b"O"b's Orange Aluminium Elite*finished result*

boy"O"boy":38j85isi said:

brocklanders023":38j85isi said:

Looking forward to seeing it finished b'O'b.

Thinking of getting an alu Orange in the future. Which would you recommend between the Elite and the 'O'? :?

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Cheers guys.

Tough call that one. .... the elite is much lighter, mine weighs in at about 23lbs with period correct M732XT groupset..... and that polished finish looks great

My stealth black "O" is the one I'd not part with. Not only is it a blast to ride.... it is specced exactly how I had it 17 years ago!.... and it has a lot of sentimental value to me.

I'd go with what you can get it the right size. Mine are all 17" frames.... just my preference. E2/E3/E4 could be another option.

Cheers,
Boy"O"boy

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Thanks b'O'b. I like the Elites but guess your kind of limited to the polished finish. Any other colour would be wrong IMO :roll: . Like the idea of an orange/white 'O' so will see what comes up when I've got some cash. E2, E3 etc are just a bit too modern for me and wouldn't hold the same interest.

boy"O"boy":3vv9jep6 said:

Hi y'all

.... been a long time since I've posted any progress on my 'bargin' elite.
Thanks to RichardC for his time and patience in showing me how to build wheels and daveasmith for the correct 36h hubs, I now have a tasty set of M732XT hubs on NOS campagnolo Atek 36h rims.
There's no better way of understanding the 'black art' of wheel building than building a set for yourself from scratch. These were laced '3 cross' using DT swiss spokes. The lengths of the spokes were calculated using the DT swiss 'spoke calculator'.
The wheels have the correct rubber handled skewers and are shod in a NOS smoke/dart combo.

The Syncros post (31.6x 425mm) was black anodised and was stripped using a dustbin of caustic soda solution and a wire wool/autosol polish.
Reproduction graphics and an orange flite finish it off nicely

The graphics are ready to go on sometime in the next couple of weeks, a little bit of finishing....then I'm done.


BTW... Gil_m now has vector files for the Elite/"O"/stalk graphics. Any one that is after these to complete their 'elite' should PM him for more details.

Thanks all.... keep posted

boy"O"boy

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kudos on building your own set of wheels, and all the work you've done on it...polishing is a pain in the ass.

Looks great!!!

posting a flickr test.....


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2692/408 ... 6e40_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2621/408 ... 3f5a_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3503/408 ... 478b_b.jpg


....but messed up. Here's the complete elite.... but i've got far better photos

boy "O"boy

.....balls


Anyway, my £30 'bargin' elite is now complete!
I drove to Birmingham to collect a 'joblot' of bits that the seller was originally going to skip!!

All parts that are marked with a * were included in the original parts bundle.

Frame*- Orange Aluminium 'elite' 17"
Hand polished with reproduction graphics
( Huge thanks to AndyW and Gil_m for his patience)
Fork - Orange Aluminium rigid. 1 1/4" steerer
Hand polished with reproduction graphics

Headset - NOS Shimano XT
Stem* - Orange 'Alistalk' 1 1/4" reproduction graphics
Handlebar*- Orange Hotrod- reproduction graphics
Grips - NOS Ritchey WCS
Barends- No

Brakes* - M734 XT Cantilever
Brake Pads* - Aztec
Cantilever cable hanger- NOS suntour front / XT rear


Shifters/ brakes*- Shimano XT STi
Front Derailleur- M735 XT 34.9mm 'top pull' (thanks to Christiankay)
Rear Derailleur*- M735 XT 'shortcage'
Cassette* - 'new' Shimano SG70
Chain- KMC
Crankset*- M732 XT triple. Hand polished
Bottom Bracket*- 'new' Shimano UN54 68x118mm
Pedals- Shimano XT spd


Wheels handbuilt by myself with a huge amount of assistance from RichardC.... cheers!

Hub Skewers- M732XT rubber handle
Rims- NOS Campagnolo ATEK 36h
Hubs- M732 XT 36h (massive thanks to daveasmith! )
Nipples- DT swiss
Spokes- DT swiss double butted
Tyres- Front. NOS Panaracer Dart 2.1
Rear. NOS Panaracer smoke lite 1.9 (thanks to mikeC)
Tubes- Bontrager 'presta'

Saddle- Selle Italia 'flite' titanium ( thanks Jez )
Seatpost- Syncros 31.6x 425mm
Anodising stripped with Caustic soda then hand polished.
Reproduction decals
Seatpost Binder*- X-lite

Weight- approx 23lbs.

Sooo cool! nice one chap..

Cheers Orangeretro.....
thanks for posting the pics up for me.....

boy"O"boy

stunning well done that man- well thought out and balanced, know some folk won't like the orange flite but I love it

Very shiny and very nice. Congrats!! Question: is it perhaps the angle in the pic but in the side view of the bike, it looks like the fork may have had a collision with a curb? (it looks like it's been bent back - the Orange logo looks like it's about a 1/2 inch too far to the rear). Or is that the geometry of the fork? Again, nice bike.

just the angle of the photo, you can see the rear looks the same- don't always trust your eyes

That's friggin perfect , there's nothing i'd want to change on that if it were mine, the orange Flite and the amberwalls set it right off,
the Alustalk is a bonus too.

Stunning, top job