Anyone want to see my Willi ?

I am referring to my Willi Moore Tourer of course

Instead of going to bed 5 hours ago, I decided to build this bike up ready to commute to work in the morning. The frameset is a recent purchase, the rest is parts I had lying around in the garage. I just couldn't resist the challenge of fettling while half asleep. I'll feel like shit in the morning, but will enjoy the ride to work...

I don't know much about the frame yet....hoping you guys can help me out. What I do know is that it's a wonderfully fast, stable and lightweight touring frame. Tubing is 531c throughout. Most bits are differing generations of Record. Wheels are Aksiums, which are the only new wheels that will take an 8 speed Campag cassette. I always hated quill stems so fitted a 1" quill to 1 1/8" Aheadset convertor, which means nice ergonomic bars. Stem is a Token track model with chrome plating to match the Record headset. I'm going to be riding this, not hanging it on the wall, hence mudguards !


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A very nice Willi indeed!
enjoy your commute but watch out for crap drivers. :?

That's a great bike, love the mix of components. You don't often see Mafac Racer centre-pulls on the same bike as clipless pedals! Very nicely put together.

I like it! and it's the first bike I've seen where gold bar tape actually looks good!

Thanks for the kind comments, and a relief because at £18, it was the most expensive bar tape I'd ever seen, and despite that, the sticky strips were rubbish (come on Cinelli, sort it out !). I'm tempted to fit gold cable outer as well, but don't want to overdo it...

It had a nice maiden voyage this morning in the warm spring sunshine:



I'll need to get used to the 'weakish' brakes though, what with all the arse car drivers on my commute. My usual commuting bike is a Marin cyclocross with disk brakes and can stop very quickly in comparison !

Looks nice, is there any head badge or similar to show which address it was built at? Willi had at least 3 over the years so this could help date it.

Old Ned":2weuqbs2 said:

Looks nice, is there any head badge or similar to show which address it was built at? Willi had at least 3 over the years so this could help date it.

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Hi Old Ned. I'd read your very useful comments on a previous topic about the history of Willi Moore, so was tempted to ask you for more info.

There's nothing on the head tube. Overall, there are only three sets of stickers:

1) Black Willi Moore logo on the top tube
2) Red to Yellow fade stripes on top tube and downtube
3) Lovely gold/black/red diamond patterns on downtube and fork blades

The only markings are a 5 digit number stamped onto the BB shell. I can't even be certain who made this - it could be that Willi Moore modified it and resprayed it himself. The double eyelet Campag dropouts and dynamo light/cable fittings make it seem, in my view, a one-off ? The odd combination of stickers makes it seem almost like someone's home-built project. If that's the case, they were bloody good !

I've yet to see any photos of other Willi Moore frames, so I don't actually know what to expect or look for. I guess there weren't that many made ?

Very nice build, and thanks for the handy tip about Aksiums and Campag 8 speed cassette. By the way, wh at ahead converter are you using? The only ones I've found always have a few cms of the shaft showing above the headset, whereas yours is flush with the headset, and looks very neat

nice bike. what year would it be then?

west green":2a1a9mzh said:

Very nice build, and thanks for the handy tip about Aksiums and Campag 8 speed cassette. By the way, wh at ahead converter are you using? The only ones I've found always have a few cms of the shaft showing above the headset, whereas yours is flush with the headset, and looks very neat

Click to expand...

The quill/aheadset convertor is the following:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/profile-quill-t ... converter/

I did specifically choose it because it has a very short step up from 1" to 1 1/8", as you've mentioned.

And I'll be able to completely conceal the step by fitting an aheadset brake hanger.

Overall I do recommend these convertors. I have one on my MBK too. It's good ridance to quill stems in my view, unless it's a work of art that needs to be cherished.