1992 Orange Aluminium Elite. New project begins!

Hello All. I've had this frame (my second Elite) kicking around for ages so having missed out on another possible project and having nothing else on the go it's time for a new build.

The frame came with a complete new decal set so I had thought I'd strip off the lacquer and polish it up before adding the new stickers (as I did with the last one) but for some reason I'm feeling far more love for original bikes that have not been stripped/repainted/refinished etc at the moment so decided to replace only the decals that were really tatty. One problem was that the originals had been lacquered over so I carefully removed the big orange on the headtube and the Power Stay decals on the chainstays with a sharp knife, trying to disturb as little lacquer as possible. These were then replaced with the new ones and I touched up some of the downtube stickers with black paint. I'm happy enough with the finish as I think I've improved the look with out losing too much originality. The frame itself is far from perfect with 19 years of scuffs and wear but is more then acceptable as a 'user'. I've tested an area with polish and renovator and think it will shine up well once finished.

Parts wise I'll be using the XT left over from my Clockwork with RC35's shimmed down to 1 1/8th. Managed to bag a nearly NOS set of Dia Compe 987's and XT levers from my mate beavis and had the Renthals in the spares box so will be going with a silver/black/blue theme. Think it'll look da bawls! The vgc grey 231's have been waiting for the right project so will see service here. The hubs are Suntour and had been thinking about a Suntour build so this may well happen in the future if something else that deserves the XT comes along. Check back for updates.

Looking forward to the build and seeing it take shape, I love these kind of builds, looking at your parts like a selection of ingredients waiting to be mixed up and turned into a fantastic dish, glad youve also kept the originality of the battle scars over the years. Whilst a mint ride looks pleasing on the eye, it does lose its personality somewhat.

I've just got another C16R to play with so sourceing parts for the build, again like yourself just gonna use some spit and polish to revive some life into it

Anyway i am sure i am one of many who will look forward to seeing your bike once finished,

Jussa

Lovely.....when my 8000 went under a car I replaced it with an elite, I then spent years racing it everywhere I could get to in my dads works van.....great memories!......enjoy tinkering brockers!....

given the carefullness in which you removed the decals brock

would it be chav to think about new decals with the orange in orange but the lettering in blue to match the bits?

Sylus what a great idea, i was toying with doing something similar with my new Orange C16R which is Black and using Purple and Orange decals, I think that looking at Brock's components that Blue lettering and Orange would look the dogs danglies

Jussa

You just know this build is going to be ace...

Will be watching for updates! Did you not get the ebay/Prestige frame, then?

Thanks for the replies gang. No new decals for this, it'll be wearing the originals + battle scars with pride! Going black with the seatpost and stem but not sure what brand yet. We'll see what turns up.

Lost the Prestige at the last minute dossa and was not happy

That's gonna be a nice build there, Edd,

Those wheels are gonna really set it off I think.

Maybe look for a blue Use post, to tie-in with the bars and brakes..

Those wheels look mint!

Yep, the wheels are ace and the paint has not even rubbed off the rim surface yet. They hung around in the for sale section for a while and I ended up getting them for a good price. Couldn't believe no one else snapped them up sooner! Tyres are hardly used Wonder Dawgs that I got off a local ebay bargain Diamond Back