Zeus Pista 1970/80's - "Poor mans Campagnolo" + "Lava Lo-Pro"

Looking great man, tyre wise I'd just go for some Vittoria Corsa evo cx, back in the days when tyres were worn they'd buy some new ones and not some older ones.
http://www.bestbiking.nl/content/images/thumbs/0001192_thv037236_0.jpg.jpg

Evening,

Finally some progress, albeit quite a minor one but still..

Got a 49t chainring, which is a road one of ebay a while back and spent a couple nights designing and using a drill bit to mark the holes where I think they should be. In terms of strength its best to drill nearer the inner webs and less towards the bolt holes.
As I said before I didnt want it too be too drillium and tacky so went for 4 in the inner web and 3 on the top. Drillied the starter holes with a dremel slowly making them bigger up until 4mm, then slightly bigger with a bench drill to make the final holes. Once done I used countersink drill, which makes the classic drillium style. Then polished it up. was probably the hardest part as Its hard to tell how deep you've gone.
Im not going to lie, its far from perfect.. but I think I've done a pretty decent job first time round.

Anyways enough rambling and heres some photos, sorry about the previous photos as they keep going to links, someone please tell me why that is happening. Next week should have the Cinelli Criterium bars done.

Time for some fish and chips :-)

Looks good to me!

A lot (if not most) drillium was DIY, so I wouldn't stress about it not being perfect: it's authentic.

Photos will be turned into links if they exceed 1024, for the benefit of people on mobiles.

Looks great. Youre really putting the work in.
Out of interest, have you found a lockring that fits? I recently bought a bike with a pair of Zeus pista hubs that I've yet to find the right lockring for.

Ive had a few other surprises with Zeus parts too, between the pedal/crankarm threading and those bastard crankarm bolts that are almost impossible to access.
Chapeau for getting it this far!

I have some of the proper stamped track ends kicking around I'm going to move if you wanted something extra to add to the shelf? Not cheap these days either.

Looks great. Youre really putting the work in.
Out of interest, have you found a lockring that fits? I recently bought a bike with a pair of Zeus pista hubs that I've yet to find the right lockring for.

Ive had a few other surprises with Zeus parts too, between the pedal/crankarm threading and those bastard crankarm bolts that are almost impossible to access.
Chapeau for getting it this far!

Ah, I haven't got that far yet, but will look through some catalogues and see if I can find any info on the threading as its late and should go to bed. But I read somewhere it should be italian or french? will try and confirm soon.
I just remembered you can maybe use a bb lockring too, no idea where I remember that might be an option?

The crankarm bolts look to be a special size compared to a few others, but haven't got round to fitting either.
How many holes do your hubs have? Let me know if you ever decide to sell the wheels off might be interested.
And thanks!

I have some of the proper stamped track ends kicking around I'm going to move if you wanted something extra to add to the shelf? Not cheap these days either.

Yes please ;-) Fire me a pm when you feel like gettin rid.
I know, zeus stuff is stupidly expensive especially but so far the cranks have been the most expensive bit of kit bar the frame. Its all about ebay france and spain and a few other countries gumtree style sites.

I haven't got that far yet, but will look through some catalogues and see if I can find any info on the threading as its late and should go to bed. But I read somewhere it should be italian or french?
Yeah, think it might be French. the cranks on mine have been re tapped to take the usual 9/16 threaded pedals, but if youve already got your hands on Zeus pedals then youve nothing to worry about.

The crankarm bolts look to be a special size compared to a few others, but haven't got round to fitting either.
Yeah, i think so. What happens is that once you inset them, there's not enough space between the edges of the head of the bolt and the surrounding hole in the crank arm to get a normal socket wrench in there.
Zeus used to have theyre own tool for doing this apparently. A few of the more decent bike shops here in Spain have home made tools for this very purpose; basically a socket thats been pared down to fit into that tiny gap. Alternatively you can just switch it for the correct sized Allen bolt, but since youve got the bolts already (and even the bolts alone go for a few quid these days!), maybe your next project will be DIY tool making.... good luck!

How many holes do your hubs have? Let me know if you ever decide to sell the wheels off might be interested.
Will have to check the no of holes. Will let you know if i flog them, as Im considering it, but the threads on the rear hub arent in great nick..

Nice build so far...Zeus is very hard to source, so definitely a challenge. Love how even the clothing has to be Zeus :)

Thanks, yeah tell me about it. Its especially hard to find in the uk, most of the stuff is from europe, a few small things from the states and some from spain. The frame really deserves the right parts and well, me not so much, but would look good on my shelf with the other goodies I find. Need to hit some jumbles soon actually as all this ebay hunting is hurting the bank!!!

Speaking of clothing got this the other day :-)

Out of curiosity, what is the weight of frame and fork?

And is the BB French/UK/Italian threaded?

As eying up one on ebay.fr, but it's French threaded. Brrr.... If it's pretty heavy then not sure it's worth replacing my Hob for street use, should then maybe get a Principia alu with Crabon fork.

But not from Hilary as he's asking at least £40 over e-bay prices.. ;)

Drilling handlebars makes me shiver a bit.

Out of curiosity, what is the weight of frame and fork?

And is the BB French/UK/Italian threaded?

As eying up one on ebay.fr, but it's French threaded. Brrr.... If it's pretty heavy then not sure it's worth replacing my Hob for street use, should then maybe get a Principia alu with Crabon fork.

But not from Hilary as he's asking at least £40 over e-bay prices.. ;)

Just found out the headset is french threaded which leads me to presume the bb is as well, Ive got a 531 frame which is 56x53 and is considerably lighter, this is without the bb and headset though. I don't really have any way of weighing accurately but would say its some weird old tubing as the seatpost is 26.2.

There will be minimal difference I think. If its for a daily commuter then you'll prob just get used to it after a week? I would be scared riding a super lightweight frame round London to be honest. And in terms of crabon, I dunno... what ever floats your boat ;-) but I'm a classic steeeel kinda guy.
Just buy the frame on ebay, fall in love with it and do it up like it deserves, no italian shit. Much better than it being stuck in france doing f**k all eh!

Got this coming in the post, I'm super excited

LOL "no italian shit" :):):)

I've ridden alu frames that felt dead, but these were maybe overbuilt. As tourers/roadsters. So default is steel, but alu + crabon is something I've never tried. Maybe I like it, you never know.

Le Manfriend is from France he can maybe help me get something over, I have to say I can't do another Tub wheel build as Belfast + tubs don't mix. But Normandy and other time correct parts may do the trick. I vowed not to do another perfect build that breaks the bank...but time correct Miche / Normandy etc. can be much cheaper.

Maybe too new, but I just came across this: http://link.marktplaats.nl/740902013

LOL "no italian shit" :):):)

I've ridden alu frames that felt dead, but these were maybe overbuilt. As tourers/roadsters. So default is steel, but alu + crabon is something I've never tried. Maybe I like it, you never know.

Le Manfriend is from France he can maybe help me get something over, I have to say I can't do another Tub wheel build as Belfast + tubs don't mix. But Normandy and other time correct parts may do the trick. I vowed not to do another perfect build that breaks the bank...but time correct Miche / Normandy etc. can be much cheaper.

troc-velo.com is a good shout on cheapish frames, this one could be your size maybe? cheap enough to even get a repaint and some nice goodies too

If I didn't already have un cadre piste français, I would ask you to try bring this back for me ;-) Looks pretty fresh, but for €200 id rather give mine a repaint instead.

Maybe too new, but I just came across this: http://link.marktplaats.nl/740902013

Nice one! Just sent him a cheeky email with an offer and to see if he would post to the uk.

Tx for the http://www.troc-velo.com/ :)

Pignon Fixe is very decent too, there's a lo-pro on there I'd have jumped on if it weren't for derailleur dropouts. Onwards upwards to the South for us shorties...

This thread is brilliant. Lovely work...

NOS Zeus Chainring, 52-tooth, 3/32", 119mm BCD (Zeus' unique size). Never fitted.

Photos soooooooooooon!

£20
.

This thread is brilliant. Lovely work...

Thanks, slowly but surely!

Scilly, got the same ring but in 1 1/8th and as much as I like to collect I need to calm down on the buying, spending way too much moneys on zeus paraphernalia .

Finally got some goodies from the states in the post, took their time to send and didn't get stung by customs which is always nice!

Currently working on thinning this Triplex 26.8mm seatpost down as I got it for pretty cheap and not looking to spend £40+ on a nos 26.2mm one. Will give it a super polish once its done but its taking forever even with 60 aluminium oxide grit paper..
http://i1331.photobucket.com/albums/w593/BigH26/DSC04692_zpsd4ef404e.jpg

http://i1331.photobucket.com/albums/w593/BigH26/DSC04694_zps2d9b798f.jpg

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Vintage-triplex-seat-pin-26-8-mm-for-road-racing-bike-racer-saddle-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/mMQAAOxyTjNSdBii/$(KGrHqZ,!lgFJi-oSmE0BSdBihm92g~~60_58.JPG

And should be getting the seatbolt soon, from Tychom!

Triplex is Spanish? Didn't know that, I have a rear derailleur from that brand.

I didn't know about them for ages until I came across the velobase page on spain. Some say triplex was a low end - mid range brand, but as far as I know they are still pretty decent. Not that many major spanish brands apart from Zeus, Akront, Arius, Regina. Iris, Triplex, GES, Soffatti, Ducson, Suar, Urreta and Olimpic all had their own little things going on back in the day.

Meant to say that there´s a lot of Zeus stuff floating around here in Spain, some overpriced, but some just looking to be offloaded. Let me know if you want me to keep an eye out for anything..

...though Pista stuff tends not to go so cheap..

Yeah its the road stuff that tends to be quite cheap over there, some really nice complete zeus bikes on their ebay and gumtree equivalents. I'll buy most things really if they are cheap and or refurbish-able. But been looking for clothing really and water bottles hats tools etc. as I've got enough parts to make it rideable. I've also got a close friend who lives in tres cantos near madrid who I mainly send bits too but you see or get hold of anything else let me know, would be much appreciated.

Was thinkin about getting a custom made leather folder kinda thing to keep all the cogs, chainrings, tools and stuff as they are just sitting on my shelf and would like to keep everything all together. Even try get it embossed with the Zeus logo haha.

Anyone have the Rouleur Issue 29 floating around that wants to get rid then hollaaa!

http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-480012693-juego-eje-pedalier-zeus-el-campagnolo-espanol-_JM

guess you have no use for it, but it's nice :) price translates to 30 quid.