Dcls projects: Raleigh - Maxi Sports - Fondriest - Clerc & Others

Hi,

After reading some posts on the forum during the past years, I decided to create my first topic.

I'm French and I live in Paris, but I'm originally a coutryside guy from Lyon area.
I own 'several' bikes with a focus on the 90s.

I'll start with the last frame I got.
Actually, when I got it, it was a complete bike assembled with a 700 fork (most of the rest was basically junk) but that frame...
The 650 fork wasn't listed but the seller told me he would check AND the D-day I had the pleasant surprise to see the original fork next to the bike!

After this good surprise, I had a bad one still with the fork: one of its 'legs' was bended...

Anyway, I brought it to a workshop to fix that.

Then, I usually like to keep the paint that came with the frame (I also never did a paintjob before) but when I got it, I immediately had the feeling that it came from the (famous for some people) Cyfac company that produced the "Maxi Sports" frames which I fancy a lot.
That feeling has been confirmed with the marks on the bottom bracket and fork steerer tube : "BL 1 90 390".

Regarding the Cyfac frame marks, "1 90 390" are easy: It was a primary (i.e. not a spare ) frame made in 1990 with the serial number 390.
And the remaining characters "BL" were the rider initials.
Maybe the frame overall shape will bring some nostalgy:

So I checked the Castorama team in 1990 and 1991 (in case the frame was build in late 1990 ; 1989 was Super U) and the only match I've found was Bjarne Riis also known as Bjarne Lykkegård.
But it felt wrong: the first letter was usually for the family name, plus Bjarne Riis is tall.
So I dug and found that in 1990 the young Laurent Brochard (who became World Champion later) was in the junior team "Antony Berny Cycliste" of Cyrille Guimard, head of Castorama team!

That's why I decided to give the frame its original color back ("blanc nacré", "pearl white", "diamant weiss".... you name it) and a proper first set of decals.

Cheers.

Great intro and first project post. Looking forward to seeing this built. Also interested to see what else you have.

maxi sports do some great bikes, always unusual

Think you did the right things restoring/repainting the frameset, it looks absolutely stunning.

Very nice! sub'd

Thanks guys!

Already countless hours spent on this one but I'm quite happy with the outcome.

@joel_austen I'll try to properly introduce them, it includes other TTs but also fixed gears and road bikes, and brands go from well-known brand like Fondriest to craft ones like Raymond Clerc, and of course Cyfac/Maxi Sports.

Cool to see you here ! Great job

Cool, on est tous sur ce forum désormais 👍

@unknow Ouais, on arrive en douce (Félin, we cannot mention you because of your "é")

If we exclude some bikes from my younger age, I’ll start with the first and ‘serious’ frame I still have: a modern “La Piövra Aero”, simply in Columbus Cromor.

As you all know I guess - and if I'm right - La Piövra frames are made in Poland by Orlowski who learned from Rychtarski. Fortunately, I didn’t pay for the extra hipster-tax ‘cause I got it used.

When I got it, almost 6 years ago now, it was like that:

Along the years, I tried to upgrade it (Campagnolo Record crankset, Chorus RS seatpost and Atlanta x Miche wheels, San Marco Concor saddle…) and played with the setup (ITM Dual or 3ttt 2002 Evol stem & Bio Quartetto handlebar…):

At the end it was like this, with a Look Ergostem and a riser:

Now, it’s laying around waiting for a new paintjob… Maybe… One day...

Talking about frames laying around, just for the sake of listing things, I have:

• a Maxi Sports road from 1993 in Columbus SLX made for a rider with the “CC” initials (you’ll recognize the Castorama team paintjob of this period)
  
  

• a “JCF” low-pro time trial from the 90s in Columbus Thron, way too small for me or my GF but I couldn’t not keep this one (I let its road mate go)
  
  

Next : the dailies I think.

Cheers.

Good to see you here. The JCF is stil waiting for a new build

Nice to see a Maxi Sport on here. Armel André the designer was quite an innovator (he researched bike fitting before it was really a thing, designed the Selle Italia Appoggio Lombare etc). In a way he was 25 years too early, he would have been more appreciated in the marginal gain era.

I need to inform you however that any mention of Laurent Brochard requires a pictures of him, what with that magnificent mullet of his.

Hope to see it on wheels :)

Of coure @Lolo, Mullet FTW!

Some thoughts regarding the groupset to put on the Raleigh Maxi Sports.

I'm still switching from C-Record (because of the iconic but unlucky 1989 Laurent Fignon build) to New Success (I always fancied that groupset) and going back to Dura Ace 7400~7402/3 (launched in 1990, the year the frame is borned).

Regarding the last option, it's for me the easiest one 'cause I already have most of the components.

I also have 7400 pedals and chainrings.

I could start with the 7400 front dérailleur and switch to 7403 later.
I could start with the 7403 brake calipers and switch to 7402 later.

What I would really miss is a 7400 headset (while I have two 7410 spares) and 7402 brake levers, which were not that easy to find for another build (I have 7400 brifters but I prefer downtube shifters on those 90s TT frames).

I wouldn't wait for a rare 7400 stem, it will be an ITM or 3ttt.
And in any scenarios, I'll have to put what I find as 26.2 mm seatpost :x

Continuing to introduce you my metal-stuff… This time my dailies.

Before getting the Maxi Sports road frame from 1993, I used another Maxi Sports.
This one was also in Columbus SLX but from 1994 and made for an unknown pro rider “TV”.
I say “was” because I sold it: It was a bit small for me, it didn’t have its original fork and I bought it for its unexpected front wheel, a 650c Mavic 3G, afterall.
In the meantime, I used it with a front rack to go to work.
Below, as I sold it:

Now I use 2 bikes: a vintage “Gillen” and an Orbea Katu 30.

The Gillen is an artisanal frame made in Columbus SL with a full Campagnolo Chorus 1st. groupset:

The Katu… Well It’s a recent ‘micro cargo’.
I removed a bit more than 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs) with lighter components such as a Dura-Ace (7700) crankset with a better-looking chainring, a Flite saddle, a Thomson Elite seatpost, etc..
I also tried to make the whole thing more reliable, for instance, by replacing the shiiiity grip shifter by a thumb shifter or by replacing all the bolts holding the ‘mounting brackets’ (everything was falling apart every week before).
Plus some “tuning”, as we say in France.
I usually ride it with the front basket it came with, but here it is without that very useful accessory:

Your bikes look really cool for their purpose!

What about setting some yellow parts on the Orbea ?

Thx!

Right now, the Orbea situation is what was planned: No maintenance, no time spent on it :)

Out of curiosity (potential future buyer), what is the chainline requirement for the Katu (to know what measurement to target if changing the crankset)?

Une photo de la Clio aussi...

The models with internal-gear hubs come with:

• 48T chainring
  
• 18T sprocket
  
• 1/8'' chain
  
  

My model, Katu 30, has 5 speeds.
The katu 20 has 8 speeds.

The chainring I have now is 46T, and it's OK for Paris (I mostly hang around between the Seine and Clichy).

Ahah.

There's even a bike frame inside, so it's legit.

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thanks for the info, but how did you choose the new bottom bracket when you swapped the crankset? is it a regular double crankset road chainline value?
Regarding the change of shifter, was there any problem to set up the thumb shifter instead of the gripshift-like shifter? Nice car btw!

I can check at home the original BB.
When I replaced the crankset, I had put a regular 109.5 mm DA 7700 but it was too short.
I've replaced it by a basic one: now it's a bit too long :D
I'm looking for a 7703 or 6503 (made for triple cranksets).