Project "Not Quite Eroica..."
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yeah - definitely some proper alloy "quill" pedals for a bike of that style - it's not quite "full on touring" to go for complete platform pedals, not "nutcase racer" enough to be looking at aero style things like on my Raleigh...
something like these - maybe with toeclips and straps like these...
(get the right size of toeclips, they're dependent on shoe size as you'd expect...)1 -
Well - I took the oldie for a spin earlier today... Just a short Shakedown Spin Really.
And, well, it wasn't as bad as I'd feared, but sadly, neither was it quite as nice as I'd remembered.
Wasn't helped that the seat and handlebars were slightly non-aligned (problems of building a bike in a workstand and only viewing it from one side rather than from both, and from above...
Quickly remembered how the toe-clips worked - aided by the really well balanced Campag pedals - but really, the main issue wasn't the "plan ahead" gearchanges or the really skinny feeling brake levers, bars and hoods, it was quite simply that the stem was too short - the current stem was on the bike in time-trial form (so shorter to the 'bullhorn bars', and then a pair of tri-bars out front to stretch into) - it's only 8.5cm centre to centre.
I currently ride with an 11cm stem, on a frame with an effective top tube of 58.5cm, same as the Raleigh - but the new bikes seatpin has about 1cm longer "layback" than the old one, so I'm looking at a stem around 12cm long to get my current position dialed in. I used to ride with a 11cm stem BITD for road-racing, so I've not changed much in terms of flexibility etc. since my early 20's - good to know.
Just decided on a little retail therapy, and found myself a set of the Cinelli "reproductions" of the classic 1A stem and model 64 "Giro d'Italia" bars... They look pretty much identical, made using the same forging tools and so forth - but with slightly more modern alloys (an especially "good thing" for the 'bars, as the old ones now don't pass current regulations for safety...) I must admit, the aspect of buying "old handlebars" - especially ones that are 30 year old and had probably been sent down the road god only knows how many times wasn't something I was happy with - indeed the amount of flex in the steering and in the current 'bars themselves was something that left me slightly uneasy... Frankly, a 1" steerer, quill stem , and 25.6mm handlebars aren't exactly confidence inspiring compared to modern "cockpit technology" anyway - though they're actually perfectly fine IF they're in good condition...
This renovation is turning out to be a slightly more expensive deal than I initially planned...
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My commuter is a 1986 Trek 560. I think about 75% is original. Not the wheels, saddle or cassette. Since I am only 5 ft. tall the frame has always been a bit too large for me. When I can replace it with a smaller frame I'm going to hang this one in the den as art.
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Looks like a well kept beaut, they were built to last.1
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PLEASE tell me that that steerer is one of those "nitto" High rise jobs, and that there's still a good 2-3" of the stem inside the steerer... it looks absolutely TERRIFYING to me - having seen stems fail when they've been AT the minimum insert line, having that kind of leverage on a quill steerer gave me nightmares last night...
The rest of the bike is beautiful - really small frames bikes are difficult to get right for so many reasons - especially lugged construction ones - it almost looks like the head lugs are a single unit on that frame - any chance of a picture showing the head-tube from the side - basically like picture 4, but a little further forward ??
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The stem is odd looking due to trying to make the bike a better fit for my aging(55 yr old) body and my small stature, 5 ft. (1.52 meters). It was done by one of our local 'fit' guys. so, I'm pretty sure it's safe. Your concern does give me pause though. Here's the pic0
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Odd stem is due to adapting the frame to my aging (55 yr old) body and small stature, 5 ft. (4.5 m.) It was done by one of our well respected local 'fit' guys. So, I'm fairly sure it's safe. Does this pic work?
Cheers,
Sarah
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that mark at the front of the stem, next to the headset looks very much like the "minimum insert mark" - however, in fairness, the really long stems tend to have slightly longer "insert" sections than the normal length ones - and frankly, i'd put money on the fact that the stem simply will not go down any further than it's in at the moment, because the bottom of the stem is touching the brake-bolt!
I do love the one-piece head-lug though - thought it'd likely have to be a custom lug to cope with such a tiny head-tube. You can see why modern frames tend to go "sloping top tube" and a longer headtube can't you...
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amazing, related but not quite "bike bit" latest Ebay find. Was searching for the maker of my old time-trialling cycling shoes "Jolly" and found someone who was selling an original set of the non-clipless pedal shoe-plates that came with the shoes... For those who don't quite understand, before clipless pedals, we had toe-clips and straps - and for the REALLY serious people, there were shoe-plates that generally were metal plates with a soft metal (either phosphor bronze or lead-alloy) "gully" attached - this went either side of the back plate of the pedal, to keep your foot aligned in the preferred position. This was why some clipless pedals originally were touted as being "good for your knees" because they allowed "float" side to side.
Anyhow - my old TT shoes were, very much like the project 1989 bike, a bit of a crossover between old-school (as in the "eroica" type bikes - 6 speed, non indexed, exposed brake cables, normal pedals clips and straps) and the new (7+ speed, indexed gears - including fledgling STI bar shifters on Dura-Ace of the era, and the first generation clipless Look pedals) - so - they had fibreglass soles, with steel reinforcement to remove any hint of flex - and were drilled for 3 bolt Look cleats. BUT, they also had their own custom plastic "shoeplate" for standard pedals. I remember having them on when I first bought the shoes, and thought they were brilliant, but eventually decided to try the new fangled "clipless" pedals - strangely enough - it was for winter riding I decided to go that way, as the lack of straps around the toes helped keep your feet warm!
Couldn't believe it when a BNIB set of the plates popped up in my search on ebay for the shoes... Wasn't even thinking of buying anything shoe-related TBH - I just wondered what had happened in the on-going development of the make's products, or - if they'd just disappeared without trace... Had to pop for the plates though, £4.99 worth of nostalgia if nothing else
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sometimes, it's all about the little details...
Sometimes, it's all about the little details #cinelli #project1989 #classic by The Big Yin, on Flickr
classic Anodised Metal Capped Handlebar end plugs. Cinelli Milano, to match the Giro d'Italia bars, naturally...
Can't believe I've managed to keep away from B&W all this way through...
Finishing Touches #cinelli #project1989 #classic #raleigh #reynolds531c #reynolds531 #steelisreal by The Big Yin, on Flickr
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Another update...
Managed to get lucky via fleabay... £35 for a pair of wheels, hardly used by the look of them, Mavic MA3 rims (nice and "low profile" - slight "shoulder" rather than just a flat "top" to the rim like their predecessors the MA2 - but certainly much less deep than the Fulcrum R5's or most modern rims) - 32h, and a pair of (very non-period) Tiagra hubs. Best I can say about them is that they're silver, small flange, and after a little service, the bearings run nice and smooth. With the Clement's fitted, they certainly look the part though - I'll try and get some pictures at some point to show this.
Oh - and I managed to actually get out and ride the bike on Sunday. A whole 10 miles or more.
And what did I learn from this experience...
1) Non STI brake levers are REALLY narrow across the hoods.
2) Downtube shifting takes ages, and I found myself pre-planning when I needed to shift gears.
3) when you forget 2) and press on the side of the brake lever, it doesn't work, and you feel a twatt.
4) my position on the bike has definitely changed quite a bit from what I used to be happy with - surprisingly, it's not the "more comfort oriented" changes you'd expect in near 30 years - I actually ride with the saddle higher and set back more, bars lower and brake hoods higher on the bars. I think that the bar height is mainly because these days I ride "on the tops" more, whereas BITD I'd spend lots of time on the drops - so if the bars were higher overall, getting into the drops would have been easier, especially to keep there for a hour at a time...
5) and here's the big problem... The pedals. Or more particularly, the toe-clips and straps. The Pedals are lovely, jewel like things, as are the original clips and straps. Problem is, they're actually too small... I've remembered why I had a pristine set of the clips and straps... because they didn't fit my feet. BITD I got hold of some "normal" clips and made myself some clips to suit my size 10.5's - why? because, even then, the Campag custom ones were about £45. Still are actually - but anything other than small or medium are rarer than chicken lips. I tried riding with the medium's as fitted, but they were actually getting painful by the end of the 10 miles or so - even after a rest stop they were still hurting. Worse still - the shoes I needed to wear for those pedals won't take the orthotics I need to stop my hip playing up. And, even with less than 10 miles ridden, I'm still in pain from the hip this morning. So - I'll find some cheap "large" toeclips on fleabay, and get to work with the vice, hammer, and dremel... Probably pick up some longer, leather, toeclip straps as well - BUT - those measures will be kept purely for "special events" - where clipless pedals are outlawed. For normal riding, I'm sticking a pair of Shimano SPD Road pedals on there, and I'll ride in my normal comfortable Sidi's...
(there is actually a precedent here, as to be honest, by 1989 I had already gone over to the SPD-6401 "look compatible" shimano clipless pedals - the whole "Victory/Triumph Campag combo was kit i'd had since 1985 or so... though, IIRC the reason I went over to clipless was more about not getting cold-toes in winter!)
I always said that this project was about getting the bike to be a "proper working bike" not a concours museum piece... and, putting SPD's on it is going to make it much more likely that I'll ride it more, and for longer. Even if they just don't really look as pretty
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You know I wondered about sticking SPDs on mine, I think if I'm to ride it more then the odd occasion then I might be tempted.0
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and a final "beauty shot" to round things off...
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