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Have thought about that actually.
I don't like the idea that the mudguard can't be taken off without affecting the wire itself - the wire would have to be glued or crimped to the inside of the mudguard. A quick release connector after leaving the shell- for instance Supernova QR Gold Connector Set - could remedy this. But I feel it could create a possible weak link. Now the wire is one piece. Much more reliable for sure, and I can unplug the wire from the rear light to remove the mudguard if I need to.
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Update! Some work done.
Decided to use tektro straddle wire hangers instead of mafac.
Two coax wires: one from the hub dynamo to head light and one from head light to rear light. Together in wire mesh guard...
... tied to the front rack...
... each going its own direction at the inside of the fork blade.
Wire guided under fork crown, entering downtube with a grommet.
Wire leaving left chainstay ( also a grommet ), tied to mudguard stay...
... and into to the rear light.
Tektro cable hanger, modified to adjust cable length.
Decaleur for the front bag. -
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Paintwork and decals done by Unlimited Colors in Venhorst, The Netherlands. I designed the decals myself in Adobe Illustrator, and had them validated several times by email before exporting a final version. Unlimited Colors have translated the files to their internal printingtoolset.
When collecting the frameset afterwards, I was shown the whole internal process and spraying facilities. Some major Dutch pro cyclingteams have their frames painted there, as well as the Dutch police and military forces. Very fluid workflow, fascinating to witness. I guess they liked my project as an unusual one.
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I have decided on a lot of components already, but I'm not sure about the headset. I have got a Stronglight Delta needle bearing headset in my parts bin. Technically, I think it is in solid condition. Sadly, it has clear traces of use. See pictures in post #3 .
Or I could buy a Velo Orange Grand Cru chromed sealed bearing headset. It's shiny!
Opinions appreciated.
And thank you all for your enthousiastic replies!
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Marten Gerritsen of M-gineering did the alterations. He's located in Kiel-Windeweer in the Netherlands.
I chose him because of his experience with Mafac Racer studs. He had welded those before on one of his own bikes. I was allowed to take that bike for a spin, braking performance was really impressive. No flex at all.
And classic looks as an added bonus.
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Time for a respray. The original had no decals at all. To me that means I can design my paint scheme and decals myself, as long as the frameset is recognizable as a Norwid Esbjerg ( Norwid is a german custom builder ).
As the Norwid logo is a little too modern for my liking, I designed a new logo and decals. As far as colors go, I decided on blueish with cream panels and golden accents. The compass theme from the original logo is included in my design.
After that, printing to paper and finding the right spot for the decals.
I have always liked the idea of my own autograph painted on. If Ernesto Colnago can do that, so can I.
Little detail on the seatstay tops. -
The state of the powdercoat was bad. A lot of chipped of pieces. It had to be painted again. But then, why not have it changed a little by a framebuilder before spraying. I could think of some enhancements. I am a patient man, so I went for it.
Even my patience was tested I must say. This spring I got the frameset back.
Entrance in downtube for internal light cabling
Mount for a lock on the seatstays
I had the canti studs removed. New studs brazed on for Mafac Racer. Those open up when braking, should be better with mudguards. Should improve braking performance with Campa Ergo levers, when compared to cantilevers.
Custom cablestop
Mount for a Pletscher kickstand
Extra eyelet on front fork, so mudguard and low rider don't have to share a single eyelet. Eyelet isn't in the center of rotation, so if the mudguard breaks during riding, it shouldn't lock the wheel up and throw me over the bars.
Also visible one of the three little pieces to tie up the dynohub cable to the inside of the forks.
Mount for a little frontrack that will accept a handlebarbag.
Mafac Racer studs on front fork
Not visible in the picture: mount in the fork crown for mudguard. No more L brackets! -
Some years ago I was in need of a new tourer since the driveside chainstay of the old one broke in two. I even visited Mercian to get me informed about a custom frame: I have short arms in comparison to my legs. We could not find a solution we both could live with. I wanted clearance for 700x 35c with mudguards, amongst other details.
Two years ago I picked up a Norwid Esbjerg frameset + forks that ticked most of my boxes:
37mm tire + mudguard clearance,
lugged Thron steel with headtube and downtube oversized,
threaded fork,
vertical dropouts,
lots of eyelets for racks and mudguards,
sizing not perfect but acceptable.It came with some components that could be used for my build. But a lot couldn't. Racks, saddle, shifters all not included in the sale.
At the moment only the front brake is working, rear brake and shifting cables are yet to be installed. The front pads have to dialed in as well. So I can't share any real world experiences at the moment. However, I have ridden one of the framebuilder's bicycles with brazed on Mafac Racers, and braking was on par with dual pivots.
I might have to play with the straddle cable length to find the right balance in leverage / obtain the same performance. Setup of dual pivots is much easier.