MKM 531SL from 1985

I thought I would "out" this here before trying/having to sell it.

This frame was originally bought in 1985 from Stanley McBride over in Merseyside who took on the MKM name and business from Adam Hill after his ill-fated attempt to revive his frame building business. The MKM history is documented here:

http://www.mkm-cycles.co.uk/history.html

It was my first "hand made" frame bought to replace my much missed Raleigh Competition someone nicked. Made from 531 Special Lightweight and painted in a fantastic metallic white with orange lug lining and gold transfers it looked the biz until a clumsy landlord spilled creosote over it in the garage!

Here's a scan of a rather blurry old 'photo:




In the 90s it was re-sprayed a dark green which it still sports today. I built it up a while back with a view to racing again in Cammish's Old Skool TT series but I never got around to it and now the series has died a death. BITD I never had a "time trial" bike even though that was all I ever rode so the rebuild was an opportunity to make a bike purpose built for flat courses using some of my favourite parts.

One thing has puzzled me lately and that is 531SL was discontinued in 1983 so how come my frame was made 2 years later in that tubing? This combined with the frame number of A81.40 makes me wonder if it was an old frame that Stanley got as part of the stock when he bought the business rather than one built in 1985 using old tubing lying around.

Anyway here are some pics of the current build.







Replacement original 531SL fork decal which I thought was a seat tube one when I bought it . I'll probably get some vinyl ones off eBay from that chap in Australia or H Lloyd. The Wagner/Vagner fork crown was "breathed on" by Stanley for aero reasons presumably.



Gipiemme "no window" dropouts on the rear end are again more aero than standard.

The spec is as follows:

Frame: Reynolds 531SL with Prugnat? lugs and Gipiemme dropouts

Fork: Reynolds 531SL with Wagner/Vagner crown and Gipiemme dropouts

Headset: Tange Passage - new
Stem: Cinelli 1A 12cm - original
Handlebar: Cinelli Top64 Ergo - with cable grooves
Bar Tape: Deda - new

Brake Levers/Brifters: Dia Compe Aero Gran Compe - NOS hoods
Brake Calipers: Dia Compe Aero Gran Compe
Brake Pads: Dia Compe - original
Brake Cables: Clarks - new

Shifters: Suntour Micro Ratchet - original faves from the 80s
Front Derailleur: None
Rear Derailleur: Suntour Cyclone 7000 - always had a soft spot for Suntour mechs
Derailleur Cables: Campag
Cassette: Suntour Ultra 6 13-18 - original top freewheel
Chain: Sedis
Cranks: TA
Chainrings: 50T single from triple set
Bottom Bracket: TA double - single was too short
Pedals: None

Rims: FiR Isidis tubular - great rims lighter than GP4 but strong
Hubs: Mavic 500 - superb hubs
Hub Skewers: Mavic
Nipples: Yep, brass ones
Spokes: Double butted stainless 3x front and rear
Tyres: Vittoria CX tubs
Tubes:

Saddle: Turbo Super
Seatpost: El cheapo from my MTB!
Seatpost Binder: Gipiemme allen key fitting

Bottle Cage: None
Extras:

Weight: As pictured 8.6kg or 18lb 15oz

Bit of a rambling post so apologies for that. It will have to be sold so this is it's epitaph for me really. I do wonder if it has much appeal as it is a bit of a mish-mash. What do you guys think?

Mark.

I think lush

Lovely, that ticks all the boxes for me.

That's great Mark. You've kept very quiet about it, why not actually use it for its intended purpose?

Old Ned":1w94izq6 said:

That's great Mark. You've kept very quiet about it, why not actually use it for its intended purpose?

Click to expand...

Fear of failure is a powerful deterrent. Despite my promise to sell it I might hang on to it until next year when you can drag me along to a 10 on the old A1. I'll need the support of a fellow retro-biker at a modern TT.

Mark.

daccordimark":78k539uz said:

Old Ned":78k539uz said:

That's great Mark. You've kept very quiet about it, why not actually use it for its intended purpose?

Click to expand...

Fear of failure is a powerful deterrent. Despite my promise to sell it I might hang on to it until next year when you can drag me along to a 10 on the old A1. I'll need the support of a fellow retro-biker at a modern TT.

Mark.

Click to expand...

Don't you dare sell it! We need some more RB'ers having a go. Why not later this year? Give you something to improve on for next year.

yes dont sell the bike its a realy nice bike, love the chainset it looks just right. Don't know about the rear gears though you must be quite fit to cope with them.
Ian.

Lovely bike there, nice and simple looking frameset wise

As has been said though, looks like hard work with that gearing would be a laugh on Sheffield's hills...

You're dead right about that gearing, I wouldn't get much more than about 3 miles down the road from my house with a 50/18 bottom gear. As for getting back up the hill afterwards it would be impossible! I haven't ridden it since the build as it was specifically designed for time trials on flatter courses and I haven't entered any yet.

I'm tempted to put the 40t inner ring on for a quick spin "round the block".

Mark.

Are you going to ride it on Tuesday?

I see you've decided to have a go

EDIT - sorry - Wednesday :roll: