Retro-modern fusion gravel build madness. The new Superb!

[Mickeyspinn]

There is great French expression usual about when things go bad they really go bad "Jamais deux sans trois" .

If two (bad) things have happened, there will be a third one going to happen.

@M_Chavez said he already abandoned two gravel projects, so drunk Francine here is on wafer thin ice in a heatwave.

That's so pessimistic !
3rd time lucky I say

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Positive attitude is goodWith the proviso it's French...

 

[Woz]

That's so pessimistic !
3rd time lucky I say

Hope it's not tooo pessimistic. By nature I'm an optimistic realist.

What I do think about this project is that it will not be "plug and play" like most retro-mods we know. There's a 70 year old gap and pre-ISO standards to bridge, so it's pretty ambitious. Don't get me wrong, the parts are thankfully still out there to do it, otherwise the frameset will need some fundamental modifications. It's funny in a way the industry did full circle and 650B got dusted off.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Hope it's not tooo pessimistic. By nature I'm an optimistic realist.

What I do think about this project is that it will not be "plug and play" like most retro-mods we know. There's a 70 year old gap and pre-ISO standards to bridge, so it's pretty ambitious. Don't get me wrong, the parts are thankfully still out there to do it, otherwise the frameset will need some fundamental modifications. It's funny in a way the industry did full circle and 650B got dusted off.

What he said, all of it.

 

[Mickeyspinn]

Hope it's not tooo pessimistic. By nature I'm an optimistic realist.

What I do think about this project is that it will not be "plug and play" like most retro-mods we know. There's a 70 year old gap and pre-ISO standards to bridge, so it's pretty ambitious. Don't get me wrong, the parts are thankfully still out there to do it, otherwise the frameset will need some fundamental modifications. It's funny in a way the industry did full circle and 650B got dusted off.

Ah optimist.....then you ruined it by saying realist
Agreed no plug and play here...cunning and simplicity are the buzz words. Headset,rear derailleur mount and bottom bracket are the head scratchers every thing else should be ok with little mods. Lots of potential for something really useable and just that little bit different....I approve

 

[M_Chavez]

So you've bonded then!

Last time I've really bonded with a bike frame I found it really hard to let it go.
Since then I always wear gloves when doing epoxy & carbon fibre repairs.

 

[M_Chavez]

The steel mystery is solved.
This is a special grade of acier du fromage.

I've cold set 2 rear triangles to date. One was spreading a 531db from 120 to 130, the other was straightening an accident-bent Columbus TSX.
The TSX in particular would take almost my entire weight when leveraged with a floorboard.

Give her age, I didn't know how keen Frannie would be to spread it for me, so I could shove a big fat axle into her rear, but the steel turned out to be so soft, that I overshot the 130 mark by about 8mm and had to tweak it back. The tubes bend just if you look at them the wrong way.
I guess in event of an accident, the bike will fold like an accordion, softening the impact on the rider.

 

[M_Chavez]

Bottle mounts are now installed. The seat tube steel seems a bit thicker than the downtube, so maybe it is some sort of butted tubing.
Common sense suggests that drilling a 70 year old frame is pure idiocy. The idiot inside my head wants to add two more bottle cages (under the DT and on the top tube perhaps) and them triple mounting points on the fork blades. Have no clue what they are for, but all the cool kids on multi £k adventure bikes seem to have them, with nothing attached to them usually. Also a couple mounting points on seat stays for the rack, even though I have no intention of putting a rack on this bike.

Anyway, while not quite plug & play, the frame is getting to where I want it.
- She's accepting modern hubs now
- bottle mounts installed
- I've chased the BB threads (not owning a 35x1 tap, I've borrowed a steel campy cup from a pal), so it's now nice & clean.
- I figured out the headset requirements, albeit I'm yet to assemble a headset that fits.
- Quill adapter arriving today and it's only 0.2mm of sanding away from fitting into the fork.
- Geometry confirmed as very close to what I was looking for.

Being an optimist and overflowing with positive vibes, I suspect that I'll get the bike together no problem. The frame will then crack as soon as I sit on it and ride a couple miles.

And yes, STIs. While I'm drooling over buying a campy set, I think I'll have to settle for microshifts for now.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/campag-and-dura-ace-french-threaded-headsets.414942/

 

[Woz]

@M_Chavez - Steaming full speed ahead there!

You sound like a Top Class RB wrencher who can pull this project off. It's full on doom or glory now - no in-between half arse stuff!