Thanks, Ray, and sorry for the late follow-up. There are no chronic paint issues, but the chrome on the fork crown is lifting in spots.
Paul Brodek Hillsdale, NJ USA On Friday, October 9, 2020 at 4:02:46 PM UTC-4, Ray wrote: > > Amazing photographs and beautiful bike. This looks like a really fun and > creative build. I would have never thought to 650b a vintage track bike, > but it looks so natural here. Well done. > > Also that bike looks too be in amazing condition for how old it is. Did > you have any issues with paint? I have a 1974 Raleigh Pro track, and for > some inexplicable reason the paint is chipping on the headtube and only the > headtube... no rust or anything, clean chrome underneath, just falling > right off. No clue why. > > Ray in Madison, WI > > On Friday, October 9, 2020 at 1:12:07 PM UTC-5 Paul Brodek wrote: > >> Don't think I posted this here before? Got the frame last winter, 650b'd >> it in early covid days, just updated/finalized it with new/old neo-retro >> 650b wheels. >> >> Picked up this '71 Raleigh Pro Track frameset over the winter, planning >> to keep it as vintage as possible. First short shakedown ride was all >> vintage, and was pretty horrible. Bars were too narrow, with too deep a >> drop, the Campy NR brake lever body felt tiny, and with no rear brake >> having to dive down for the Campy lever was a little scary. So I >> immediately modernized the cockpit with wider bars, an aero lever and a >> 'cross lever. As much as I'd like to see a non-aero lever with some housing >> loops and swoops, full-on '70s, I'm reluctant to go there without a rear >> brake. Last basic piece of the cockpit puzzle was a Cane Creek tandem dummy >> lever for the right/rear side, which makes the bars a bit comfier and helps >> my upper body feel more balanced. As a bonus, from certain angles, the >> dummy lever looks a lot like Futurama's Dr. Zoidberg. >> >> Didn't have any vintage track wheels for the first build, so I used a set >> of on-hand, older Grand Cru 700c track wheels. They look vintage-ish, all >> silver with narrow rims. 26mm was about as wide as I could go on the tires, >> with pinch points both under the fork crown and between the chainstays. >> Tried Vittoria Corsa 28-622, which were around 26.5mm on the narrow Grand >> Cru rims. Definitely maxed out width-wise. >> >> That all gave me a fast and smooth ride, but definitely a bit harsh, >> especially for a fixed gear, where lifting off the saddle to coast/float >> over rough stuff isn't very effective. Can't let your legs get all relaxed >> and bump-absorbing springy when they have to keep spinning. >> >> So, whilst first hiding from the 'rona in my basement in March, I decided >> to try a 650b build, using a set of Paul/Velocity Synergy fixed/track >> wheels I had on hand. Which also look vintage-ish, with highish flanges on >> the Paul hubs, but still not the Real Deal. >> >> Grand Bois Cypres 32-584 tires fit fine front/rear. Looks like 38s would >> fit OK in the front, but would be too tight at the chainstays. Plenty of >> room under the seatstay bridge and behind the chainstay bridge. If I ever >> decide to get the frame tweaked, it'd be neat to bump the stays to fit 38s, >> and drill the seatstay bridge for a rear caliper. But I feel like it's too >> pretty to mess with. The unforgivable tyranny of beauty! >> >> First geared it 42x16, just under 70", then got a 41t TA ring from Peter >> White, to get the wheel a little further back in the drops, for better tire >> clearance. >> >> Brake reach is just over 60mm, so most normal-reach vintage sidepulls >> won't quite reach without modification. I lengthened the slots on a Suntour >> Superbe caliper, which worked OK, but I really wanted a Campy caliper to go >> with the rest of the Campy stuff. Got a normal-/long-reach Campy NR brake >> caliper, filed away the bottom of the slots, and used biggish washers on >> both sides of the arm to help increase the contact/clamping-force area. The >> shoes don't hit ribber, and I don't think they'll self-eject, but I >> wouldn't recommend this to others. I've got room to use a drop bolt, but >> they're hard to find for front/nutted, and it's a more visible kludge. A >> period-appropriate centerpull would be more solid, and maybe not look >> totally out of place, but that would mean a cable hanger/stop, and....not >> Campy. >> >> The bike stayed in that state since March, with me pining for a 650b >> wheelset with Campy high-flange track hubs. A few things came together, and >> yesterday I got a set of neo-retro wheels from Earle Young. Earle used my >> Campy 36h high-flange road hubs on new Pacenti Brevet 650b rims, with new >> spokes. Then I did a relatively painless road>track axle conversion on the >> hubs. The tires get about 1mm wider on the Brevets, still decent clearance >> at the chainstays, with the wheel further back in the drops. The Brevets >> look more vintage than the Synergys, and they don't have any tire-seating >> issues. If you're around vintage wheels a lot, the wider profile does look >> a little different, but I think that's less an issue with 650b than with >> 700c. I have a 700c set for my Hetchins, next up. >> >> I also went back to a 7-style stem, Nitto Technomic, instead of the >> upjutting tig'd Nitto, mainly for vintage looks. Had to fool around with >> bottle cage and cross lever to get everything to fit. >> >> So other than the possibility of a different brake caliper to be named >> later, I consider it done. >> >> Hoping to actually get a ride on it this weekend. >> >> Flickr album here, small pix attached: >> >> https://www.flickr.com/photos/26383479@N04/albums/72157712064967518 >> >> >> [image: 50441879732_6f56889638_c.jpg] >> >> [image: 50439494513_004d65a310_c.jpg] >> >> >> [image: 50441003908_ed30af2888_c.jpg] >> >> >> >> Paul Brodek >> Hillsdale, NJ USA >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/2a55eabf-989a-49b1-94dc-0059376ed30ao%40googlegroups.com.
