1980 Gazelle (64cm) with 90s Campagnolo Athena groupset. Possible tourer.

Here's a 1981 Gazelle racing bike, with near full Campagnolo SR groupset. It's beautiful to ride but not ideal for the light cycle touring I tend to use it for.

Here's a 1977 Gazelle track bike, with a selection of mid-range parts. It hasn't visited Herne Hill as much as it would like, due to my being busy on Saturdays. This will change, I hope.

And here's a third 64cm Champion Mondial to add to the collection:

The frame came from Wingnuts, via Skull & Biscuits. It dates to approximately 1980, according to the serial number (3250827) and was originally sold by www.donshop.nl, according to the "Hand Built by Don Shop" decal on the seat tube. Chrome forks, half-chrome rear triangle.

I've done the whole period-correct thing, so the plan is to build up this frame with a mid-90s Campagnolo Ergo groupset. I'll probably then add a rack and mudguards, thus creating a bike for touring and general use.

Here's most of a 8/9-speed Athena groupset, plus Cinelli bars and stem and 8-speed Athena wheelset. Thanks to dicki.

Next steps

Buy clamp-on adapter for front mech.
Buy Athena Headset (English threaded). Hilary has one, but I'd like to find cheaper
Buy Athena BB (not sure of length yet). Hilary ditto
Buy Athena Seatpost (27.2mm). There's one for sale in the classifieds, but £50 is a bit steep.
Buy San Marco Rolls saddle (white)

Find mini bolt for front mech (part 177 in this diagram)
Dissemble and polish all parts, obvs.

Cold-set frame to expand rear dropouts from 120mm to 126mm or 130mm. I plan to do this using the (almost) scientific threaded-bar-and-nuts method. If that fails, I'll use Sheldon's 2x4-and-stamp-on-it method.

First questions

The brifters I have are 9-speed but apparently work with the 8-speed casette currently installed on the Athena rear hub. Will I be able to swap this 8-speed casette for a 9-speed version?
What is the outside diameter of 531 tubing? I need to buy the correct clamp adapter but don't have accurate vernier callipers.

I want all your bikes!!!

Thanks. Please don't burgle me. And you wouldn't want the fixed-gear beater I actually ride daily...

Ordered 25mm Gatorskins (standard) and hopefully picking up some more Athena parts this week. May be able to get hold of a 9-speed cassette too. Anyone able to offer any illumination on my first question?

that red gazelle's a beaut, sorry - can't help with the first question unfortunately!

I won't burgle you, don't worry, but dibs if you sell any of them or if you see any similar ones up for sale, give me a shout!!

re: 1st question... Are you asking if 9 speed brifters will work on a 9 speed cassette? Yes! They are only working on your 8 speed cassette because the spacing is similar and the limit screws are forbidding the 9th 'click'. See here: http://sheldonbrown.com/cribsheet-spacing.html

I also assume you're using a 9 speed chain, which will work on 8 speed, and will be right at home when you get your new cassette.

re: 2nd question... my belief is that the clamp should be 28.6mm

Shame you didn't hit me up when I was splitting this bike!!

http://www.pedalroom.com/p/brian-rourke-653-6629_20.jpg

(also 9 speed brifters on 8 speed Athena group)

Funnily enough, that Rourke was part of the inspiration for this build. Just read back over your sale thread - http://www.lfgss.com/thread103215.html - and realised that yours was basically full Athena. Where did you split it? Now frightened that I've missed a bargain.

My bike isn't going to be quite as cool as it's not all NOS and I'll be accommodating a groupset on a frame that it was never meant for. But then this is supposed to be an everyday bike...of sorts.

Anyway, enough of this love-in bullshit.

I'm not worried about the brifters linking with the cassette; I'm worried about a 9-speed cassette not fitting on the hubs. Could it be that the Athena hubs I have were never meant to carry a 9-speed cassette?

Those bikes are tall! Are you like 7ft or over?

DS is right, for 531 you need a 28.6 front mech clamp. After one myself to fit a new Veloce groupset to my Gazelle CM A frame.

Really nice big bikes btw. Are they 64 ctt or ctc? The Dutch manage to make big frames that actually look good. Mine's a 60 ctc but could probably do with being a couple of cms taller.

oh hai

http://www.lfgss.com/thread112992.html

Update. Front mech appears to be totally seized up. Cannot get movement from it either way, even attached to a frame and doused in penetrating oil.

So it's probably a good job that last week I bought a clamp-on version of the exact same mech. The same seller also provided an Athena headset, a white Selle Italia Turbo saddle and a Campag aero seatpost (though not badged Athena).

Given that this is no show bike, I've given up on buying an Athena cartridge BB and will wait for one to fall into my lap instead. A tidy cup-and-cone Sugino will do for the time being.

Photos of components to follow hopefully. It'll be a few weeks before I get down to polishing and building, however, as work and attempting to move house are likely to get in the way.

If your hubs take an 8v cassette, then they won't take a 9v.

Your group is (apart from the shifters), C-Record era, so a seatpost without the group name is "correct". I'd say it's '90/'91: Athena got Monoplaners from '94 and the rear derailleur had a "guitar tuner" cable adjuster from '92. My catalogue scans are a bit ropey before '90 so it could be earlier.

Athena didn't get a cartridge BB until '92 so as it's a) not a resto and b) a cartridge wouldn't be "correct" anyway I wouldn't sweat it. The "loose" Athena BB is 111mm and has a black spindle/axle.

^ Most useful link ever. Thanks very much for that.

Sorry for lack of updates but sadly I've done nothing with this build since my last post. Just renovated a Coventry Eagle for a friend, need to build another bike for someone else and need to bring my beater back to life too.

Mind you, this was meant to be a winter project and it doesn't feel like winter yet - which is the best news of all.

Long overdue progress.

I've spent the past two days waxing the frame with Muc Off 'Miracle Shine'. It's literally brilliant, especially on the black paintwork. In fact, I'm probably going to spend my Christmas holidays waxing every other bike I own.

All components are now cleaned and waiting to be regreased. Almost all the Athena stuff has that kind of dull sheen on it (is that anodising?). This makes polishing it impossible. Surely it would look better as polished steel?

Anyway, being as this is a 90s groupset onto an 80s frame, I need to respace the rear triangle. I'm trying to do this scientifically using an axle and nuts. In the picture below I've spread the dropouts from 120mm to 145mm. I plan to leave it overnight and see if it's made any difference.

Anyone tried this method before? Am I inevitably going to end up resorting to a long bit of 2x4 and my bodyweight?

not safe... give it to me...

Unless the spreader is static (clamped in vice for example), you can't be certain that each stay will move the same amount.

Quite likely you will end up with the rear triangle skewed to one side.

How did you arrive at 145mm? Agreed, you will need to spread the stays beyond 130mm, as they will spring back somewhat; but going straight from 120mm to 145mm, you risk spreading them too far and you will have to bend them back.

Bending steel back and forth is a good way to weaken it. Better to do it gradually: that way you will get an idea of how far they will spring back and therefore how far you will ultimately need to spread them.

To be honest, I'm don't know if it is even a good idea to set the stays all the way to 130mm: I don't bother setting my 126mm frames, just pulling them apart to get the wheel in and out.

Not sure if it's an optical illusion caused by the jazzy rug but the left stay looks to have spread further than the right already. Considering doing something similar but don't trust myself with the Sheldon Brown 2x4 method. Anyone recommend a place that does this kind of thing well?

Using this method - rather than the 2x4 method - I think I should manage to spread the dropouts equally.

Before tightening the nuts I measured the amount of axle protruding from the outside of the dropouts (14mm on either side). I have now tightened the nuts so that there is only 6mm protruding on either side. Should be equal stretch on either side, no? Jazzy rug may indeed be creating an optical illusion.

Will find out later today whether 145mm is overdoing things. Given how springy the steel is, I think it's likely to be too little rather than too much. And yes, I'm only trying to get it to somewhere between 125mm and 130mm.

*"Has he ruined a perfectly good frame? Will he ever forgive himself if he has? Should he have just bought a frame with the right spacing in the first place?

"Find out in the next edition of.... BIKE BODGE!"*

Look forward to seeing how this method turns out, seems a little less heart-in-mouth than stomping on a bit of 2x4. Good luck with it.

The stays are braced against each other (rather than a static point) and they will not be identical (inevitably there will be variations in the materials and construction), so one will be stronger and move less, resulting in a skewed rear triangle.

Sheldon's method appears brutal, but is more controlled than what you are doing at the moment.

None the less, I like your approach: you have to get your hands dirty sometimes; I'd just feel more comfortable if you'd practiced this on a beater first.

Fingers crossed and I've set the VHS for the next episode...

Not sure if it's an optical illusion caused by the jazzy rug but the left stay looks to have spread further than the right already.

To my untrained eye, it IS an optical illusion, caused by non-perfect alignment of the photograph being taken; you can see a little more of the inside profile of the left drop-out than the right one, which makes it look like the left stay is further away from the centre. I like "jazzy rug" though, that's got a nice ring to it.

The stays are braced against each other (rather than a static point)

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was worried about this. Clearly not so worried that I didn't attempt it, however.

And, I have disappointing news. On removing the axle, I very nearly broke my thumb such was violence of the dropouts springing back into place. Nothing has happened. I'm still looking at a 120mm spacing and a jazzy rug.

I'm going to spend the next few days trying to decide on the best course of action....and then resort to Sheldon and his 2x4.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

In my experience, a jazzy rug is a source of considerable consolation in such situations...

These links suggests you will have to "spread 'em" a bit more yet!

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44455

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/ametuer-cold-set-advice.107952/

http://www.bikecommuters.com/2007/11/01/dropout-spacing-axle-spacers-and-hubs-for-old-bikes/

The last one says compressing by 21mm resulted in a 6mm reduction.

Good luck.

Thanks for those links.

I'm not yet bored of the nut-and-bar method, but it looks like I'll have to buy a longer threaded bar and grow some bollocks in order to spread the frame far enough (I fear for the brake bridge).

However, therein lies a problem, as I've tried to illustrate below. Obviously the further you spread the frame, the bigger this problem becomes. And the tension in the frame is always trying to force the bar backwards out of the dropouts. How do I avoid this? Can I buy some kind of triangular nuts?

Once the frame has been spread far enough, presumably I'll then have to bend the dropouts a little bit so that they continue to face each other.

This whole thread is why I gave up looking for a 70s frame on which to put a 10 speed Veloce group set and settled instead for an early 90s Champion Mondial with 130 spacing. But the hankering for a more 'classic' look persists so I continue to follow with interest. You should make a You Tube video of all this because there's not much out there on cold-setting, except the Sheldon site which could do with some real world visuals.