleigh Peloton tyres instead on the advice of mattyc

Last issue - having some problems with the Veloce rear hub, took it apart to check the bearings and it wont seem to go back together properly! see seperate thread : http://www.lfgss.com/thread117904.html#post3956464

So a rather frustrating week but hopefully will start coming together soon!

On the plus side the frame is looking good, have cleaned it , covered paint chips with clear nail varnish and and waxed it . Its a shame its been part rattlecanned as the original blue is lovely

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http://static.lfgss.com/attachments/76589d1384781139-2013-11-17-15.59.41.jpg

once they're uploaded as attachments, click on the attachment, right click on the image, then paste in as a normal image (clicking the mountain icon and pasting the image address in there then clcik ok)

Brilliant , Cheers, but then does the original attachment thumbnail still show in your post ?

yes

I doubt you really care but I have an original Colner set I may sell... drop me a PM if so.

A few deliveries today means I can finally start building !

new bearings for the headset, thought the old ones looked ok till I saw these

Turbo Saddle - its a reissue but the leather 1980 version . Bought the pleather white version from Wiggle a few months back then noticed these leather ones on their website- they did a straight swap so got it for less than 20 ! never had a vintage one but this looks well made .

Bar tape , this will be the last thing to go on!

on to the build:

New bearings in headset, Bars and stem on

Tried this Miche post from the parts bin with it but have decided it doesnt really suit the bike, going with the Campag post instead

Great to see it start coming together - still trying to decide whether to use the Athena cranks or The Sugino Mighty. I guess the Sugino is more period correct but the Athena suits the other components better. Both have roughly the same chain line so that's not an issue. thoughts anyone? I think I prefer the Sugino, plus the Athena is quite badly scratched

Last issue to resolve - the fork is drilled for recessed brakes, the frame is nutted. I would drill out the brake bridge but the existing hole is slightly off centre so i'm worried drilling will ruin/weaken the bridge. I'm taking it to Argos on Saturday so they can have a look.

At the moment I have the Monoplanars on the wrong way round, but Im not that happy with them fixed this way , not sure how secure the rear brake is on the fork due to the short mounting bolt. The other option is to run some nutted period correct Single pivots or nutted tektro dual pivots ,using one of these on the fork
http://www.lfgss.com/thread88046.html

ps looking for a set of black cage Italian quill pedals in good nick like these if anyone has some

Budget of around £20 Campag is probably out but Gipiemme etc would be ideal

cheers

Took the frame to Argos Saturday morning who were able to drill out the rear bridge in the drill press, so glad I didn't attempt it myself ! This meant I could start building!

busy day of assembling yesterday, pretty much there

Took the bike out for a spin today, it rides beautifully , really responsive and solid feel.

I was really surprised how well the monoplanars stop, I was expecting much less, more akin to a standard single pivot. . With modern levers and the kool stop pads I've fitted to the front they feel as good as dual pivots to me , plus they just look beautiful! Perhaps an 80's single pivot would be more fitting, but at the at the end of the day this is a commuter not a show bike, I want to be able to feel safe and using outdated inferior technology just seems crazy to me.

The Campag Cranks turned out to have dodgy pedal thread so I have used the Sugino Mightys. They don't match the rest of the Campag stuff but I still think they look and ride great. Now in two minds whether to polish them as the anodizing is still pretty good..these cranks do look great when polished though (these aren't mine)..

I would also really like some black cage Italian quill pedals to replace the MKS AR-2's I'm running but they're comfortable enough for now, they spin really nicely after a regrease as well.

Still need some white electrical tape to replace the branded fizik finishing tape. Also waiting for new gumwall tyres to arrive , these Michelins are on their last legs. Will post some more pics in better light when I'm happy its finished.

So a fair mis-match of parts on here, purists may sneer but I don't care, its my first proper build and I am just loving the ride. For the first time my bike just fits me like a glove . Its a world away from the relaxed plodding feel of my gas pipe Gitane. Plus I had great fun building it. What started out as a parts bin winter commuter may well end up a keeper!

Spec:

Frame: Colner , Columbus/Gipemme Dropouts 56x56
Fork: Tange
Headset: Campagnolo Nuovo Record/Strada
Stem: Cinelli XA
Bars: Cinelli Giro D'Italia
Levers: Cane Creek SCR-5
Seat: Selle Italia Turbo Leather 1980 reisuue
Seatpost: Campagnolo Chorus Aero
Brakes: Campagnolo Veloce / KoolStop Pads
Wheels: Campagnolo Centaur Mavic Open SUP CD
Bottom Bracket Gipiemme Strada
Cranks: Sugino Mighty
Pedals: MKS AR-2 /MKS Clips
Cog: Gusset Campag Single speed Kit
Tape: Fizik Superlight

I like it a lot. I would have been tempted to go with a white or brown saddle to match the bars or hoods, but think the black looks good with these rims. Really like the frame.

Cheers, I did try a dark brown rolls saddle but didn't think it went . May try some black hoods once these wear out. Unfortunately not sure how long the anodizing will last on the sidewalls !