80's Flat Bar Commuter Road Bike (Reynolds 531 Competition Frame & Fork)
This is what will hopefully be replacing the Cannondale. Looking to buy it for the parts really. Rung up about it and gonna check it out in a couple of days. If I like it then the owner will sell it to me for $100. I made $177.50 on the Cannondale so that's a saving. I still haven't seen it though. It is being held for me for now. It has no brand name. But the parts list is high quality. The previous owner said that it was mid 90's and that he converted it to a flat bar bike with riser bars. It was previously branded as 'Shire Cycles', but the decals have since been removed, don't blame him really! Who'd want a bike with the word 'Shire' on it anyway? Frodo? The bike has world champion stripes (colours) on the rear triangle and it looks like it may be an Australian built frame. According to the previous owner when describing the gearing and shifting "the indexing is perfect and spot on and is a really nice and comfortable bike to ride". The bike is also suited to a rider from 5"7 to 5"9 tall. I am 5"7 and so is he. My original intention was to transfer all the parts over to my Orange repco and then transfer all the Repco parts to the new Brown Jersey frame. If this bike rides nice and fits me well then I will hang onto the frame too and keep it all together as a rideable bike. Then the BJ frame will sit wrapped up in storage until I break or bend my Repco frame. If it doesn't fit me that well then the parts will come off and the frame will be going up for sale! So we'll see:
The features that I am aware of on this bike are as follows:
Fluro Yellow Paint
Reynolds 531 tubing including front fork
Mavic SUP Wheelset
Shimano RX-100 Groupset 7 or 8 Speed Rear Cluster (not sure)
Double Chainrings (so 14 or 16 speed)
Sante Shifters (new & abit rare)
SPD-SL Pedals
Size: Small
I'll have more specific information on the specs and also a condition report once I physically have the bike in my hands! Stay tuned!
The features that I am aware of on this bike are as follows:
Fluro Yellow Paint
Reynolds 531 tubing including front fork
Mavic SUP Wheelset
Shimano RX-100 Groupset 7 or 8 Speed Rear Cluster (not sure)
Double Chainrings (so 14 or 16 speed)
Sante Shifters (new & abit rare)
SPD-SL Pedals
Size: Small
I'll have more specific information on the specs and also a condition report once I physically have the bike in my hands! Stay tuned!
Handlebar Upgrade - 1997 Cannondale Riser Bars - refurbed
Picked it up and got it home. I swapped over the handlebars to some longer riser bars. Previous owner had cut his really short which didn't suit me for commuting. These bars pictured on the bike were taken from my old Cannondale when I first got it. I resprayed them black ready for the Raleigh Twenty project but am using them now for this bike. Will just have to get another one for the Raleigh.
Brev-M White Track Grips - cut down to size - used
The white handle bar grips are actually some old Brev-M track grips that I had laying around. I just cut them down to size and pushed them onto either side of the bar. I did a pretty rough job of cutting them up but luckily the brake levers sit flush against the cut bits so it makes it looks like a flush smooth fit.
Roto Bottle Cage - Yellow
Had this spare cage laying around. Bought as a pair. Sold the other one with my old Cannondale. This one matches the bike I guess!
First Ride Into Work - 19/11/2012 - 6am
Well did my first ride into work with the new (old) fluro yellow bike. I have to say, it rides like a dream and is super smooth. It is even smoother than my old Azzurri Solo road bike, and that bike was from 2003 with a more modern Shimano Sora setup. This bike has mid 90's running gear, but the gear changes are smooth and the freewheel is the quietest one I have ever heard (or tried to hear anyway!).
The gear shifting is great. I have never used down tube shifters before but they work perfectly. Shifting the rear cogs are smooth and easy and the shift lever works very well. The front shifter & derailleur though, is what I like best about this bike. Because the shifter for the front derailleur only has two settings for the two front chainrings and it is not indexed (no clicking sound - just a cable & control that tightens or loosens the cable to move the front derailleur), minor adjustments can be made easily. Meaning, if I change the rear cogs to an extremely low or high gear resulting in the front derailleur rattling because it is hitting the chain, all I have to do is slightly adjust the lever to move the derailleur abit, and the annoying rattling sound disappears! This little noise has bugged me for years on bikes, but no more!
The Mavic rims and Michelin Axial tyres performed well and I felt like I was going pretty fast and in control. I skidded a bit going around a bend as I think the tyres are abit more worn than usual, plus they also have alot of crackingin the side walls. I'll keep them on and will eventually replace them with some gatorskins when the time comes. The tyres also feature a kevlar belt for puncture protection and red strip on either side. Looks good, for old tyres!
The seat was comfortable and I was not sore at all. Looking at it, it is a Velo branded seat and has a big 'G' on either side. I tried to look up some info on it, but cannot find any information on it. Also on closer inspection, the rear derailleur, front derailleur and brake calipers are Shimano RX-100. The crankset is Shimano Exage 300EX. I also put on the VP alloy pedals that were to be used for the Raleigh project. So I'll be looking for pedals too!
Parked the bike at work this morning, locked it up, had a shower, got dressed and before leaving to head upstairs, looked at my bike with a big smile on my face and took a photo. I thought single speed was the only way to go, but the lightness, speed and shifting of this bike has made me re-think a bit about gears. If you have a groupset that works well, then even geared bike, provided everything else on the bike works well for you, can be as equally enjoyable as a single speed. Great bike and definately a keeper for me!
The gear shifting is great. I have never used down tube shifters before but they work perfectly. Shifting the rear cogs are smooth and easy and the shift lever works very well. The front shifter & derailleur though, is what I like best about this bike. Because the shifter for the front derailleur only has two settings for the two front chainrings and it is not indexed (no clicking sound - just a cable & control that tightens or loosens the cable to move the front derailleur), minor adjustments can be made easily. Meaning, if I change the rear cogs to an extremely low or high gear resulting in the front derailleur rattling because it is hitting the chain, all I have to do is slightly adjust the lever to move the derailleur abit, and the annoying rattling sound disappears! This little noise has bugged me for years on bikes, but no more!
The Mavic rims and Michelin Axial tyres performed well and I felt like I was going pretty fast and in control. I skidded a bit going around a bend as I think the tyres are abit more worn than usual, plus they also have alot of crackingin the side walls. I'll keep them on and will eventually replace them with some gatorskins when the time comes. The tyres also feature a kevlar belt for puncture protection and red strip on either side. Looks good, for old tyres!
The seat was comfortable and I was not sore at all. Looking at it, it is a Velo branded seat and has a big 'G' on either side. I tried to look up some info on it, but cannot find any information on it. Also on closer inspection, the rear derailleur, front derailleur and brake calipers are Shimano RX-100. The crankset is Shimano Exage 300EX. I also put on the VP alloy pedals that were to be used for the Raleigh project. So I'll be looking for pedals too!
Parked the bike at work this morning, locked it up, had a shower, got dressed and before leaving to head upstairs, looked at my bike with a big smile on my face and took a photo. I thought single speed was the only way to go, but the lightness, speed and shifting of this bike has made me re-think a bit about gears. If you have a groupset that works well, then even geared bike, provided everything else on the bike works well for you, can be as equally enjoyable as a single speed. Great bike and definately a keeper for me!
Upgraded Bar Grips: Trigram Lock-on - black
Well after riding a couple of trips I found that I needed to use my gloves all the time. The Brev-M track grips were thin and not comfortable at all. Plus they get dirty very easily. So I have sprung for some lock on grips ($20) so that I can ride the bike with or without gloves. These are strong, comfortable and do not move!
Continental Gatorskin 700 x 23 tyres
The Michelin Axials are showing their age and are cracking in the sidewalls. The grip is ok but not that brilliant either. So I ordered a pair of Conti's from the wiggle website. Gatorskins are durable and tough and excellent for commuting. Punctures are also a thing of the past with these. I didn't go for a commuter size tyre and instead went for a standard road size tyre (700x23). The rim sits very close to the seat tube so I did not want to go to a bigger size, otherwise the tyre would start rubbing on the frame. Again, so much cheaper buying from the UK than from Oz. Down the track I think the rims will need a good scrub as the machined braking surface has filled up with brake pad residue and the brake pads are really hard and old. So I'll need brake pads too.
Update 27/12/12: Went for a ride (about 20kms) to see how the conti's would perform. Rode on bitumen, dirt roads and abit of shattered glass bottle fragments. Tyres performed great. No issued. Rolls fine too.
Update 27/12/12: Went for a ride (about 20kms) to see how the conti's would perform. Rode on bitumen, dirt roads and abit of shattered glass bottle fragments. Tyres performed great. No issued. Rolls fine too.
Minor Brake Upgrade - Avid SD3 Levers, Specialized MTB Cables & Jagwire Housings
I replaced the original levers with some Avid 'Speed Dial' levers that were second hand. Also found that the cables being used were road bike cables (cable ends) that were shoved into the no-name mtb brake levers that came with the bike. They looked pretty rough and had abit of surface rust on them too. Got some Specialized brake cables that were really good quality from my local bike shop. I had some left over Jagwire cable outers from my last two projects so cut those up to suit. There wasn't really much wrong with the old Shimano outers apart from being dirty and bent up abit. Just thought I may as well put new cables into new housings. Tightened up the tension on the existing braking system. Bike brakes really well now.
Saddle Upgrade - Specialized Avatar Expert (Test Saddle)
You're probably wondering why this saddle says 'TEST SADDLE' on it. This is because Specialized brought out a range of 'body geometry' saddles of all shaped and sizes to suit all riders. These saddles are used in stores so that cyclists can borrow them, try out a few different versions, see how they fare until they find one that suits, and then return them to purchase the proper one in the colour, style & size of their choice. All the test saddles are red and white and have the same design to differentiate them from normal ones. A bike shop near my house was selling a new one and I wanted something more comfortable. Plus I wasn't that fussed about the colour or design. It's just for my commuter. It's more comfortable, new, half the price of a normal model and it's Specialized. That was good enough for me. I'm not that fussy about saddles, just wanted something decent that suited my needs. The old Velo 'G' saddle on the bike will be shelved. The saddle is really comfortable. I think it looks pretty good actually.
Original Reynolds 531 Competition Decals - New ($10)
I'm looking to sandblast and powder coat this bike in the same original colour as there is some rust showing and it is abit dirty. However, I didn't want to lose the original Reynolds decals. This frame is the 'Competition' version, which means it is light and fast. It is also abit rare these days. So I got online to see what was out there. You can buy some stickers off ebay but not a lot of people have the competition ones.
So I contacted Reynolds Technology in the UK via email. I attached three pictures of the bike, one of the whole bicycle, one of the seat tube showing the main decal, and one showing the shield decal on the fork blade. This was so that they would know that my bike was genuine. There are a lot of people out there buying the stickers and putting them onto bikes that aren't Reynolds tubing and then trying to sell them off for big $$$. I've also noticed that most Reynolds 531 bikes have similar looking lugs which join the tubes. Marian from Reynolds got back to me six hours later due to the time difference. Turns out they had the stickers that I needed. Sent me a PDF with all the 531 decals available. I also found out that the bike is actually an 80's bike. Still need to find out a way to date it though.
I have ordered:
1 x R55 - Reynolds 531 Competition Rectangular Frame Decal
1 x RF78 - R 531 Shield Fork Decals (come as a pair)
Cost was £6.95 which is equivalent to about $10.00 Australian. Paid through Paypal. Have a look at the PDF with all their stickers available. Also below are the pictures of the decals, currently on my frame that I will be replacing after the bike has had it's sand blast and powder coat.
So I contacted Reynolds Technology in the UK via email. I attached three pictures of the bike, one of the whole bicycle, one of the seat tube showing the main decal, and one showing the shield decal on the fork blade. This was so that they would know that my bike was genuine. There are a lot of people out there buying the stickers and putting them onto bikes that aren't Reynolds tubing and then trying to sell them off for big $$$. I've also noticed that most Reynolds 531 bikes have similar looking lugs which join the tubes. Marian from Reynolds got back to me six hours later due to the time difference. Turns out they had the stickers that I needed. Sent me a PDF with all the 531 decals available. I also found out that the bike is actually an 80's bike. Still need to find out a way to date it though.
I have ordered:
1 x R55 - Reynolds 531 Competition Rectangular Frame Decal
1 x RF78 - R 531 Shield Fork Decals (come as a pair)
Cost was £6.95 which is equivalent to about $10.00 Australian. Paid through Paypal. Have a look at the PDF with all their stickers available. Also below are the pictures of the decals, currently on my frame that I will be replacing after the bike has had it's sand blast and powder coat.
For Sale! - 15/9/2013
I haven't written much about this bike in the last few months. Since the last mods, I added Continental Gatorskin tyres mainly for commuting, longer riser bar from my old Cannondale Hybrid, Profile Design bar ends for those climbs, and gave it a full service. Been riding it for a bit, but now it's time to say goodbye to make room for my new Gios Antico mini velo! I have swapped the tyres with my single speed so now it has the Michelin Speedium 2 tyres on it. These tyres have never let me down and have been great. Also removed my lights, computer, and rear reflector. The picture on the left is the main picture that shows the bike currently for sale. It's in better condition than when I first got it! The new buyer will be very lucky as it is a unique and rare bike. The auction is for 10 days starting at $150 and I've already got ten people watching it! We'll see how things pan out come 24/9/2013 @ 4:33pm!
Sold for $241.50 ! - Sad Goodbye....(sniff)
The last photo taken of my dear old Reynolds. This has been a great bike but has now been sold. The new owner will be picking it up this evening. Went for a final ride yesterday on a cool spring evening and it is still as smooth as the day I got it. Gave it a clean, de-grease and put some fresh chain lube on the chain and cogs. I also discovered that the chainring was a bio-pace one. Meaning it is an oval shape instead of round. Better transfer of power apparently. Anyhow, too late now. It is sold. I will miss it but all good things must come to an end. Time for the bike to meet it's new owner. Good-bye old friend. I'll miss your zippy-ness!