Gazelle CX

I picked up this Gazelle from Stedlocks a couple months ago. He had it set up as a summer season, light touring bike, saddlebag but no mudguards sort of thing. Photo courtesy of Stedlocks.

I am planning on doing something similar for the minute. I need a bike for riding in the Ukraine for a couple weeks this summer, but it won't be touring proper. We'll turn up to a new area, leave our backpacks at the accommodation, and then explore around the area by bike for 3-4 days, then move on via trains. I have a bike that would be perfect for the trip, but I don't trust Columbus Max to survive a flight in a fabric bike bag, I prefer something a bit more bombproof. As flimsy excuses go for building a bike, this must rank up there. However I 'only' have two bikes and haven't had a project for a good while, so fuck it!

The clearances are reasonably tight, tried some Schwalbe Sammy 35s but the rear was to close for comfort at the chainstays. Now some Vittoria Cross XN Pro 32s are on and seem like a decent fit. As well as the clearances being fitter than I expected, the cable routing is traditional road bike style too, not top tube routed. I'm not sure if this was just how things were done when the frame was built, or who knows what!

Managed to find a decent donor bike cheap, so 9 speed Campagnolo will be the way forward. Chorus F/R derailleurs and Veloce BB/Cranks/Ergos/Hubs. Rims are Mavic MA3s. Pedals are Kyokuto Pro Vic II. Cinelli 1A stem and Cinelli Top Ergo 64 bars. Frogleg brakes with slimline Koolstop pads. I was already ordering bolts to attach the cantis to the frame, so grabbed some cheap Ti M3x15x0.5 bolts to act as drop out adjusters.

I have a Turbo Special that I find really comfortable so that will go on the bike, just need to do something about the seatpost. This 26.4 seems a little to easy to fit, so I tried a 27.0 and 26.8 and they were no good. Stedlocks got back to me and said he had previously used a 26.4, so I guess that's the route I'll go, but I am very tempted to try a 26.6.

I guess I need some Nitromors to get the seatpost silver again.

Would t you be better off measuring the seat tube with calipers rather than guessing and risking stretching or compressing the tube ?

Yeah tried that, but seat tubes are usually internally deformed anyway, so it's tricky to trust your measurements when it can vary greatly on which angle and rotational direction you measure in. The post must either be 26.4 or 26.6, and Stedlocks has used a 26.4 without issue and the seatclamp doesn't look over tightened. So I am inclined to stick to the 26.4.

I don't think it should be different at different angles, so my guess is that it probably should have been 26.6 and its been over tightened with a 26.4. I had the same problem with my old Mercian (Retro de Corsa carefully stretched it with a screw driver back to the original shape).

I'm sure it'll be fine with a 26.4 though.

Look like a great frame for a bikepacking tour.

Gearing seemed rather high for touring, even light, what is it?

I finally took the plunge and tightened up the seat clamp, seems ok, good amount of compression within a short space of movement. It doesn't 'seem' like I've overdone it.

53/39 and 13-26, got my eye out for a compact, but not too big a deal if it doesn't come off.

Bike packing was the original plan, but the distance from the train stations to rented places found on airbnb wasn't that far. So we can use backpacks to get there and back and then use saddle bags for day trips. Gonna head to Kiev, Odessa, the Crimea, Carpathian mountains, the Black Sea and Chernobyl. So it will be include a lot of overnight train journeys.

I don't think it should be different at different angles, so my guess is that it probably should have been 26.6 and its been over tightened with a 26.4. I had the same problem with my old Mercian (Retro de Corsa carefully stretched it with a screw driver back to the original shape).

I'm sure it'll be fine with a 26.4 though.

or, quite simply, the seatube could have become ovalised.

Looks nice Gav

This is a very early Cross Trophy.
A Tour de l'Avenir road frame / fork with cantilever bosses.
That explains the tight clearances and road-like geometry.

Good plans mate!
Sorry about the seatpost.....I found an old holdsworth track, that my one from that fits perfectly.....it makes me wonder wether the campag post is marked up incorrectly though, as I thought the holdsworth would be 27 or 27.2..... It definately says 26.4 though!

Nice project.
Epic stem length, and what looks like a crazy-low BB!

The photos does distort the BB drop a bit, doesn't it! The stem is 13cm, my standard fit on all my bikes it 57+13. Finished it yesterday, except for cable ferrules and a silver seatpost. It rides really nicely, need to find a wooded dirt path to commute from Mile End to Euston now...

Thanks for the info Dutch Cheese, what sort of year would that be do you reckon?

Have a look on the 'gazelle' thread.... I'm sure he told me. Good work mate, I'm glad it's going to get some action!

^^^ a slight detour via Vicky P?

My old frame. Really liked this bike but it lacked the tyre clearance I wanted for riding off-road, properly. Will make for a great commuter or light tourer though. I'll try and find some photos of how I had it setup.

The canal is the obvious answer, I usually cycle to work around 06:30, so maybe it's less busy then...

Last night I put on a compact Veloce chainset. And I also thought I would give the Schwalbe tyres a test ride before deciding if the clearances were too tight. I got the brakes set up just right now.

Things to sort out:
The straddle cable bridge is trapped between the gear cable housing on both sides, didn't notice this properly until now.
A more suitable 26.4 seatpin in silver.

Looks lovely. Too bad with the clearence. I ended up selling my BJ steel cx for the exact same reason ;-(

cx sans mud ain't fun

Love it.

Schwalbe CX pros come in 30c so could fit a bit better, tread patters probably better for mud too. If you get anywhere muddy those clearances will be the bane of you. You will be fine on gravel tracks, summer trails and stuff, as long as its not a mire (even though that's the fun stuff).

Great looking bike you have there..

Rode out to Epping Forest yesterday, lots of fun to ride until you hit mud, but great on the hard stuff. If I go a day without pedal strike, then it's a good day.