n+1, this time a steel one.

[M_Chavez]

From the late Sixties up to the mid Seventies even Tours de France were won without bottle cage bosses

I was not aware of that, thank you. They did have support vehicles providing them with an endless supply of water (I hope)?

Just had a look - yes, 65. Didn't realise that was a thing in the past!
Does that mean I need a spacer to run a "modern" sealed bearing BB? If one can use the word "modern" when talking about a square taper.

 

[M_Chavez]

The bike is now fully stripped. I've tinfoiled everything I could reach, then soaked the insides with meths, gave it a wipe, let it dry, then gave it a rinse with Hydrate 80 rust converter.
Top tube and fork blades were a bit of a surprise - I can hear some [rust?] flakes rolling inside them, yet these tubes are fully sealed and I could not get the rust converter into them.
If they are fully sealed, how did they manage to rust on the inside .

Front guard eyelets took some drilling, but I've managed to restore the threads to an acceptable level - good enough to hold a plastic guard.
Hardest bit was removing the broken dropout adjuster screw. Tried soaking in plusgas, then filing the dropout a little to uncover just enough bolt to grab with my pliers, but the bolt just stripped off. I then tried cutting a wee slot with a hacksaw and turning the bolt with a small screwdriver - just bent the screwdriver blade.
In the end, it was down to drilling the M3 bolt with a 1.6mm drill bit, freehand, with plenty of the world's most popular cutting liquid (WD40). I've managed to drill out the bolt almost with no damage to the threads. I should have been a brain surgeon with hands like that. Then refreshed the threads with a tap - should be good enough to hold the adjuster bolt.

Two holes drilled in the seat tube to stop the crack spread. Drilling Reynolds 531db was a very pleasant experience. If anyone wants a few extra holes in their frame, give me a call.

Overall, the bike's a bit of a challenge, but general condition is OK, assuming no more structural damage. All this work made me realise just how well preserved my Romani is!

 

[jim haseltine]

Top tube and fork blades were a bit of a surprise - I can hear some [rust?] flakes rolling inside them, yet these tubes are fully sealed and I could not get the rust converter into them.
If they are fully sealed, how did they manage to rust on the inside .

Brazing scale.

 

[torqueless]

Just had a look - yes, 65. Didn't realise that was a thing in the past!
Does that mean I need a spacer to run a "modern" sealed bearing BB? If one can use the word "modern" when talking about a square taper.

Tbh I don't know. I'd think that with the 21st century resurgence of fixed/single speed, bottom brackets to fit 65mm shells are available? Track bikes used to have 65mm shells. I don't know if they still do.
Yeah don't worry about a bit of loose stuff in the top tube. Afaik it's actually a good sign, showing that the builder got enough brass in the joints for some of it come out the other end.

 

[M_Chavez]

If one of you spotted an idiot carrying a bicycle on a bicycle the other day, that was probably me.

After a few attempts I found a way to attach the frame to the bike like in the photo. Being very risk averse, I decided that there is no way it is safe to ride like this.
So I added two more cable ties, just to be on the safe side, and set off on a 30 mile trip.
The saddest thing about it was that this was by far the easiest way to transport the frame to the painters.
All went well until I got to the work's car park and tried a cyclocross dismount Thankfully, no damage was done to the frame.

Hopefully, no more issues will come up when the frame is stripped.

Re the bottom bracket - It's probably possible to buy a 65mm one, but when I have at least 3 spare standard BSA BBs rolling around the parts bin, it would be better to use what I have.

 

[M_Chavez]

Right, I'm getting closer to test riding the bojack.

Big thanks to everyone suggesting to get the paintjob done professionally. What a difference!

Swapped the bars for Randonneurs and opted for non-aero levers, but they end up being quite low - I might switch to a more modern design and change the bars angle.

Couldn't find anyone to fix the tube. Out of 5 places where I checked, 2 never got back to me, 2 frame builders came back with a one-liner "We don't do this type of work", and one non-bike place said they can give brazing it a go, but only as a last resort.
I figured I can do a CF wrap with about the same chance of success, so just got the frame powdercoated and wrapped the CF last night (12k tow. 2 meters wrapped around the damaged area, wetted with West System laminating epoxy).
Hopefully, the fix will work & last, but wtfdik.

 

[M_Chavez]

Perhaps, not what Bob had in mind when he was making the frame (was it still Bob making them in the 60s?), but I needed a bike to ride to work next week, and this is what I came up with.
Comfortable, seems to tick all the boxes.
I definitely can fit 28mm tyres instead of 25, and I might even be able to squeeze 32mm + guards in there (could be wishful thinking...).

Let's see how the first 100 miles go next week.

 

[M_Chavez]

Couldn't wait until tomorrow morning, so took the bike for a wee 10 mile spin tonight.
So far so good - please to say that my carbon fibre fix did not disintegrate [yet].

 

[M_Chavez]

Carrying panniers this morning.

 

[M_Chavez]

Having put a 100 miles on it over the last 48 hours, it's time for a quick review.
The frameset is in a different league to the alloy one that I was using up until now. More comfortable geometry, much more compliant frame&fork - the ride is noticeably smoother with 25mm tyres compared to alloy rolling on 35mm. Nice springy feel to the ride.
With the alloy frame I was usually really feeling the road buzz fatigue coming back home on day 2 (especially the last 15 miles or so), with every little bump in the road resonating with pain in my joints, back and neck. The road surface is pretty poor in places. The steel frameset seems to just swallow all that shaking.
The bike is heavy, which is not a problem when carrying panniers, but it's a bit slow to get rolling. Once it's rolling, it seems to power through gusts of headwind a bit easier than a lighter bike.

Is the bike much better than an alloy frame? Absolutely. I'm not putting my arse on a rigid alloy bike ever again. They are, surely, a work of the devil, brought into this world to make our existence even more miserable.
Is it better than my ti+cf summer bike? I regret to say this to all retro lovers, but no, the ti+cf combo seems to be even smoother, lighter and more responsive (albeit at 5-10x the price of a restored quality old steel frame, and would probably be wasted on a commuter bike with heavy rack & panniers).

For the bojack, I'm going to try and fit 32mm tyres to winter-proof the commuter.
The TSX Romani will probably get taken in for a re-spray and then go into the attic until I break my ti frameset.

PS Some pics from my commute (not exactly what comes to mind when most folks hear "commute")