Kelly KAS Vitus Carbone update

Thought I'd post a new thread on this as its had a few updates since the original post
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=277633 and its now got the correct 23.0mm Rubis seatpost. You can't imagine how hard it is to find one of these unless you part with £120 to an american! Thanks to Latman he sold me the post in used condition minus the bottom cradle so I bought a cheap rubis seatpost of the wrong diameter for just that part. A rub down with wet and dry followed by fresh black paint and a polish and it looks great. I sold my Mavic SSC pedals and clips/straps and got the same era look Mavic pedals and got a pair of Mavic SSC's on C-record with a dura ace 7 speed 13-24 freewheel from a mate for £40. Now it fits me perfectly and the layback on the seatpost gives me the correct reach. Overall this rides very well and weighs in a shade over 19lbs, not bad for an eighties bike. Also on my travels i picked up a NOS Reydel pro saddle in yellow, these are almost never seen and very rare. Kelly always rode the Reydel Pro not GTI, so I have to decide if I get it coloured black and as the lettering is embossed in the leather it could be painted in white, could it work with the yellow one? I also have the Mavic sealed headset (the smooth one not the slotted older version) that I'll fit soon. Obsessive yes but the journey has been great with this build and fits my era and respect for the great man. Time to ride the classics are upon us

Now that is a cracking bike! (not literally I hope :shock:)

I think the yellow saddle would work OK - being new I think it would be a shame to change the colour.

And didn't Kelly always ride with clips and straps? If the pedals aren't exactly what he rode, then there's no need for the saddle to be

Very very nice build though!

Looking good, SSC rims are the final piece of the jigsaw i'd suggest.

Personally i'd just chuck the new Reydel on, but I understand your obsession to get it a close as possible to an original. That said, the hubs could be construed as a bone of contention perhaps?

Regardless, a super bike all round.

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The yellow Reydel is on

Any pics then DD?

How does the rear mech cope across a 7 speed block & what freewheel range are you using? Notice your blue one had a 6 speed block but you've gone 7 on the carbone.

There are lots of pictures on this post did you mean with the saddle? It's got SSC rims but I couldn't bear to strip the wheels off the CRecord hubs, my mate sold them to me for £40 bargain! They also had a 7 speed dura ace freewheel which runs very smoothly. 13-24 the only issue is that the rear mechs were only designed for a 21 so I have to put thread weld on the hanger so it doesn't pull the jockey wheels onto the bottom sprocket. Setting the saddle back has made a real difference to the handling as the post has more layback, feels very much like a modern bike now albeit with narrow hoods. Gear change is super smooth wish it would stop raining here

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Yep, with the saddle - just for completeness of your thread
£40 = deal of the week!!
Only 21 - didn't realise they had a fairly limited scope.
Agreed, 4 day weekend on the horizon and nothing but wind & rain expected!

I'll post a picture no problem but I'm in 2 minds about it think I prefer the black, great deal yes they were his race wheels , I don't feel bad though he has a helicopter in his back garden! I don't btw! Also just fettled my look kg196 with the mavic 3G trispokes so I'll post that, also my Bottecchia now has deltas so I'll update that too. New Years resolution is to ride my 4 retro bikes more, I've entered the erotica too it's only 20miles from my house Rossin SL with super record for that, just need the weather

You've entered the Erotica? How much was it to enter?
If he's got a helicopter he should of given you them for free!!
Sounds like all positive upgrades, and yes it just needs the damn weather to improve. On the few occassions i've been out recently i've ended up ditched.
I'd of thought the yellow would compliment the decals?
Have you seen bretondaves' saddle? viewtopic.php?f=12&t=321450 - and yes i've seen how much he paid for the bike :facepalm:

£60 for the eroica bit more than the old reliability trials I did years ago but they put a good show on last year and I regretted not doing it. Let me know about the saddle once I post a picture, maybe I'm too much of a purist heehee!