Flight of The Phoenix

Last Monday brought the arrival of the New Campagnolo Xenon crankset and Look pattern pedals. Proverbial child at Christmas I whipped the old Stronglight from their tapers, slid their replacements in position and cut the chain by three links to accommodate the change in ratios from the old fashioned 52/42 to 53/39-much better on the climbs or “up hill and down dale” to use a quaint British expression. Trimming the brake cable outers brought modulation and feel into the 21st century and with a quick once-over of stem, crank bolts and installation of a modern wireless computer, our eagerly anticipated first outing was nigh.

Despite quaint looks, there’s nothing “old flame” about performance, delivering the same supple, yet responsive ride that saw me fall in love with it all those years ago-an ISIS bottom bracket would doubtless offer a little extra rigidity when climbing out of the saddle but that’s about the only discernable difference between the Teenage dream and more modern bikes in my fleet. That said there’s some low-level tinkering taking place. Gone is the “60psi and burst blood vessel if you’re lucky” frame fit pump in favour of a much more sophisticated and dare I say beju SKS mini pump and I’m unsure as to whether the Cinelli Spinachi will remain at the helm… Think a more traditional Tri bars might be called for but I’ll see what turns up.
Project Road Path is gathering some much needed momentum in the guise of a wheelset looking for all the world as if it’s been holidaying in Chernobyl. Elegant and super smooth sealed bearing track hubs should with some basic care brave the four seasons and I’ve lost my puritanical hatred of flip/flop hubs, assuming a more moderate stance when reasoning it follows in the tradition of practicality and versatility expressed by the Road Path concept, albeit demanding a rear brake to comply with the long arm of UK legislation.
Elsewhere, Colchester was one of twelve towns (including Milton Keynes, Exeter, Woking, Peterborough, Blackpool, Southport, Stoke-on-Trent and Chester) fortunate enough to play host to professional road racing courtesy of the tour series. Crudely it’s a series of closed circuit criterium racing sweeping around the historic market town. Roads were closed throughout the day to encourage what might be termed a carnival atmosphere and upon my arrival late afternoon; it was obvious riders of all ages were taking advantage of the closed streets.

The town generally bristled with activity thanks to the market stalls hosted by national radio, television and of course cycling and other small retailers. From six onwards, the pros began to parade the circuits together, some playing to the gallery, most laughing and joking amongst themselves before the serious business of racing.

Seven and the streets swelled with anticipation as the motorcycle camera crew signalled the brightly coloured sea of riders, the Rapha Condor team particularly distinctive by their black livery. As the bunch remained largely tight and my camera shutter whirred and clicked away, I couldn’t help drifting back to Paul Kimmage’s “Rough Ride”-an expose’ of late 1980s professional cycling stooped in politics and a cynical doping culture.

I longed for the display unfolding before me to be one of genuine competition and a far cry from the days when prize monies and rider positioning were decided before the first pedal stroke.

Why do fools fall in love....?

Well, that was the song playing in my head as Justin reflected upon the crown race that wouldn’t fit snugly. Older bikes, no matter how well loved can present unexpected challenges and it seemed as if the Teenage Dream’s fork crown had been subject to some minor distortion over the years. This left three possible solutions (a) build up the affected area with molten brass (b) Replace the fork (c) try the other headset I brought along as a contingency.

Much as 531c is nice, benchmark tubing, replacing the fork with a budget carbon offering makes greater economic sense in the longer run. Mercifully fate came to my rescue and the arguably nicer alloy headset slotted straight in without recourse to cutting steerers, Justin executing installation with his usual precision. Perfectionism and meticulous attention to detail are essential qualities in a bespoke builder. Headset assembled, Justin turned his attention to the seat-tube. The late 1980s and early 90s saw many manufacturers engaged in ruthless price wars, frequently offering complete bikes with high end framesets for little more than the groupset's asking price. I recall seeing 531C framesets festooned with XT parts for £400- badly reamed seat tubes came as standard and deluxe versions enjoyed major frame failure.

Casting a critical eye, he noted some distortion of the collar-not uncommon on steel frames and easily remedied. We explored the possibilities of opening it up by a further point two of a millimetre, thus allowing a much greater choice of post- the collar was certainly substantial enough but closer inspection of the internal walls left Justin uncomfortable pursuing this. Banishing temptation, five minutes judicious reaming removed the offending burr and with post in place, drawing the seatbolt tight, the collar resumed its round profile. The post remains a closer than ideal fit but safeguards against dirt and ingress thrown up by the rear wheel entering the seat-tube.Back home, it was a question of rounding up the other components and assembly. I began with the transmission, fitting a new chain and tweaking the front mech cage slightly. Other than some cable stretch, the rear breezed effortlessly up and down the six- speed block. Closer inspection confirmed my fears of warped chainrings-something I attribute to Dural’s soft characteristics rather than my mechanically sensitive riding style. A quick wander round the web uncovered a new old stock Campag Xenon for less than the price of two-replacement rings- sold to the man with the green frame Regular readers of my column will note I am notorious for changing the script and sees me revert to the original Cinelli cockpit. These feel closer to 44 than their actual 42cm width suggests and have quite a pronounced drop better suited to long steady summer miles. This also saves a perfectly good set of contact points and brake levers from languishing in the spares drawer. Some would argue Spinaci clip ons serve only as mounting points for lights and other accessories but they’re less obtrusive than full tri bars and add negligible weight. From here it was simply a question of fitting control cables and fresh bar wrap. The outers are a little on the long side but quick trims and tweaks are timed to coincide with the new crankset's arrival.

Next Week: Flight of The Phoenix

The Pool's in But the Patio Aint Dry...

Mercifully, Monday brought the eagerly awaited fitting tool allowing the installation of the venerable UN53 copy with much grease and minimal fuss. However, this state of euphoria was short lived upon discovering the disintegration of the plastic cable guides-hardly a crisis but means waiting a few days for the postman to call with a replacementSliding the Stronglight cranks aboard the traditional square tapers had my senses screaming with alarm- the inner ring was apparently warped! Removal and inspection of their integrity atop a flat surface revealed this to be little more than a trick of the light. However, I took the opportunity to re-grease and thoroughly tighten the fasteners.

Justin (Burls) remains indisposed at the moment so, with much of the drivetrain aboard the frame and other components coming together, progress is restricted to installing a new plastic guide and wiring up the derailleurs. The finishing touches such as bars, stem and braking will have to remain on ice until such time as Justin can work his magic.
This resurrection of a treasured machine has forced me to reconsider the Holdsworth’s role in my fleet. Make no mistake, he’s here to stay but rather than becoming a pure TT mount, I’m returning to the basics of the Road Path principle-bikes that are simple to maintain, a blast, yet not “too nice to ride”. In short, pared to the essentials during the brighter months, winter will see it sport Maplewood fenders and 28mm tyres for practical, low maintenance fun.

Low Down n' Dirty

I was planning on installing the Acor bottom bracket this morning having flooded the frame internally with Waxoyl on Friday night. This was somewhat dependant upon the splined fitting tool arriving in today’s post. Sadly the postman brought it to my door but fought shy of ringing the bell, choosing to deliver his calling card instead.Undeterred, with a Saturday to myself, I took advantage of the warm spring weather and set up camp on the back garden’s concrete quarter. Teenage dream securely in the stand, I set about cleaning the derailleur hanger, lever and bottle boss threads before lightly greasing and installing the respective components.

The transmission save for bottom bracket and chain remains unchanged but elsewhere there’s select modernisation to herald personal and technological developments over the past eighteen years.

I couldn’t resist upgrading the stoppers to these high lustre dual pivot callipers with Ti fittings keeping the weight low. The front end is taking an equally radical departure. Gone are the classic, if conservative 42cm Cinelli bar, stem and Campagnolo Athena brake levers. Enter Nitto pursuit bars and Ahead stem-naturally demanding an adaptor and lacking the outright rigidity of threadless configurations but silver anodising keeps things aesthetically crisp. The Athena were substituted for some very sweet Acor carbon TT levers-the sort secured into the ends by expandable wedges, eliminating the need for plugs. Offering the bottom bracket to the shell and threading it hand tight allowed me to temporarily position the crank, providing a useful template for accurately mounting the Victory front mech. These beautiful NOS derailleurs from 1982 were an eighteenth birthday present from a friend who sadly hasn’t been in touch for ten years so they’re staying. As the old saying goes, Campagnolo wears in…others wear out.

The coming days should present sufficient opportunity to install the bottom bracket and crankset. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks Justin will have a spare couple of hours to fit the new headset and of course, ream the seat-tube properly. From there it’s simply a question of wiring everything up, taping the bars and enjoying some long summer miles…

Low down n’ dirty might be an apt description of British Politicians at the moment but I’m starting to think it’d look great emblazoned along the Teenage dream’s top-tube. Hmm, might have a graphic designer knock me up some decals…

Gorgeous in Green

Friday morning rolled around and it was time to witness the teenage dream’s re-birth. When I arrived Chris and Graham were busily loading the guns with zinc-chromate primer and it only took ten minutes for Graham to work his magic in a mist of gunmetal. Satisfied with an even coverage, my frameset was passed into the oven for curing at 150 degrees.
Taking a break, Trevor led me through to the back room playing host to all manner of projects awaiting refinishing. In amongst the motorcycle frames, mudguards, tanks and less engaging household items sat a Kirk Precision. It’s been a while since I saw one of these magnesium frames, although I was tempted when a local dealers offered them as a frameset including headset and bottom bracket for £99 back in 1990. Mercifully I resisted, ploughing my limited reserves into the teenage dream.

Interesting from a cult/curiosity perspective, Kirks suffered from terrible lateral stiffness-a 70 kilo rider could easily cajole the seat-stay into fouling the tyre when cornering hard. Casting, while improved when Dawes cycles bought the marque in the early 90s remained relatively poor and corrosion equally problematic. The owner is clearly smitten, asking Trevor and the boys to put it right irrespective of cost. Given magnesium is both brittle and extremely flammable, restoration is far from straightforward… Before work can begin the frame will be chemically stripped prior to blasting. Casting needs refinement with skillful applications of filler. Given the heat, powder coating isn’t viable, so epoxy two-Pack and a final lacquer are the order of the day. Keen to chart the Kirk's progress, I’d never have one other than as an ornament given their flaws but hopefully there'll be opportunity to follow the restoration of this one in the coming weeks.

With my frame freshly baked, it was the moment we'd all been waiting for. Trevor had generously ordered some 6010-there’s not much call for green amongst his clientele. A few pumps of the trigger and we were away, the frameset coming into bloom one tube at a time before entering the tunnel of love for a final curing. An acrylic clear coat was applied once sufficiently cooled to beautify and protect. Polyester lacquers are cheaper and tolerate being applied directly to hot surfaces but Graham explained these have greater tendency to craze and peel in the long term. Next on the agenda is to arrange some time to visit Justin Burls and ask him nicely to clean the offending seat-tube and install a new headset and bottom bracket.

Whatever Happened to The Teenage Dream....

Project road path is taking something of a back seat while I await the right wheelset and crucially, the right wheelset at the right price. In my experience when one project slows, another gathers momentum and in this instance, the teenage dream-my bespoke road bike from 1991 has been blasted ready for spraying by the good folk at Maldon Shot Blasting & Powder Coating. They’ve been so busy over the past weeks but Graham found five minutes on Friday morning to work his magic.Poor finish wasn’t exclusive to the paint-the seat-tube was poorly reamed, scratching nice and indifferent seatposts with equal malice. Supposedly reamed to 27.0 thus preserving the integrity of relatively thin tube walls, I had designs on taking it out to 27.2 but conversation with frame builder Justin (Burls) suggests this is inadvisable. That said, he’s generously offered to clean it up for me and install a new headset into the bargain. While preserving the bike’s character, some modernisation is planned starting with the cockpit. An Ahead adaptor will allow me to enjoy the benefits of stiffer bars and a really nice set of dual pivot Ti callipers will bring stopping bang up to date.
Reasoning that an ISIS type bottom bracket and crank would not only look out of place but means retiring a perfectly worthy Stronglight crank to the spares drawer, the princely sum of £10 changed hands buying another square taper ACOR fit and forget cartridge bearing model-basically a 113mm version of that sported by the Holdsworth. It might lack glamour but remains a marked improvement over the nigh on twenty-year old FAG design it replaces.
Noting the Hutchinson tyres were now ready for pensioning off, I acquired a nice set of folding 700X23 Kevlar belted rubber-the sort that should really blast along with nominal effort. Their super supple carcass should’ve literally slipped aboard the rims but they fought back with gusto, earning my thumb a huge, pulsing blister and snapping a very nice tyre lever in two! Running seven bikes and with a stint on the trade side of the counter under my belt, I’ve changed plenty in my time but the language they induced turned so blue as to shame the Holdsworth.

Next Week: Primed & Ready For Painting

A Break In The Chain?

Neither shy of, nor purposefully courting controversy rumour of the hipster crowd’s desertion of the fixed fraternity in favour of another fad pleases me. The Times newspaper suggests the beautiful people are headed in the direction of a new retro revival-1950’s French style delivery bikes. Bon! This hopefully means the fixed faithful can continue enjoying the one cog as part of a wider cycling diet without approval or direction from the self appointed gurus of chic.

This might spell an end to the fashion for stripping every braze-on clean from a frameset in the name of aesthetics. I’ll confess to a pleasant indifference to conversions having cut my teeth on one some twenty years back.

Conversions make great, low maintenance winter trainers while providing a new lease of life for older but otherwise worthy bikes. Fashion can be fun but all too often it’s at cost to practicality and many fixer framesets were track inspired with no provision for rack or fender mounts. Track bikes by definition are intended for the Velodrome and have some very distinct limitations for road duties- you only need to stand on the corner of a busy London street watching the messenger wannabes wind-milling about on ridiculously tall gears sans brakes.

Conversely, we owe the hipster a degree of gratitude; afterall, they’ve been influential in driving the boom and much improved supply of frame and components. Take hubs for example, not long ago choice was limited to Maillard double fixed for budget builds or Campagnolo or Dura Ace at the opposite end. By contrast there’s now a wealth of wallet friendly, weather sealed units just right for daily road duties and the same applies to cranks and sprockets, which, frankly is just what the doctor ordered.


Clothing has become more exciting and arguably more practical-especially round town. However, while supply and demand are reasonably well matched in these contexts, this fixed fetish has pushed the price of older steel frames through the roof. Admittedly many of the gallery bikes are found unwanted and unloved, rotting in a neighbours yard, by the roadside or indeed in skips/dumpsters. I was very, very fortunate to have been gifted the Holdsworth given its relative rarity and the asking prices for very tatty examples.

Such trends are by no means exclusive to cycling and I draw parallels with the cyclical popularity of Lambretta scooters and old type one and two VW cars. Time was when basically well kempt 1500 Beetles could be had for £1,200. Now, thanks largely to the hipster/pseudo surfer crowd you’d be luck to find a wreck for £1800.

Long lived fixed as a popular, enjoyable and relatively inexpensive niche. Good riddance to messenger wannabes and anyone else for whom fashion is their only culture