Kontact
12-03-2017, 09:41 PM
Okay, maybe more than $25...
I have been looking around for a steel frame to put some classic parts I've had in storage now for years. The idea was something like a nicer lugged Miyata, but short people can't always be choosers. Over last weekend a Lemond Buenos Aires with a 9x3 105 group for $100 in my size came up on Craig's. I sent him an email that there would be no haggling, and picked it up Sunday morning.
By Sunday afternoon I had confirmed that all the parts worked, stripped them off and had them on CL. Monday the group was gone for $75. I kept the frame, fork, headset, the Mavic CPX-21/DB spokes/105 wheels and seat post.
Wednesday all the old stuff was sorted through and assembled, and Friday I had the tape, Campy head shift cable, spacer, etc home from the LBS and done:
https://forums.thepaceline.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1697950509&stc=1&d=1512359380
I am not a huge fan of TIG'd steel, but the Lemond/Trek frames were nice geometry with 853 main triangles and 725 stays. 725 stays? Sounds like a downgrade, except that 725 is the heat treated upgrade of 525, the 531 replacement. In other words, an all 725 frame would be awesome, but 853 mains is that much more awesome. The Icon carbon fork is so skinny it looks like steel, but has a good rep. The CXP-21 wheels are pretty nice, required only a minor true and the 17 year old GP3000s have a bunch of life in them. I repacked the headset, but the hubs seem okay. Most of the mileage on this bike is wall scrapes.
I'm not hung up on getting everything 100% period correct as much as putting great old parts to good use. The composite Modolo marked levers are identical to ones Mavic had with the SSC group and feel good with the first gen Rival brakes that look the part. They stop well, but my thick hands don't love the tops. Who cares, they look awesome!
The Mavic cranks are mounted on a loose ball BB - that was something I haven't set up in awhile. I have a Mavic FD somewhere, but couldn't find it, so a Ti Red first gen FD is substituted for now. The SRAM 12-26 8 speed cassette was a problem the first time I set the Mavic stuff up, but I since found instructions for lowering the pulley cage on the 801/851 derailleurs. The shifters are marked Simplex, but are the same ones that came with the SSC Mavic group. I also had to add a 1mm spacer under the cassette to keep the RD cage from touching the spokes.
The Cinelli bars and XA stem were also mint take offs, so I used them despite being a touch short and narrow. I pushed the saddle back a little from KOPS to compensate. The Cinelli cork, white housings and black seat were an effort to avoid the Ronald McDonald color scheme the bike started with.
The bike rides great! The combination of modern ramped cassette and low mounted derailleur actually shifts fantastic. The cassette is doing all the work and the big gap to the pulley seems to just make the system more tolerant of misalignment. The shifters are great - really light touch.
The unramped 53x39 chainrings with the flexy titanium derailleur didn't shift great in the stand, but were totally reliable on the road. Overall, the weird old stuff works great with modern cassettes and chains - better than they did with '80s equivalents. And there's nothing to get out of adjustment.
I love my new kinda/sorta $25 bike.
I have been looking around for a steel frame to put some classic parts I've had in storage now for years. The idea was something like a nicer lugged Miyata, but short people can't always be choosers. Over last weekend a Lemond Buenos Aires with a 9x3 105 group for $100 in my size came up on Craig's. I sent him an email that there would be no haggling, and picked it up Sunday morning.
By Sunday afternoon I had confirmed that all the parts worked, stripped them off and had them on CL. Monday the group was gone for $75. I kept the frame, fork, headset, the Mavic CPX-21/DB spokes/105 wheels and seat post.
Wednesday all the old stuff was sorted through and assembled, and Friday I had the tape, Campy head shift cable, spacer, etc home from the LBS and done:
https://forums.thepaceline.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1697950509&stc=1&d=1512359380
I am not a huge fan of TIG'd steel, but the Lemond/Trek frames were nice geometry with 853 main triangles and 725 stays. 725 stays? Sounds like a downgrade, except that 725 is the heat treated upgrade of 525, the 531 replacement. In other words, an all 725 frame would be awesome, but 853 mains is that much more awesome. The Icon carbon fork is so skinny it looks like steel, but has a good rep. The CXP-21 wheels are pretty nice, required only a minor true and the 17 year old GP3000s have a bunch of life in them. I repacked the headset, but the hubs seem okay. Most of the mileage on this bike is wall scrapes.
I'm not hung up on getting everything 100% period correct as much as putting great old parts to good use. The composite Modolo marked levers are identical to ones Mavic had with the SSC group and feel good with the first gen Rival brakes that look the part. They stop well, but my thick hands don't love the tops. Who cares, they look awesome!
The Mavic cranks are mounted on a loose ball BB - that was something I haven't set up in awhile. I have a Mavic FD somewhere, but couldn't find it, so a Ti Red first gen FD is substituted for now. The SRAM 12-26 8 speed cassette was a problem the first time I set the Mavic stuff up, but I since found instructions for lowering the pulley cage on the 801/851 derailleurs. The shifters are marked Simplex, but are the same ones that came with the SSC Mavic group. I also had to add a 1mm spacer under the cassette to keep the RD cage from touching the spokes.
The Cinelli bars and XA stem were also mint take offs, so I used them despite being a touch short and narrow. I pushed the saddle back a little from KOPS to compensate. The Cinelli cork, white housings and black seat were an effort to avoid the Ronald McDonald color scheme the bike started with.
The bike rides great! The combination of modern ramped cassette and low mounted derailleur actually shifts fantastic. The cassette is doing all the work and the big gap to the pulley seems to just make the system more tolerant of misalignment. The shifters are great - really light touch.
The unramped 53x39 chainrings with the flexy titanium derailleur didn't shift great in the stand, but were totally reliable on the road. Overall, the weird old stuff works great with modern cassettes and chains - better than they did with '80s equivalents. And there's nothing to get out of adjustment.
I love my new kinda/sorta $25 bike.