My stable of old steel

Gazelle A-frame - 1975

Gazelle Champion Mondial A-frame - 1975
Ivory, Reynolds 531, Campagnolo pre-CPSC Nuovo Record

I modified the 'Retro Ronde' bike a bit. I used another, slightly better preserved 1975 frame. At 59cm c-t instead of the original 58cm it also fits me a bit better.

The groupset is still largely pre-CPSC Campagnolo Nuovo Record with straight-lever skewers, flat-lever brake calipers and the early long-reach, pointy-tip brake levers.

The lightest possible gearing with a Nuovo Record derailleur and Campagnolo 144 BCD crankset is 41-23, maybe 24t. Although manageable, this is really a bit too much for some of the Flemish hills in the Ronde. I therefore replaced the rear derailleur with a Campagnolo Rally long cage to use a 26t rear cog. The cage tells me it will even manage 36t if necessary!

I have been using Michelin Pro tyres on my modern bikes for years. I have always been so pleased with them that I had to try the Dynamic Classics too. Unfortunately the tread is not all that classic-looking but they have nice tan coloured sidewalls. For a little more damping on the cobbles I got the wider 28mm version. I haven't covered any substantial amount of kilometers on them to comment on their durability but they roll nicely.

Last but not least I switched to a suede Cinelli Unicanitor saddle and red handlebar tape like Hennie Kuiper's Frisol team Gazelle on the 1976 poster/brochure. The Velox rubber bar plugs are colour-matched with the tape.

Speedstream

I always had a weakness for early eighties 'aero' bikes and I unexpectedly stumbled upon something I'd been looking for a couple of years. A Gazelle Speedstream, one of only about 25 made. It had been taken excellent care of and it wears the same colours as in the 1984 brochure!

It offers the ideal base for the Modolo Kronos brakes since the rear brake bridge supports the flipped attachment of the rear Kronos brake. Wheels are early eighties french Roval's (prior to becoming a Specialized label) and the handlebars are flattened 3ttt aero from the same era.





Better, daylight pictures when the derailleur cables are fitted and the weather clears up...

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beautiful

and the tubing reynolds 531 SL Speed Stream is very seldon seen

amusing to see that aerodynamics was obtained at the expense of weight :idea:




and the wheels are really so elegant - french top stuff - the hubs are the sleekest of the era

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Lovely sleek frame and build. Saw one of these speedstream bikes being used a 'stationsfiets' behind Rotterdam CS. Horrible.

Thanks. I am really pleased with the frame and groupset. Pre-dating the Mavic Helium - often regarded as the first factory prebuild wheelset - by more than a decade, the low spoke-count, straight-pull wheels are really astonishing. The frame is one of those jewels you don't find every day (or year, for that matter).

Yes ata, I saw your post of the stationsfiets on LFGSS. It still seemed in excellent condition nevertheless.

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I wonder what the thinking behind the 'flipped' attachment of the rear brake was. A Batavus timetrial frame that I plan to build up over the winter seems to demand this unusual placement too. I can just about understand putting the brake behind the front fork for aero reasons, but why the rear brake? Seems to be quite sheltered in its usual postion.

I think this setup was induced by the Kronos brakes.

The only reason - other than being different - that I can think of for Modolo to choose this setup is that the front and rear brakes can be made identical. The arms are a one-piece cast or forged aluminum part, incorporating the brake shoe and this way they could spare two moulds...

Gazelleer":izu3skw9 said:

Thanks. I am really pleased with the frame and groupset. Pre-dating the Mavic Helium - often regarded as the first factory prebuild wheelset - by more than a decade, the low spoke-count, straight-pull wheels are really astonishing.

Click to expand...

Indeed
I take the liberty to "hijack" the thread
I have embarked on the project of building wheels with the Rovak hubs :idea: :facepalm:
This set is a 24 spokes front and rear set , and beautiful in all silver
It may probably use modern rims
but the issue is that you can't really use modern spokes :roll: so I have got true Roval spokes
but as the ERD of modern rims is quite lower compared to the Roval rim where the hidden spoke nipple was sitting further away , I have doubts about me being able to lace the drive side of the rear wheel - my spokes are too long :shock:
I dunno how I will be able to solve that problem frankly :cry:

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Do you know the ERD of the Rovals? (if not, I could try and measure them)

The Roval's have (nylon) washers under the spoke nipples. You could try something similar to gain a little length...

Are you looking for tubular or clincher rims? I'd have a look at Velocity rims. If you contact their Australian factory directly they may be willing to offer custom drillings and colours (I have some Aerohead rims in a custom colour).

Another brand that you may have a look at is Sunrims (later Sun Ringlé). The Venus or Assault rims may fit although I am not sure they offer(ed) the Assault in 24h. The Venus is currently only available in black but you may find them in silver NOS.

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Gazelleer":1sk7kusj said:

Do you know the ERD of the Rovals? (if not, I could try and measure them)

The Roval's have (nylon) washers under the spoke nipples. You could try something similar to gain a little length...

Click to expand...

I estimate the "corrected" Roval ERD to be about 606mm ( well corrected with washer height impact :idea: ) or maybe even more as the spoke head is quite a long way inside the rim with the nylon washer.

I have actually read that these washers were not that "smart" as they seem to get compressed with time so tension gets lower !

A well known british wheelbuilder has actually buit quite a few wheels but with other rims he had made to order but with regular nipples

The ERD of the modern 24holes rim I have selected is 594. I believe it will work with front hub and rear small flange with my roval spokes of 275 mm

The issue is with the high flange of the rear hub. As my calculations give me a 267 mm spoke length - As the spokes are crossed once but the crossing cannot be increased ( the angle of the spoke slot is designed for this crossing), I cannot increase the spoke length !
Some solutions would be to
- slightly increase the length of the thread with a Hozan Spoke theader :idea:
- as you say, install a washer in the rim to incease the length - that's probably going to be the trick - but I dont believe I can use roval washers as they are they are quite wide and won't fit into my rim !



Why make it simple when we can make it complicated ! :idea: