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A story which I’ve already told on here, detailing how I ordered one of these from new sometime around late 1990 from my local Raleigh dealer. A short version of the story is that it took so long for me to save the £649 in 1990/91 that by the time the shop owner decided I’d paid enough capital...

I’ve a few of those cages, but reserve them for the Titanium frames really. I tried one and it looked out of place.

Well, things just came together all of a sudden last night, and although it’s not quite 100% finished, it is fully operational. This of course means it’s time for the long awaited test ride! By the way, the brake calipers are a bugger to set up as they have to be so perfectly aligned. I’d...

Now then, there’s a story here… Far left is the original BB that came with my other 7400 groupset, which I swapped out for a Royce Titanium. It needed a better axle as this one had some nasty bearing wear on one side of it, plus I was tuning components on that build to lighten it. Late night...

They’re an old thing from way back in the early 90’s, distributed by Cinetica (famed for carbon bars and adjustable carbon stems). I can’t see why you couldn’t make them using a decent 3D printer as they’re really simple in design. Older STI units wouldn’t be an issue because their gear cable...

Once the bars and levers were positioned I couldn’t wait to get them wrapped. I’ve opted for the pvc foam bike ribbon (no idea of its official name) that was so common on bikes of this era. I’m also using some Selev bar tape lock rings instead of insulation tape. I’ve had a couple of bikes with...

The brake levers have been transferred over from the next project as that won’t be running Dura Ace. They’re ok, and better than a lot of what’s out there. These levers seem to age badly, especially around the plastic chrome. I always wonder what the plastic underneath is like as you can strip...

With wheels now attached, and the bike rolling, I could turn my attention to smaller details, like the gears. The rear mech needed nothing other than bolting in place. A hunt for my stash of genuine SIS rear derailleur cables, and it was paired with a NOS silver/grey outer, and correct stepped...

I had a couple of options in mind for the wheels, but the fully built set I’ve had stored for nearly a decade were looking favourite. They were more in keeping with the overall theme I’m going for here. I should have taken some photos of what they looked like when I pulled them out of where...

I’ve had a few spare moments this evening to bolt up a few components. Fitting the fork crown race was a tough one! I never like making the crown race fit the fork as it might never be transferable to another pair of forks if you enlarge the hole too much, so removing excess material from the...

I’ve been dry fitting a couple of parts this morning before work, and saw a problem I haven’t encountered before. The pictures show the issue quite clearly, where the frame’s downtime lever mount actually incorporates part of the chrome washer which is normally shaped to butt up flush against...

I’ve had a soft spot for French carbon frames since their inception. TVT were the first to master the concept, and then Look continued where TVT dwindled their interest. TVT were unique in their construction, using a knitted sock like a stockinette for their carbon tubes, that was fed onto a...

Awful weather for the last few days, and the low sun made it difficult to capture late in the afternoon in a brief dry hour.

No, because they’re directly on polished Titanium which has no coating. If they get damaged then it’s no bother to get another set made up as they’re sat on file.

The Conti’s are NOS, but they’re showing their age now on the sidewalls. I might order up some of the Panaracer Smoke and Dart re-issues.

I had a white Flite from 91, but it just didn’t look right somehow. I tried though 😁

A couple of pics of it inside as it’s too dark out now. I’ll try for some better shots tomorrow if it stops raining.

Again, slow progress, which is frustrating as I’m so close to the finishing line. I’d forgotten how awful a job it is setting up the early canti brakes. I was t happy with the first set up, so started again and immediately wished I hadn’t bothered. Anyway, after a fair bit of searching I’ve...

I couldn’t wait! The photos aren’t great because daylight has gone, but I’ll get some better pics in the coming days.

Decals have arrived - thanks as always to Gil. I’m so impatient that I wanted to fit them as soon as I saw them, but these things take time and precision, so I’ll wait until later tonight before laying the first ones down…