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BMX General => BMX Chat => Topic started by: Chilli Rinse on July 28, 2020, 02:21 PM
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Hi guys,
So last year I bought a complete French bmx made by Bernard Dangre. I hadn't heard of the brand but it turns out they hand built road frames and bikes to order and larger runs in the 70s & 80s. By looking at the serial number I reckon mine is an 82. So whilst cleaning it up and trying to get it rolling I've discovered a few interesting features on the bike.
1. Everything is French threaded for road bikes, pedals, euro bottom bracket, forks and headset (can't get a standard stem in)
2. The seat post tube takes a 25.something post (seems large for an early bmx)
3. The lower chain stays are oversized.
4. It has holes for internal cabling to the rear brake.
I know it's not the find of the century but it's kinda quirky. Does anybody know of any of these features on other early 80s BMX's? Any other European manufacturers known to do this. Do some mini BMX's use these smaller headsets and fork steerers? The ones on it are bent and need options if I'm keeping it. The components could be called lower end but with a few upgrades it could be a nice bike. It has Rigida Superchromix 20x2.125 rims with Michelin bicross tyres on New Star hubs and chromed Nervar 3 piece cottered crank. The normal chromed bars with flattened ends of the cross bar and minging skinny steel calipers and levers along with steel rat traps. My plan was to upgrade the wheels, bars, stem, brakes and crank, thought she would look cool then. What are your thoughts guys, worth the effort for something different or move it on ?
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Interesting features indeed mate. Any pics of the full frame ? :)
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Coming soon fistblump
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Here's a few pics
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Looks cool to me. :)
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Yeah looks cool - something different indeed. Shame the tyres aren't skin or gum wall - not a fan of full colour tyres unless it's all black 70's tyres personally. Reckon she'd look sweet with a pair of blue cheng shin comp III's or snakebellies :coolsmiley:
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Interesting indeed. Is the photo angle or are the forks slightly bend?
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:LolLolLolLol: yup, mentioned above. The wheel sits over to one side in the forks too. I've tried other forks but they don't work with the small road headset >:D
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I like it! Definitely worth the effort in my book, as it's always nice to see something different plus this has some interesting features. Vive la difference! :daumenhoch:
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Turn wheel 180 degrees n ride into a wall n then tweek with long socket bars on wheel nuts to align legs, I'm sure this is how the experts do it ;)
I like different, it's quite cool :daumenhoch:
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I've decided to keep her so I got a few bits for the build. This will be a slow one though. Keeping all parts French and European where possible with a nod to the road bike link of the company.
Stronglight 93 crank and caps from a 49d, Stronglight alloy seat post. Most likely will go with a Weinmann brake set up and possibly a Cinelli Unicantor or Selle Turbo saddle.
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Liking the parts selection so far :popcorn:
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After another sleepless night and a late night search meant I found these bars for the build. French made CW style crmo Belleri, nos with marks and original price sticker. Taller than the og bars, should look cool.
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As this looks like it's a resto thread now, it?d be cool if a nice Radmin could move it over to the tech and resto section fistblump
Thanks
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I wanted a different seat post clamp and went for a Landar. The original has crimped the tube a tad. Made in the Republic of China but for an English company, so it works with the European theme for me. Not too many 80's 28.6 clamps to choose from either fistblump
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I couldn't resist this piece of the puzzle. 1982 to 1984 (if my research is right) French threaded Stronglight Competition V4 headset. I'll probably be looking for a Stronglight bottom bracket soon.
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Cool :coolsmiley:
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Glad you kept it, and like the direction you're going in! :daumenhoch:
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I'm looking at these grips but can't decide. Both are Plastiche Cassano and work with the Euro theme and og tricolor colour scheme. What are your thoughts chaps ? I like the cam knock offs and the Supercross are kinda oddball.
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Well for me it's the blue grips - I was already feeling the blue vibe on this bike with the decals and pads and then you added the blue seat clamp to the mix so I'm hoping for an overall blue vibe against the white :popcorn:
Not really a fan of those white grips sorry Toby mate :-\
Did you decide what you are going to do with the tyres ? I reckon she'd look ace with a set of gum/skin wall blue tyres :coolsmiley:
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I like the blue too John and will most likely go with them, just wanted to show you guys what I was considering and get an opinion or two. As for tyres, I'm hoping to snag some Michelin Cobras 🐍 in blue, it's a waiting game on those. If I don't end up with those I'll defo go down your route. Fingers crossed on the Cobras, French bike rolling on French tyres... cool 😎
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Blue Cassano's purchased explosion
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Nice one mate, and yes blue cobras would look ace :coolsmiley:
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These have been on the radar for a while. Not cheap though, rubber Cinelli cable guides. The og cable was badly worn where it enters and exits the frame so they're a must for me. Another piece of the puzzle sorted.
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:LolLolLolLol: yup, mentioned above. The wheel sits over to one side in the forks too. I've tried other forks but they don't work with the small road headset >:D
Hi Toby,
Sorry being slow with my 'keeping up to date with things' at the moment, but had been meaning to cycle back around to this thread.
:LolLolLolLol: sorry for missing your obvious original comments and queries on the forks-headset situation, serves me right for reading the post too quickly in the first place :idiot2:
And loving how the build is progressing, definitely agree with the blue theme, grips and tyres etc., and will now definitely stay away from a cheeky bid on those Cobras in my Watch List (fingers crossed they're yours by Thursday night) :daumenhoch:
Re the headset, I'm assuming it's not only the headset tube diameter that's an issue but also the thread size? i.e. Steerer diameter 30.2mm vs 32.7mm coupled with the fact that the french thread forks metric rather than imperially, i.e. bmx typically 24TPI where as french road bikes were 25mmx1.0mm pitch if I remember correctly.
I did quite a bit of reading into this when working out head sets for the Changa. VDC also used the road bike diameter sizing, but the more common (over here at least) british threading. Which means, you have to run the 30.2mm diameter, or 30.0mm to be absolutely precise, but can stick with conventional BMX forks because the british road bike headsets still have a 24TPI thread size.
So, might take a bit of final checking etc. i.e. confirming correct stack height and top nut inner diameter etc. and do get sure with those measurements checked (cheap micrometer is worth its weight for this), because there are two variants (30.0mm and 30.2mm steerer ID and something like top nut id's of 21.1mm and 22.2mm) but I'd put money on you being able to run with something like this
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tange-Seiki-Levin-CDS-Threaded-Headset-C-P-in-Silver-1/133511212931?epid=11030407308&hash=item1f15e36f83:g:86wAAOSwgVZfUq6V
and then finding some suitable replacement standard BMX forks.
Or, if you want to spend top money, and keep it a bit more euro centric go for one of these (or similar):
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Campagnolo-Record-Early-C-Steel-Headset-Italian-threaded-Excellent/264476386804?hash=item3d940565f4:g:Lr0AAOSwIhhdiiIo
(I went the Tange route, cracking head set for little money)
FYI, Italian thread sizes are same as British, it's just the damn French that had to be different. Great web site here for working it all out:
https://sheldonbrown.com/cribsheet-headsets.html
but basically a British or Italian road bike headset should sort you out for putting std bmx forks on the build. :daumenhoch:
HTHs :daumenhoch:
And keep up with the updates, cracking & different project that I'm sure a few of us are following with interest :popcorn:
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And keep up with the updates, cracking & different project that I'm sure a few of us are following with interest :popcorn:
Indeed we are! A good choice with the blue grips too! :daumenhoch:
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:LolLolLolLol: yup, mentioned above. The wheel sits over to one side in the forks too. I've tried other forks but they don't work with the small road headset >:D
Hi Toby,
Sorry being slow with my 'keeping up to date with things' at the moment, but had been meaning to cycle back around to this thread.
Hi Pete,
Thanks for taking the time to post the info you shared, great stuff there and links too, top man. I did purchase the Stronglight headset on impulse and may be a bit too optimistic about saving the forks but that is plan A. I did have doubts about compatibility so after work I stripped the og headset off of the bike and luckily all is good, even the id of the fork crown race. Stack height looks good too so that's a relief. I thought the fork steerer was bent and that was possibly why the stem shaft wasn't inserting fully. After checking out your Sheldon Brown link and noticing that bmx steerer id was 1.1 smaller than road bike steerers I took another look. After a bit of a quick clean of the fork steerer the stem shaft did insert fully so checked the fork blades and they are definitely where all the bend is. So, salvageable but time will tell if they're keepers. I do have some forks to use if the og's have to go and go with a British threaded headset. I toyed with the idea of Campagnolo for the bb and headset but maybe that would be pushing the boat out too far on this build. The cost of this build is already rising too much for my liking but hopefully the end product will be worth it.
Those Cobras have a lot of interest but I thank you for standing down on those Pete. I hope all other Radsters take your lead and give me a chance on them :LolLolLolLol:
I'll be posting a pic of the pedals I'll most likely be using very soon. I hope you guys will approve... they're Italian but not Campy ;)
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And keep up with the updates, cracking & different project that I'm sure a few of us are following with interest :popcorn:
Indeed we are! A good choice with the blue grips too! :daumenhoch:
Cheers Mick, nice to hear. Now the pressure is on :LolLolLolLol:
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Not too many choices for decent bmx specific pedals so it looks like these are a no brainer for this build.
Ofmega 9650 BMX :coolsmiley:
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Hey Toby,
No worries matey, and pedals are awesome for the build :daumenhoch:
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Nice pedals Toby :coolsmiley:
You got the rest of that catalogue you could share mate ? :)
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I've added the link to Catalogs in the Tech and Resto section John. I think that's the only BMX page though :daumenhoch:
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I've added the link to Catalogs in the Tech and Resto section John. I think that's the only BMX page though :daumenhoch:
Nice one :daumenhoch:
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The pedals pictured above have been acquired :daumenhoch:
The Cobras got grabbed by somebody else because something was going down at work and I hadn't entered my final high bid :tickedoff:
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The pedals pictured above have been acquired :daumenhoch:
The Cobras got grabbed by somebody else because something was going down at work and I hadn't entered my final high bid :tickedoff:
Gutted for you regards the tyres, but awesome news on the peds :daumenhoch:
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The pedals pictured above have been acquired :daumenhoch:
The Cobras got grabbed by somebody else because something was going down at work and I hadn't entered my final high bid :tickedoff:
Gutted for you regards the tyres, but awesome news on the peds :daumenhoch:
Cheers dude, the pedals are not that common so I had to get them. Tyres, gutted but there are others I can use and wait for the right ones to turn up 👍🏼
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Shame about the tyres mate but I'm sure something will pop up for ya :daumenhoch:
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A few weeks ago I popped in to see mum and dad, my dad says he's found some bmx forks whilst having a tidy up in the garage. He hands me some Tange TX 1200 with some patina and og decals. Cheers dad, nice one I say. When I got home after a little elbow grease they look quite decent, just a few battle scars but nothing too serious. So I thought to save time and trying to straighten the poor quality og Dangre forks with French threads, I can fit the Tange and run a road head set with British threading as suggested by Pete. I know I wanted all European parts but I'm thinking quite a few European BMX bikes used the Tange forks, so why not. So now the lovely Stronglight head set with French threads is redundant and I needed to find something else. I ended up buying a nos Cambio Rino competition steel head set, 80's made in Italy, decent quality from what I found with a couple of searches. 26.4 crown race and the stack height should be fine. So a change of plan but one for the better I think.
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Result on the Tange and the headset looks nice :daumenhoch:
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Result on the Tange and the headset looks nice :daumenhoch:
Yeah, a nice surprise from my dad. I prefer the Stronglight but needs must, if an English threaded one comes up I'll probably grab it. I cannot spend over a ton for a nice campy head set on this build. The Rino looks decent enough for now.
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That Rino looks like a great little headset, good find Toby :4_17_5:
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That Rino looks like a great little headset, good find Toby :4_17_5:
Cheers Pete, she's slowly coming together :daumenhoch:
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Parts update...
Two are in the bag, made an offer on the caliper and waiting for response.
No frills nos Clark's Power Glide cable in a nice dark blue. It's a front but will hopefully have enough of the outer to use if I use another colour on the section in the frame.
Nice used Weinmann lever dated 83.
Very nice nos Altenburger Brilliant rear ... fingers crossed 🤞🏼
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My offer on the caliper was excepted. Brakes sorted :coolsmiley: explosion
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Nice one :daumenhoch:
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Not the stem I wanted but I just bought this nos German made Friko stem. I overlooked a nice Selle Royal stem on eBay, tried to find it again and it has been bought or the listing has ended Thumbs down I might keep this one gold or strip it. It is a bit different so I guess it suits this build.
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I managed to grab some blue Michelin Cobra's tonight. Just need the right bottom bracket and she's almost ready to build
explosion
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So I was not feeling the og blue razorblade saddle, so I decided to go with a reissue Cinelli CMX. I have only seen a few blue Selle Turbo's and they are about 200 quid. I cannot find any blue San Marco Supercorsa's either. So I guess the choice was made for me.
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Last update before the build in the new year...
A blue anodized wheelset popped up for sale on the bay. They were listed as Raleigh but I thought they looked like Ambrosio rims on unknown hubs. They arrived today and are indeed Ambrosio laced to some chrome BH hubs. Not the blue Weinmann I really wanted but a decent enough rim on a not so decent hub. They need work and have scars but they work with the euro theme so I will go with them for now.
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What a nice collection of parts for her mate. Great work !
Ambrosio rims are cool... got a set myself 8)
Looking forward to seeing her come together :daumenhoch:
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What a nice collection of parts for her mate. Great work !
Ambrosio rims are cool... got a set myself 8)
Looking forward to seeing her come together :daumenhoch:
Thanks John, not your usual assortment of parts but probably one or two shades of blue too many :LolLolLolLol: Yes I agree, I think the Ambrosio are cool too. These will need new spokes I reckon. I also have a set in red and was thinking of using them but then the blue ones popped up, sorted. The hubs should clean up well too. Although there are some nos Maillard in blue listed on eBay, maybe I might crack :LolLolLolLol:
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A bit of new activity on this build !
A while back I bagged a lovely nos Regina 16 T freewheel to add to the parts pile :daumenhoch:
Update on the bottom bracket soon.
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Cool :popcorn:
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Okay, so I read through the thread again and realised I wasn't happy with the saddle. I liked the idea of a Selle Turbo I had mentioned early in the thread. Then I found a decent one on eBay, so I went for it. It may need a little work but I think it's bloody cool. It's a 1991 and it's blue, and it was very reasonable price wise. I'm chuffed :daumenhoch:
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I scored a nice nos 23mm Stronglight crank extractor tool earlier in the week. This means I can do a dry fit to see if my bb spindle gives my crank arms clearance on the stays. It's going to be close but I can now take the arms off again properly.
fistblump
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Nice one :)
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Just catching up on some threads (I know, I'm useless ;D). Great to see she's coming together Toby, and you got the tyres finally - nice one.
Any updates bud, or you into rust nowadays :LolLolLolLol: :popcorn:
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No updates Pete, I decided to do a few quick and cheap build projects to change it up a little. Rust, yeah for one build only, thought it would be fun and a bit different. Back on this build in the new year. I hope you get back on track with your builds when things calm down for you. There's been a big hole on :radbmxsmilie: without your Changa updates.
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A nice little early birthday present from the wife. 122 bcd Stronglight 44t chainring to add to the parts pile. It's the right one for the crankset being used. eBay bargain !
:daumenhoch: