Current Projects chat and miscellany

Your Vag looks tight!

golf clap

Noob alert. I'm biting the bullet and laying myself bare in front of the LFGSS hyenas.. please be gentle.

Here's what I'm currently working on. I picked it up for £18, in this state:

It has a registration plate(?) that declares it to be from Antwerp, and bears the date 1986. I'm not sure if that was the last year it was registered in Antwerp, or if that was the date of manufacture, but a precursory search for "Melior Merkplatz" reveals very little information... In stripping the paint, I came across a layer underneath, which leads me to believe the bike maybe older than it appears and was renovated and rebadged by Melior, whoever they may be.

Curiosities (for me, at least) :
Deer on front mudguard
Seemingly over-elaborate lugs for it's build quality
Bolts on the underside of BB (what's this for, anyone?)
Cable b/o's for derailleur, but no boss on the dropouts
Fitted with 40h Sachs Tornado coaster hub

Here's how it's looking at the moment.

My intentions are to turn it into a dutch bike/porteur hybrid (I can hear you wincing from here) workhorse. As such, I'm inclined to choose functionality over looks and durability over weight. I've ordered a chrome front newspaper rack from Jonny Loco, and am starting to pull other bits and pieces together. I'm in two minds as to whether to beadblast and clearcoat, or powdercoat similar to this.

As this is my first "build" (rather than just constructing a pub bike from cheap scraps) I'd love to hear opinions... and as a frequent lurker here, I'm well aware that those opinions are plenty, often cruel, but also often packed with knowledge.... anything I should look out for, or any terribly naive mistakes I've already made?

More photos of it here.

Curiosities (for me, at least) :
Bolts on the underside of BB (what's this for, anyone?)
Cable b/o's for derailleur, but no boss on the dropouts

~~Bolts on BB probably for a centre (twin-leg) stand ~~Now that I've seen them http://www.flickr.com/photos/xanderashwell/4716623589/in/set-72157624191071269/ I think not for a stand, they look like pinch bolts for some kind of threadless BB, so a bit of a mystery still to solve. Could the BB threads be a later modification?

Cable guides for a hub gear?

I've got much love for that built in rack on the back. Great looking frame.

A really interesting frame. Try to keep looks in mind as well as function, that could be really unique.

Super nice frame! Where did you get hold of it? I live round the corner from an antique bike fixer / builder in the Netherlands, I'll show him a pic and ask if he knows 'owt.

lovely project kid scruff

First ss build. Need to get some dust caps for the cranks, toe clips and drop bars as I'm mostly using it in the evenings / weekends, apart from that it's awesome. I was super happy with the matching rims, until I tried to change a tire and found out they were tubs. Any tips or points are welcome...

Beautiful frame, kid scruff... Can't wait to see what you wind up doing...

Change wheelset, as lovely as tubular tyres are, you'll find them a complete bitch when you get a puncture (and I highly doubt they have some kind of protection in them).

Cable b/o's for derailleur, but no boss on the dropouts

I got a bike with a derailleur that clamped on with the wheel, no boss on the dropouts, could be that?

...as lovely as tubular tyres are...

They feel great, and make a nice sound above 35kph. I think I'll get some gloop to put inside and ride them until they go pop, looking for a new wheel set in the meantime.

Really cool frame.
The integrated rack and second chainstays that become top tubes are really unusual and chic.
I guess the paint was too far gone to keep... but I like the scheme with the masked lugs and fade overspray, a lot of swiss bikes used this pattern and I think its killer. Maybe you could find someone who would reproduce it. I think the colour scheme should be kind of bright. check out some of the Cilo bikes at http://www.speedbicycles.ch/
The elaborate lugs look to me like Oscar Eggs, I have a '48 Rensch with a similar pattern, I reckon your frame is 40's 50's. The lugs were used straight out the box with none of the filing/thinning that would have gone into a quality lightweight, so they're not unusual for a decent quality utility bike, which is what you have.
I agree with mdcc_tester, the bolt lugs on the BB are for pinch bolts to secure the BB cups, you still see similar on tandems with elliptical BBs. You could get some nice acorn headed stainless bolts from Clerkenwell screws, belt and braces.
I can't see any brazeons for dérailleur cables, but the bike may have originally had a chainstay mounted derailleur like the early Simplex or Cyclo ones. Drop out mounted derailleurs used all sort of different mounts up until they were standardised to the Campag type. French bikes were still using odd-ball bosses into the 70's ( unthreaded Simplex for eg ) so lots of mid-range frames came without and people used adapter plates that bolt onto the d/o.

I think some porter bars with a rise would look better than the flat ones you have, VO sell some really nice ones, try Freshtripe for a UK stockist. Inverse brake levers also would look great, originals from the 50's now go for silly ebay money, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAFAC-BRAKE-LEVERS-INVERSE-NOS-/160440706125?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255b02e44d ( I have a pair of those Mafacs I got for about £20 before the whole 'Porteur' bike thing went nuts) the CLB levers are more affordable http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CLB-underbar-levers-/370394460490?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item563d3af14a

I would keep the original cottered chainset too 'cause i think they just look right, what make is the one you have? some are worth good money.
Find a nice Deco French chainguard and you're away.
Good luck.

Super nice frame! Where did you get hold of it? I live round the corner from an antique bike fixer / builder in the Netherlands, I'll show him a pic and ask if he knows 'owt.

Thanks dbr... I picked it up near b'ham from someone who bought it for an ungrateful father who left it in a garage for years. Thanks for the offer of provenance-hunting, I spent a while hunting for info on "Melior" but drew a blank... more pics here, if it helps.

A really interesting frame. Try to keep looks in mind as well as function, that could be really unique.

I certainly will.... I'm doing my best to do my research and not rush into decisions on bits and treatments etc, I just don't want to make a bad choice based on looks rather than functionality; no point in building a uniquely useless bike. I'm trying to keep the parts within the era/area, so any pointers on where to find vintage dutch/belgian bits are welcome!

Thanks everyone for the kind words

Really cool frame.
The integrated rack and second chainstays etc.

Wow, thanks for the all info/pointers absurdbird. They do look like "Oscar Eggs", and that helps to clarify that the bike is older than the '86 figure I originally had. Acorn-headed bolts on the BB is good advice, thanks. The brazeons run on the right of the uppermost downtube, which terminate on the junction of the seatstay, a little way above the rear axle, which I guess suggests that they were for a dérailleur rather than a hub gear.
The bars are in fact VO porteurs, procured from that nice chap at freshtripe, although they have a little less drop than I thought they would. I've got some sew-on leather grips too, and was planning on underbar levers. The cranks are "Hermesse", although the chrome is very pitted indeed, so i can't make out the model name.

Many thanks for all the tips and suggestions!

If there is anything specific you need let me know, the guy around the corner has a lot of nice old stuff. He even has a track frame from 1889!

http://antiekefietsen.nl/ >> Onderdelen

...new Clusterfork (& brake!) on the Gangsta:

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/7743/gangsta1i.jpg
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8894/gangsta2.jpg
http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/5810/gangsta3.jpg
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/7262/gangsta4.jpg

nice

its a strange mix of parts but i really like it

...finally got the correct weight Ti coil fitted to the SR6. Fox 36's, Juicy Carbons, Saint cranks etc. swapped over from the old bike, new bars/saddle/decals etc.:

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/9263/sr61.jpg
http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/1349/sr62.jpg
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/6154/sr63.jpg
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/2926/sr64.jpg

Kid scruff that project looks awesome - the paint on that townsend looks preetty damn nice too. but reckon the clear coat could well suit your build.

Unbroken1 - i am very jealous of your BMWs.

Nice Unbroken1, nice.

OrganisedViolence, Id like to buy that Romet.

current PHOTO project of some stock for an up-and-coming website

(a £1500 box)

(£420 bundle)

they're gonna be stocking some nice stuff

^ Wowzerz!

Almost there... I should be powering through the Surrey countryside by the weekend...

Picked up the last few bits this evening, 3ttt TdF bars and Century stem, C-Record skewers and seatpost... Just chucked them on to give myself a clue of what she'll look like when she's finished... I like... :]