Thorn Audax Mk1 refurb

[FiveAlpha]

Re: Re:

I think Thorn missed a trick there. They could have had a different Reynolds sticker on each tube

Or, just as Columbus renamed tubesets and combos for customers (Fondriest FMX, Merckx MXL), Reynolds could have created a 'custom set' for Thorn - Reynolds 7653108.

 

[Takingabreak]

or 858 for short

 

[zerogravitas]

Just snagged a lovely Mercian built Open Pro/Ultegra wheelset which are just the job for this build. I've set them up with some of the Rivendell/Panaracer Jack Brown Mile Munchers that PlanetX is now selling. Interesting looking tyres with a subtle checkerboard tread pattern. I went for 30c as this frame has bags of room...

With the wheelset sorted I couldn't resist doing a quick dry build of a few bits to see how it all hung together, and to measure up for a stem(I'm not using the ugly Mutant). All looks pretty well I think.



I have painting on the cards for next week so I found a little time last night to do a quick trace of the original graphics. They are nothing fancy but I like the purposeful chunkyness! Now to decide on colours...

 

[FiveAlpha]

I always liked the red and blue 853 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/186990228 ... 557355877/

(Not my bike or photo).

 

[zerogravitas]

With apologies to Daniel Rebour for my quick and dirty Photoshop butchery of one of his beautiful drawings... here is a quick concept for the direction I want to go with paint for this.



I'm also considering mudguards, either chromoplastics painted to match the frame, or something like Velo Orange's swish looking alloy guards. Wonder if they will be a little rattly though. Anyone with experience of them?

 

[howlindawg]

I'm also considering mudguards, either chromoplastics painted to match the frame, or something like Velo Orange's swish looking alloy guards. Wonder if they will be a little rattly though. Anyone with experience of them?

I think they sell leather washers that you can use during assembly to eliminate any rattle.

 

[EMpatology]

Always made me laugh, that Reynolds sticker - so many different tubesets.

Interesting that the top tube is 653, whilst the downtube is 531, finally putting to bed, one of the oldest internet myths/lies - that 653 was just 531 front triangle, and 753 rear triangle.

The myth is usually further 'bullsh*tted' with the story that Merckx requested 653 because 753 was too stiff! One - 753 is less stiff, because it is thinner; Two - 653 came out 12 years after Merckx retired.

The conclusions you've drawn seem a little hasty:
- Merckx (reportedly) asked for a Reynolds 653, but not when he was a professional cyclist (he used a Reynolds 753 frame and didn't complain about it), but only when he had his own factory and produced frames... Interesting but illogical story: Merckx only built R653 frames in 1988/1989, other manufacturers used 653 before him, some used longer (R753 was not stiffer, it was unrepairable - more expensive to use).
- The official version maintains that (as you rightly noticed) R653 is a "mix" of R531 and R753 (later 725 or 708 were used instead of 531). The trouble is that this is confirmed by Reynolds' employees and official company data (e.g. tube markings in the 1992 catalogue: in sets R708 and R653 the fork and rear triangle tubes are identical)
In my opinion, the case of R653 was even different: it was the tubes of the main triangle that were R753 and the remaining R531 (perhaps only in Merckx - that's why the frames 653 had chrome chainstays and 753 didn't, in any case until 1989).
Then the method of (heat?) treatment of 753 tubes was changed and "created" on their basis slightly modified version of R653 - in the same source (1992) the designations of the main triangle tubes R753 and R653 are very similar but different...
Merckx probably used these modified tubes since 1990 (in any case since that year the "impossible" chrome plating of R753 became a fact)
The "multiReynolds" sticker would rather confirm this story.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

[doctor-bond]

With apologies to Daniel Rebour for my quick and dirty Photoshop butchery of one of his beautiful drawings... here is a quick concept for the direction I want to go with paint for this.


I'm also considering mudguards, either chromoplastics painted to match the frame, or something like Velo Orange's swish looking alloy guards. Wonder if they will be a little rattly though. Anyone with experience of them?

Liking the look of this and a nice frame. Hammered alloy ‘guards would look sweet; the ones from VO do come with leather washers as per the previous post: I have VOs on my 26” shopping bike and they don’t rattle. Vintage french alloy guards also come up on the bay quite a lot, though they’re often 650b.

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

Going to be an elegant, functional bike. How did the rack mounts clean up with blasting?

 

[Chat Noir]

Re:

Always been intrigued by this frame with it’s mix of different tubes – will watch this build with interest.

To try and clarify things about 653 here's some info and a scan from what I believe is the 1988 Reynolds’ catalogue, although may be from the following year:

‘1987 Another first for Reynolds. The launch of 653. This tubeset was the first available to builders with variable strength tubes. These strengths are specially designed for the professional racer and 653 is a new concept in obtaining strength and stiffness where it is needed most in the frame geometry’ (variable strength technology was extended to the 708 and 731os tubesets, the latter of which was launched in 1992).

This page from the same catalogue shows 753 and 653 (and 531 Competition). It also has seat post size recommendations: notwithstanding Reynolds’ recommendations my metric Peugeot 753s and 653 all take 26.8 seatposts :facepalm: .

Good luck.