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In theory, this was meant to be a quick build that I could later upgrade as necessary, but it's already taking a lot longer than planned.
I bought this unfinished project from Captain Stupido. I did originally consider stripping and polishing the frame to keep costs down, but realised it would take too long. The frame, forks and stem have therefore gone to Yorvik Engineering for powdercoating. Unfortunately, Prismatic Powders have sold out of the colour I had set my heart on and say it will be about 2 months before they make a new batch:
Therefore, I have asked them to use HMG's Latent Rose Gold instead - I looked at a smaple of this last time I went to Yorvik and it does seem fairly pink, like this picture, not too gold as some of them are:
The (30.4 mm) seat tube was also slightly ovalised, so I have asked Yorvik to ream it out to 30.8 mm.
I now need to plan the build so I can complete it the same day the frame is finished. Therefore, here's a spec list, as much for my own planning as anything else:
Frame: 1993 13" 7005 British Eagle EXS
Fork: British Eagle oversize
Headset: YST Evolution 1 1/4"
Stem: Zoom (original)
Handlebar: Ritchey Forcelight 170 (silver)
Grips: Tioga
Barends: I have some RSP or Marin Lite I could use .... I haven't decided whether they are necessary.
Brakes: Shimano Altus BR-AT20
Brake Pads: I think I have some Fibrax/no name to replace the originals
Brake Cables: original?
Cantilever cable hangers: Dia-compe/Shimano
Brake Levers: Shimano Altus ST-A20
Shifters: Altus ST-A20
Front Derailleur: Shimano STX SE FD-MC31
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Altus RD-AT20
Derailleur Cables: original?
Cassette: Shimano HG50
Chain: Clarks rustproof
Cranks: Shimano Altus FC-AT20
Crank Bolts: original
Chainrings: Shimano Altus
Chainring bolts: Shimano Altus
Bottom Bracket: VP-BC73
Pedals: Black resin body/steel cage things
Hub Skewers: Halo
Rims: Mavic X221
Hubs: Shimano STX-RC HB-MC33 and FH-MC38A
Nipples: brass
Spokes: CN Spoke double-butted
Tyres: WTB All Terrain Comp 26x1.95
Tubes: Bikehut self-sealing
Saddle: WTB Deva
Seatpost: Modern Chinese 6061 30.8 x 380 mm in oil slick colours
Seatpost Binder: Controltech? Or similar replica
Weight: 11 kg
The package came with a lot of the original parts. Really, I want to replace a lot of them to make this as light as possible, but for time and cost reasons I will try to use as much as possible, with the possibility of upgrading parts ater. The original bar was very heavy steel, despite having been cut very short, so I replaced it with the Ritchey bar for £5. I have skewers, but this may well be left outside shops, so I have ordered some Halo non-QR skewers to make the wheels slightly less attractive to opportunist thieves. There was no bottom bracket, but I am also rebuilding my Sbike, so I have Altus spares from that - I guess the BB in that is an Altus A10 one. I decided against getting the original wheels, since the front needed rebuilding on a new hub and it would have increased the shipping price. Instead, I bought some nice STX RC/Mavic X221 wheels (thank you to @dandy1 ) which I've trued, serviced the hubs, and have cleaned up nicely. Someone gave me some self-sealing innertubes, which I don't really like, but might be useful for a bike I won't be there to fix punctures on all the time.
The remaining choices to be made are the drivetrain and tyres.
I'd like to change the drivetrain from 3x7 to 1x8, for both simplicity and to loose a little weight. Using a wide-range cassette, that would give enough gearing. However, I would then need to find replacement brake levers - I do have a nice STX RC 8 speed shifter though and although the Altus A20 crank has fixed chainrings, I have a spare Altus A10 I could use with a single ring. I think for now, I'll have to build it 3x7 (assuming I have a 7 speed cassette and spacer somewhere) with a view to changing it later.
For tyres, I do have quite a lot of ununsed pairs of tyres, but I'm not sure whether any of them are right for this. Ideally, all-purpose tyres would be best as it will mainly be used on raods, but may well be taken off-road on occassion. That rules out all my off-road tyres. I do have some (cream) Geax tyres, but if I remember correctly they are really just a road tyre - they might look good with the colour though. Alternatively, I might buy some WTB All Terrain Comps for it.
For now: check the tyre stash, find a cassette and spacer, and clean up the parts I haven't cleaned yet.
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