1960s 'Martyn Young' 531 build

[sjcprojects]

Thread, threads, threads...thankfully everything with the bottom bracket has gone well, all threads now nice and clean, and it went in easily. The chain-line seems good, and everything was going smoothly. But, it can never be so simple with this build. It turns out the pedal thread for the non-drive crank is not good enough. Hopefully it just needs cleaning up with a tap, but I guess I'll see what my local bike mechanic has to say.

I've slowly started on the brakes, with much pondering about the best cable-routing now that the front brake cable will be going through the stem, and how that will look with the cable for the rear which runs along the underside on the drive-side of the top tube - the angle there is a little awkward. Some trial and error may be involved.

Anyway, the silly long seatpost is in place with the nice Wright saddle. Not one for the purists, but I've seen much worse There's still loads of the post inside the seat tube, so there's no risk of it damaging the frame.

 

[sjcprojects]

I've started working on the drivetrain now that I've got the dodgy crank thread sorted and both pedals are on. Everything shifts reasonably with the bike in the work-stand, at least (I've learnt that actually on the road can be a different matter so I'm not getting ahead of myself...). The cable guide for the RD cable isn't quite wide enough for the ferrule to sit exactly as it should so it doesn't look as good as I'd like, but the cable pull is fine.



That's the (hopefully) good news. The bad news is that I failed to notice that the inner chainring is in fact thoroughly cracked all the way around:



I guess it's lucky I noticed this now rather than while riding . I think the lesson here is maybe not to go so far as to drill out a 36T ring - there's not much metal either side of the holes and I'm guessing the cracks started at the holes and spread down to the arms. Hopefully I'll soon be picking up a new one from someone on here, so an easy enough fix but slightly annoying. I really am glad I spotted it at this point rather than later, though...

 

[chickendrumsticks]

Phew! Spotted in time.

 

[sjcprojects]

Phew! Spotted in time.

Yes, another lesson learnt, I hope! Don't take a seller's word for it when it comes to condition. It was listed on eBay as in 'very good condition' and I'm pretty sure the seller didn't realise the cracks were there – unless you're looking out for them, they are easy enough to miss. But once I spotted one it was obvious the whole ring is riddled with them. One of the joys of retro builds

 

[Nob]

Looks like porosity in the actual casting of the alloy & has come away over time…..

 

[sjcprojects]

Looks like porosity in the actual casting of the alloy & has come away over time…..

Looking again, I think you may well be right. In some parts it's hard to tell if it's actually cracked or not. But presumably the integrity of the ring is compromised either way?

 

[chickendrumsticks]

Looking again, I think you may well be right. In some parts it's hard to tell if it's actually cracked or not. But presumably the integrity of the ring is compromised either way?

Yes. Definitely. Swap it out.

 

[sjcprojects]

Yes. Definitely. Swap it out.

Yup – I wasn't thinking of riding with it – far too much of a risk. Just curious because I've not seen that happen before.

 

[3wheeler7]

I think what you are showing there is actually the result of poorly maintained tooling for the "blanking out" process during manufature of the ring, not something that has developed over time.
It's a common feature when blanking high strength light alloy components if the punch to die clearance is wrong, worn or not lubricated.
The blanked edge of the outer ring is how it should look.
Poor quality control from Stronglight to blame, even if it is only aesthetic.
I'm sure you'll find a better looking example.

Heres's one I sold a while ago:-

 

[sjcprojects]

Almost done, apart from properly setting up the brakes and tidying up the cable ends, and of course the replacement chaining, so it's not quite ready for riding but it should be soon.



This is as close to period correct as any of my full builds have been, but seeing as I plan on actually riding it (I don't do wall hangers) there are a few concessions to modernity like the pedals, more comfortable bar tape, and clinchers. I have removed the lettering from the pedals, and I'd say these are the nicest looking SPD ones out there and don't really detract from the overall look.

Full spec:

Frame: Reynolds 531 with Nervex Professional lugs and Campagnolo dropouts
Fork: Reynolds 531 with Campagnolo dropouts
Chainset: Stronglight 99 (drilled)
Rear Derailleur: Campagnolo Nuovo Record
Front Derailleur: Campagnolo Nuovo Record
Bottom Bracket: Campagnolo Nuovo Record
Shifters: Campagnolo Record
Brakes: Mafac Racer
Levers: Dia-Compe Gran Compe (engraved version)
Hubs: Campagnolo Nuovo Tipo (I think?) with Record skewers
Rims: Mavic MA2
Freewheel - Suntour Perfect
Tyres: Michelin Dynamic Classic 23c
Headset: Campagnolo Nuovo Record
Bars: Ambrosio Campione del Mondo
Bar Tape - Velox Guidoline
Stem: Zenith Gran Compe
Seatpost - Kalloy
Saddle - Wright W3N
Pedals - Shimano A520

Weight: 10.23kg

Given the frame weight and size, it's still come up slightly heavier than the larger frames I have – no doubt that's in large part due to the saddle, seat post and stem which are far from lightweight. Not that I care that much about the weight, it's perfectly respectable, but it's sort of funny how no matter what the frame size, I'm unable to get a steel bike to be under 10kg