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Technical & Reference Section => Tech and Restoration => Topic started by: dinglem on April 30, 2016, 08:21 AM
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Finally got my hands on one after years of hunting... one of only 4 known examples. This is serial number 091 in what appears to be original pearl white paint. The geometry is very different to my Expert; longer top tube around 19inches, but it also joins the seatpost tube an inch lower, effectively angling the seatpost tube backwards further thus increasing the seat to bar distance considerably. The rear loops are therefore also much flatter.
I love it! I'll be retaining the original paint as it's not too bad (few very small chips) and I really like the pearl finish (MATRON!)
This completes my WHEELS set of Mini, Expert, Pro and Cruiser :coolsmiley:
The frame was part of the Dutch Team WHEELS branch, and was imported by bike dealer P.v. HOOF, so I have retained his dealer sticker. The head tube decal is a custom one I had made based on some original early decals given to me by the ex-team WHEELS manager.
I'll be building this as my steed for the charity London to Brighton ride in September.
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That's really nice Mart... looking forward to seeing a family photo. :daumenhoch:
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That's a beauty.
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Nice forks ;)
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It's lush is that mate... Can't wait to see it built up fistblump
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Ace stuff Mart, looks mint. 8)
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I'd been saving the forks for when I eventually found one of these frames. I've got everything I need to build it already - frame was the missing piece!
First build will be for the L2B ride though, so no carpet queen (initially).
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Great stuff :)
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"wantit" lovely,I know someone who'd kill for that lol ;) please post up pics as and when you piece it together :4_17_5: :daumenhoch:
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Lovely lovely lovely :smitten:
There have been some incredible finds popping up recently, this is one of my favourites :4_17_5:
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Yeah, this is the build I have been waiting for... Here's a few shots of the head tube decal, and a quick front wheel test fit.
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Very tidy that :daumenhoch:
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Excuse my French (or should that be Dutch?!) but bloodyhell that's nice!! :smitten:
Subscribed! :daumenhoch:
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Tasty! Loving that head tube decal :daumenhoch:
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Yes, huge thanks to Mike 'GRABONKID' for the epic decals. Such amazing quality - massively impressed!
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Yes, huge thanks to Mike 'GRABONKID' for the epic decals. Such amazing quality - massively impressed!
Well thanks Mart,though that sounds a bit overboard! :LolLolLolLol: I wasn't prompting bud but just found out recently a few people have been taking credit for my work & also Del is selling the Torker Pro X decals I designed for Rich's Targa on his site so I've got the needle a bit!
The frame looks Killer bud & the Bottemas on it are pure porn! :4_17_5:
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Well here's a thing. The TT length is 18.5inches, the exact same as the Expert model. The seatpost tube is also the exact same length. The only difference is that the TT joins the seatpost tube much lower, angling it backwards and dramatically increasing the seat to bar length as a result. I hadn't measured it until tonight, but I guess it's the most effective way to make big changes but using the same tube lengths. The geometry is vastly different as a result. I'm quite surprised...
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What is the length between the centre of the head tube to the centre of the seat post tube, C in the image below?
(http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/Geometry.jpg)
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From above as pictured it's 18.75inches.
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Lovely frameset. Be nice to see this built up. 8)
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From above as pictured it's 18.75inches.
Not too bad size wise and definitely old school!
Definitely one of my fav frames for it's uniqueness and style plus I have fond memories of my visits the Birmingham Wheels track, hanging out with and chatting to Andy Patterson on the concrete track and having him show me a few speed jumping moves and having a little jumping session with him!
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It will be interesting when I add a reasonably tall seatpost for the Brighton ride; I imagine with that seatpost tube angle it is going to be quite a way back. It's a clever way of producing a longer frame without adding extra tubing (and hence weight). I have been after a Pro for many years so I am well chuffed with this. Due to the size I am building it to ride rather than look at. When I was visiting the WHEELS track BITD one of their riders let me ride the track on his bike; I vividly remember it having red detailing and red Skyways, and since that day I have always thought I would end up recreating that ride. Can't recall who it was but I know Big Trev and Clint Matthews both raced on Skyways at certain times.
As well as my red Skyways I've got an unused pair of red Spencer rims :Great_Britain: and some nice hubs as a back up (might use both so one for 'best' and one to ride), and I have an original Tange 125 headset in red ready to fit, WHEELS race bars, a lightly polished Pat Pending Tuf Neck stem, black and white Akron grips, rare and long (180) Hanabishi OPC, black ACS Stoker pedals, red Shimano Dx seatpost, large (46T) black Yes! Racing chainring, red Jam Buttie flex fighter and clamp.... Lots already ready for the build. Function over form at this stage I think.
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...and of course the original black on white pads should look mega!
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Thought i'd add a few pics of the parts I have gathered for the Pro. These are mainly for the London to Brighton ride and I want to try to get this together as soon as I can so I can try it out with a few training runs and get it set up as best I can. I've gone for a black and white theme to go with the original pearl white paint, with red accents.
I have had the new 46T Yes! Racing chainring anno'd red, and I have also decided to use another ROE Whale tail chain tensioner on the drive side only - hoping this will alleviate any chain slippage issues during the ride. Last thing i'd want. I have these chain tensioners on a few of my other builds as I remember them from BITD, and I absolutely love them. I have had this anno'd to match the chainring. I also had an odd pair of Spencer rims (one blue, one gold) so I had those done at the same time :Great_Britain: Not sure whether these will be going on yet as I am seriously considering using skinnies for the ride to lessen roll resistance.
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I've managed to find an original Tange 125 headset, so that will be going on too.
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Seatpost is a Shimano DX item which was very rough when I got it, but it has now been polished up and looks great, and I have a red decal for that. Spider is a polished Bullseye item which has been drilled slightly to accept a OPC. I have sourced a rare 180mm Hanabishi crank for this build too. I am hoping the longer crank length and 46T chainring will work for me on such a long ride. Haven't decided on the freewheel size yet though.
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Seat post clamp and flex-fighter are red Jam Butties :daumenhoch:
I have had a very nice lightly polished 'Pat Pending' Tuf Neck stem sitting around for a while so that will be going on also.
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Bars are original WHEELS race items, and I have an original padset for it also.
(the top bars are brazed WHEELS Mini items which I have had rechromed at the same time).
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As I have on my National Pro in blue, I have hunted down a super-rare black and white pair of Akron grips for this. I just love the way they look.
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Pedals - well I have been hunting for a pair of ACS Stoker pedals for as long as I can remember, and trawling through the For Sale section on here a while back I found an old post advertising a black pair. I messaged the guy and the original sale had fallen through so I threw out and offer and got them. They're lovely - perfectly black. The end caps are missing but have been replaced by some reflective decals which I didn't like in the pictures, but having now seen them I have changed my mind as they are very very well made. For the ride at least they will be staying put.
These really are lush pedals.
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So that just leaves me thinking about brakes and a seat. I have a pair of red Tech-2's which I am considering. I have always been curious about them having never ridden with a pair before. I'll see whether they work with the WHEELS bars and see if I like the look/feel of them. I also need to make the final call on skinnies or regular sized rims and then select the calipers accordingly. People who have done the L2B before have advised fitting a front brake as well as the rear so I am going to go ahead with that I think.
Seat will most likely be something comfy considering the 54mile distance..... Might put and old school seat cover on it to maintain the overall look. I've also got a few Mirage race plates kicking about so one of those will be going on also, as well as perhaps a matching rear brake guard.
Hoping to get this all together in the next month or so - i'll be sure to post up some more pictures as it goes together.
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Love this thread/bike/build!!! I know exactly what you mean about Tech 2 levers and have just bought a pair for precisely the same reason.
For what it's worth I'd go for normal-sized rims over skinnies but that's just personal preference. In any case, can't wait to see the final result. :daumenhoch:
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I'm genuinely intrigued how the Tech-2's can possibly work!?
Thanks for the comments man - appreciated.
The skinnies (although I am rather partial to how they look) are just for the L2B ride as they are actually off my red WHEELS Mini build. I've got the 1.75 Spencers and a set of red Skyways to choose from for when I actually build it up after the ride. I was loaned a WHEELS bike bitd and rode the WHEELS track on it - it had red Skyways and I have never forgotten that bike; it was always my intention to recreate it. I will most likely build up both sets of wheels ready to bolt on and swap out depending on what I am doing on the bike.
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Well I managed to get this thrown together in the few days I had at home before coming back out to work again. The only thing I need to do is finish installing the brakes - I have gone for mixed black/white 901's as I had a set to hand. I will most likely switch them out for some red calipers after the L2B ride though.
The Hanabishi OPC turned out to be a bit of a nightmare as it appeared to have stripped threads when I initially tried to install it. The outer threads were ok but after a couple of turns it jammed up solid. Upon closer inspection the threads on the crank were mashed over a very small area so in the end to make it work I had to grind the very outer threads down (gently) and then cleaned them up thoroughly with a wire brush. I did this a bit at a time and eventually the threads cleared and I managed to get it installed correctly. The 46T Yes Racing chainring looks good, but quite large!
The ACS pedals went on fine, thankfully.
I have added my usual ROE Whale Tail (as per my other builds) but this one only has one on the drive side. It should totally eliminate any chain slip for the charity ride so there's a bit of reliability built in there.
I also picked up a Yes! Racing helmet which I am well chuffed about.
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Everything else seemed to go together fine. I took it up and down the road once together (without brakes!) and was amazed at how high the gearing felt. 46T/14T with a 180 length crank. The skinnies feel very quick on the road, but with their size and the long crank I was quite surprised how close my toes were to the front wheel when turning.
The Tech-2's are surprisingly comfortable to reach yet are completely out of the way when not trying to grab them. I always thought they looked odd and couldn't see how anybody would be able to reach them but they feel fine to grab when sat on the bike.
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As somebody else mentioned a while back I immediately thought the Shimano Dx seat post felt a little low for such a long ride, even though I have it at the maximum safe height setting. I have a very nice black UNI Graphite seatpost sat on the shelf so I am going to try that I think as I should be able to get a little extra height out of that and a little weight saving too.
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The entire thing is so light though - incredible.
The current saddle is a modern mountain bike effort for ride comfort, but does look utterly pish. It hurts my eyes just to look at it.
I was also worrying about using one of my original WHEELS padsets for the ride, as being white I didn't want to mark them up. Yesterday I came across a NOS set of black Oakley pads for sale for a steal, so I grabbed them and will try them on the build once they arrive. Big Trev used to use this same set bitd so they will be perfecto and being black they won't show any marks.
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When I get home again I will get the brakes on, switch the seat post and then try a few training rides to tweak the set up a little. I'm hoping the high gearing will mean I can keep up with the missus on her mountain bike, and the light weight and longer crank will mean I am ok on the hilly sections... I've been training on my SuperTUFF Burner until now, so this should feel feather-light in comparison.
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Doesn't matter how light you get it or how long your cranks are, you'll be pushing that bike up Ditchling Beacon :teef:
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Doesn't matter how light you get it or how long your cranks are, you'll be pushing that bike up Ditchling Beacon :teef:
I have a feeling you're right bud :(
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Well as I've posted on another thread my Carlisle Aggressor tyres (well the rear at least) has spontaneously erupted and failed on me, I think due to heat in the room above my garage.
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I've been sat here since worrying about a similar issue occurring during the ride itself, and as such I have decided to take the advice of JohnnyBoy and go for super-modern road tyres for this ride. I've gone for a pair of super-skinny 20 x 1 1/8 Schwalbe Durano's, with matching Schwalbe inner tubes. These babies are Kevlar lined and can be inflated to very high pressures, so hopefully lessening my rolling resistance a little. To justify the costs (money I could have donated to the charity we are riding for had I just gone for another pair of my OS skinnies) I sold a couple of sets of decals and an Ammaco-stamped chainring to clear my conscience. Bar a couple of nuggets that covered the tyre and inner-tube outlay.
In order to combat any slight gains this may provide I have also just offered to carry an AED defibrillator with me on the bike for the day ???
Seems only right to be carrying one seeing as that is the very reason we are doing the ride in the first place - feels like the correct and proper thing to do.
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Well i have switched tyres to modern kevlar lined Schwalbe Durano skinnies which roll FOREVER to ease my progress, and switched out the seat post to a UNI Graphite item from my stash to lift the seat height considerably.
We've made the paper already which is great for gaining a little more sponsorship and awareness fistblump
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Looks ace that!
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Nice one Mart. :4_17_5:
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Very nice that . :4_17_5:
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I'll be happier once the ride is complete so I can switch to a period-correct seat and tyres. It's turned out much as I'd hoped though and being a Pro is very comfy to ride as well. Gearing is great once wound up, and the entire thing is mega light weight. We'll see how I get on at the weekend!!
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Icing on the cake for me this weekend.... meeting Anto But and getting him to sign my Mirage race plate :daumenhoch: :Great_Britain:
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