José Álvarez road build

pointers:

keep to ergopower ED (exa-drive) and avoid the splined chainsets of power torque and ultra drive; you won't need UD cabling

veloce bbs are cheap and good quality

campag headsets are bloody expensive for what they are

invest the most you can in the best second hand ergo levers

to get nice wheels can take a while, saying that these aren't bad at all > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Campagnolo-fit-handbuilt-Wheels-Ambrosio-Zenith-Hubs-Mavic-Open-Sport-rims-ACI-/270901977097?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item3f13042009http://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/1/710-53481-19255-0/1?ff3=2&pub=5574889051&toolid=10001&campid=5336527178&customid=&item=270901977097&mpt=6314074

lastly, your chainset looks perfect for the build

but the bottle cage don't, suggest these cheapo bontrager ones > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bontrager-Hollow-6mm-Alloy-Bottle-Cages-/140568591295?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&var=&hash=item66734f9749

I haven't bought that chainset yet, but i'll be getting something like off ebay probably.
as for levers, i notice that they seem to command quite a high resale price. So i was thinking of just getting some new ones. you can get 10speed Powershift Ergopowers Veloce ones from ribble for £78 quid.

those wheels look craking btw, i was bidding on a set of zeniths laced to A319's the other day but i was outbid in the last 2 seconds, they went for £97 posted!

might be worth asking if this rear wheel is still available
http://www.lfgss.com/thread73544.html

i fancy a something a bit more classic looking than them

I
as for levers, i notice that they seem to command quite a high resale price. So i was thinking of just getting some new ones. you can get 10speed Powershift Ergopowers Veloce ones
i'm not sure the powershift ergos will work with older 10 speed, teh internets has conflicting opinions

but teh internets are who i'll be asking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!

oh dear, buy them and fiddle with them, they'll probably work ok

Just bought some older style 10 speed levers for a reasonable price of £56, the look to be in excellent condition too.

Here's the photos from the ebay listing:

hopefully they'll be in good working condition too, also bought a chorus FD and a dia compe chrome headset, which i shall take photos of when they come.

Looks absolutely fantastic. Still can't believe you got it for £64...

just shows the power of good photography

Item not as described; it's way nicer.

That's a lovely frame. You've no doubt done it already, but seems that Jose Alvarez appears to be the French distributor for lots of different manufacturers (he could also be one of the many mug shots that appear on google images). There was a complete bike for sale in Ireland with what looks to be the same paintwork, although nowhere near as nice condition or as good looking as your own frame.

seems that Jose Alvarez appears to be the French distributor for lots of different manufacturers

this about all i could find out, where did you see the irish bike?

Here...

http://www.adverts.ie/bikes/jose-alvarez-t102-racing-bike/780185

paint job looks identical, but mine is a nicer frame

Just won a set of unbuilt wheels for £60 athena rear hub and veloce front hub, both low flange with dt swiss stainless spokes spokes and campagnolo Berlin 36 rims.

nice one, make sure you give them a service

So I got a sweet haul in the post today.
First up I got a Dia-Compe headset, not the fanciest in the world but the installation went with out a hitch and it doesn't look bad at all.

Secondly was the seatpost I ordered here's the orignal eBay potos:

After a bit of elbow grease, some 360 grit paper and a shit ton of autosol it came up pretty good:

here's both in situe:

I have a seeking suspicion that the seatpost is going to be a bit short for my needs though. If it is at least it'll be easier to sell in its current condition that its pervious one.

I dug out this from my parts bin, a cro-mo profile stem:

not sure how great it'll look on the build but i'm kinda feeling its 90's vibes.

Shifters came too today:

they're in excellent condition, how ever I think the one for the RD might be a bit faulty. It doesn't seem to make any positive clicks when shifting, unlike the other one. I'm hoping this is just the design, because the ratchet system is fucked.

And finally the bits for my wheel build came today. Here's the hubs and stainless DT Swiss spokes:

the rear hub seems ok but the front one seems to be suffering from a bad case of dry bearings and overtightened cones. I'll given them both a service just be on the safe side. On the up side nether of them have flared spoke holes and the free hub body seems fine. they also came with a 9 speed cassette which I'll probably sell.

Here's my favourite part:

the rims seem as true as unlaced rims can be, and although a bit dirty they're not very worn at all. I'm going to have to work out how to get the rubber marks off the braking surface, careful use of aceton might be the answer.

Next things on my list will be to get the wheels built and the shifters checked out.

That frame is quite a find, and the headbadge is tremendous. Looking forward to seeing this progress.

all looking good spotter. on the right ergolever, they often feel like they won't play. however attach to the handlebars/broom handle, thread the gear cable round into its slot and apply tension while shifting down then up. this will indicate if there's any problems. plenty of youtube videos for replacing springs and ratchets.

cool headbadge. forks look lovely too, looks like it will be a nice build

Cool stuff spotter, often stuff on ebay can be made much nicer with just a little effort that some sellers don't bother doing, as you did with the seatpost. Shaping up nicely.

Nice one, Spotter.

I'm not to sure about the head badge, i rather think it looks like spy vs. spy

its already grown on me a bit and I'm sure it'll continue too.

I'm a big fan of bargain hunting on eBay, I'm sure those wheels will be worth more than the £60 I paid for them once I've built them and I'm sure that seat post will sell for more than I paid for it should it be too short.
My next hunt will be for some slightly tatty cranks that I can get for cheap and polish up.

rive gauche - I'll give that a crack cheers

Chorus Front Mech came yesterday, it has a 32mm clamp so I'm getting a 28.6mm-32mm shim machined up in work for me out of Alu, so it should but un-noticable behind the band-on.

Nice project, and nice frame dude :))

If your using 10 speed (I guess by the levers and selling the nine speed cassette) you could buy a old crank but fit 10 speed chain rings otherwise they'll be too wide?

This is my thought and how I'd build a old steel bike with plenty of gears :) if it would work???

Nice project, and nice frame dude :))

cheers

If your using 10 speed (I guess by the levers and selling the nine speed cassette) you could buy a old crank but fit 10 speed chain rings otherwise they'll be too wide?

This is my thought and how I'd build a old steel bike with plenty of gears :) if it would work???

this was the plan yes, waiting for next pay cheque before i buy cranks and RD.

As a bit of a general update, the adaptor I got made for the FD works perfectly, however the spokes that came with there wheels weren't so good. The front ones were fine but the back ones were all different sizes so i'm going to have to shell out for some new ones.
Also noticed that the blue parts of the paint have sparkles in them, i'll post some photos later.