Japanese steel: Nakagawa, Raizin, Ocean...and a Scapin?

I've never made one of these threads before, but as this is a project that is a little more than bolting parts together I figured I'd make a proper thread for it.

Picked up this frame in the early 2000's when the fixed gear scene was strong in New Zealand. The frame is made by an Australian from Victoria. Both wheels are 700c sized, made from Columbus Air tubing. Which makes me think this frame was made in the early 90's when 700/650 wheels got banned.

I vaguely remember the seller telling me that it was raced by some Australian in the Commonwealth or Olympic Games. Which makes sense as there is an Australian flag with the olympic rings as a decal on the seat tube. But honestly, I have no idea.

Now, about a decade ago cracks started appearing on the side of the seat tube. This can be seen in the photos below.

I tried to get them repaired. First by filling the cracks, then with a small strip of chromoly. Of course neither worked. So I had two choices. Try and get it repaired with brass and risking it cracking again, or placing a full support in. As someone that doesn't believe in wall hangers, I went with the louder latter idea. Here is the result.

The next step is to get decals made up to the orginal specs, then the bogging and sanding begins!

Here is a photo as a hip hop'd abomination:

And a photo with my old race wheels when it was only fit to hang from a wall:

Can we have a closeup of the surviving decals?

a few suggestions
Not all Ken Evans bikes were made by Ken.
reading material
Mal McPherson was associated with the brand 1982-91
If you were to post in the Kenevans Appreciation Society thread there may be someone who knows how to get in contact with Ken and/or Mal to try to establish the date of your frame.
The downtube decal is not one that I have seen before.

Thanks for those links! Definitely some interesting reading!

Regarding the decals, it does make my frame sound like a bit of a outlier. I have not seen a Kenevans with the block style downtube decals either.

The stem is just a place holder. You can see half of the seat tube decals here, but thanks to the aero tubing it is rather hard to get a shot.

I've been in touch with Cyclomondo and they are happy to make custom decals, but this will take a month or so as they are over burdened with work. Which means after many photos, measurements and hopefully removed decals the stripping can begins!

I suggest you take many photos, and best if you are back a reasonable distance so you have to zoom in. This avoids the fish-eye distortions.
Then wrap some tracing paper around the tube and tape it in place. Carefully trace the decal onto the tracing paper.
Add dimensions and scan. This gives a 'frame' for the photos to be placed on.

Acetone, hot air and a stanley knife did the trick!

Removed all the all decals without a hitch

If it came from Ockland the decals should be changed to KINIVANS

^ actually lold out loud !
ripper ken too, I have seen a couple with similar stickers, but can only find this Kenevans/Europa one..

I had a kenevans road frame and sent him an email and he was very helpful with some info, he has as instagram @evansken with his details too if you didn't have them already.

Huh! Thanks for the info, I didn't realise they would have an active instagram account. I'm pretty useless on that side of things but I'll look into that!

Anyway, a bit of an update.

• Had the frame abrasive blasted back to raw. Beautiful fillet brazing by the head tube. Massive dent filled in with brass on the seat tube. Holes filled in on the down tube (Bottle bosses). Brass left over on the lower seat tube. So its probably a converted TT frame which is interesting!

• Bogged the shit out of it! Much harder than cars! Got the dremel out and trimmed the excess filler but the tight, smooth corners all have to be done by hand. In the picture below you can see a rough sand I've accomplished. The seat tube junction is going to be tough.

• Ordered a few parts which are on the way. It's not going to be period correct at all, but I believe it will be tasteful.

Will try to keep this thread more updated!

Not much change in the look of the frame. Just seem to be filling/sanding then repeating the process.

Here is a quick photo as it currently stands:

Also, I decided to fill in the brake holes, as I don't think I will ever be putting calipers on it.

Starting to sort out components, as a warning this is not going to be period correct.

Shimano DA 7410 headset, I have the lock-nuts coming all the way from Hungary.

Cinellia LA84 with 100mm Cinellia stem. Wrapped in black cloth tape. The drive train is going to be 42 x 12 in 3/32". A respectable 95GI.

New 20 hole Easton EA50 rims. Re-painted the rims in matt black. A bit of gloss due to the clear coat. These will be laced up 2x to high-flange hubs.

Just moved here from AUS, Ken is the king. This is a really great frame, any verification from Ken yet?

Nothing yet unfortunately, which is 100% due to my laziness!

Hubs arrived today. From Taiwan...now I understand it isn't Japanese, Italian or even American but I am pleasantly surprised with the build quality. Sure they aren't going to be as efficient as top of the range loose ball bearing hubs, but where can you get a set of 20 hole, aestheticly pleasing, sealed bearing, allen bolt hubs for US$80 shipped?

Hubs!

After I finished sanding the filler (or what I thought) I rubbed the frame down with 180 then 320 grit sand paper, degreased the crap out of it and hit it with a 4 layers of primer layed down thick-ish.

And wow! A flat colour brings out imperfections wonderfully. I'm not happy with 5 out of 6 gusset/frame intersections which I will re-mold, as well as fill in the tiny pin-pricks in the filler. After this I also may consider using a Primer Filler as opposed to a Primer Surfacer.

Anyway, here is a quick snap from sunny Melbourne.

The local Commuter Cycles also came through with measuring up spokes for me. Its been a while since I've laced up wheels, but I think I passed. DT Swiss DB with brass nips.

And finally, if anybody knows of a DA 7410 adjusting nut let me know! The one I purchased does not go with my headset.

And a quick mock up because I can't help myself.

A bit of an update, not much has been happening as there is only so much to report about sanding/bogging/priming.

Painted the frame, came out nice:

Purchased a saddle, suits the build:

Now the process is to lightly brush the frame with 800g wet, apply the decals (Which have not been manufactured yet due to my laziness), clear coat and then the sanding/polishing begins!

This is a nice project! Liking the paint a lot

Coming back to this thread after seeing the initial posts. Great effort and I'll be following with interest.

Light update, scanned the old decals and sent them off to Cyclomondo

Also going to apply an Columbus Air decal on the seat tube, and possibly the vertical Columbus decals on the front of the fork blades.

Open to ideas on this one, not too sure how I want to go about it.

Its been a few months and I believe Cyclomondo is putting the finishing touches on the decals. Apparently he has a massive work load, but he does a great job so I don't mind waiting.

In the mean time I've been tossing up headset options as it has been a hassle to find a threaded bearing cap. I do like the older Campy/Tange with the embossed print in the cups, but not too keen on dropping bank on something that might not get much ride time.

Anyway, got some new calipers on my daily. The best looking (and damn functional) brakes from Shimano in my opinion.

Great work on the Ken so far, can't wait to see the finished build. :)

that nakagawa is sick

This looks badass 👍🏻

Only just came across this, great work on the Ken, that paint is lovely.

That nakagawa is boss. I do love their paint skemes.

Long time no update!

• Its not a Kenevans. Its a Geoff Scott (GEFSCO, Clamont).
  
• Probably a prototype after spying on the Russians in the early 1980s, other incarnations of this model were made for the 1980s Track Championships/Olympics.http://www.veloaficionado.com/blog/shooting-the-bull-with-geoff-scott-clamont-gefsco-custom-frame-builder
  
• Not 100% sure the decals are period correct. But I think they look the part.
  
• Still have to find a wheelset/crankset. Thinking high spoke count laced to low profile rims as was the norm back them.
  
  

Also, this is my Nakagawa track frame. It has been on commuting duty the past few years so it has picked up a few scratches and dings along the way, but as I have decided to get back into racing this will be the bike.

It will have a new wheelset, pedals and stem/bar combo for easy change overs for training/racing nights. Pictures to come!