1995 Breezer Lightning

[KayOs]

Very nice, these machines deserve all the love you can throw at them. Only minor problem is the 1" headtube, but with OEM forks it's still OK. I got '94 black/white version, its 19" frame weighs about 1700 gr, so until featherlight Columbus tubing (which was soon to be killed on the market anyway due to stricter regs) it was world class for sure.

I actually quite like the 1" head tube. I think it's the main reason, along with the long, slim stem, that the front end feels so comfortable without being imprecise.

But you are right, finding a fork if you don't have the original one could be a bit of a challenge.

 

[fearfactoryüberalles]

I actually quite like the 1" head tube. I think it's the main reason, along with the long, slim stem, that the front end feels so comfortable without being imprecise.

But you are right, finding a fork if you don't have the original one could be a bit of a challenge.

Yeah, I bought mine as frame only, took only 8 years to find a bruised & battered OEM one with a too short steerer from a smaller frame

 

[KayOs]

But now it's finally time to take care of the original wheels.
After getting some great information on nipples (thanks to the bike wrenchers), I ended up buying aluminium nipples again.
Firstly, because I couldn't find any suitable golden brass nipples, and secondly because the wheels are really wonderfully light and I want to build them that way again.



The front wheel is already finished and didn't cause any major problems.
680g including the qr skewer is pretty impressive to me.

Unfortunately, I broke a spoke on the rear wheel.
When I was looking for a replacement, I realised that 1.8/1.5 mm spokes in silver are not that easy to find.
Thanks for looking, @bikeworkshop!

A few days ago, I found an offer for a single matching spoke in the classifieds (including 63 replacement spokes and nipples in purple...). Awesome, right?



And since I had ordered the wrong nipples at first and still had two Syncros rims hanging on the wall for rough terrain (thanks again to @Guinessisgoodforyou!) I'm building another set of wheels that I can put on for bumpy descents.



This way the bike is staying light and original and I won't destroy the light wheels

 

[grantoury]

Wait, that statue ... I can hardly see it, but ... is that Karl Marx?

Very nice bike, I love the dropout arrangement.

 

[PhillB]

But now it's finally time to take care of the original wheels.
After getting some great information on nipples (thanks to the bike wrenchers), I ended up buying aluminium nipples again.
Firstly, because I couldn't find any suitable golden brass nipples, and secondly because the wheels are really wonderfully light and I want to build them that way again.

View attachment 1023016View attachment 1023017

The front wheel is already finished and didn't cause any major problems.
680g including the qr skewer is pretty impressive to me.

Unfortunately, I broke a spoke on the rear wheel.
When I was looking for a replacement, I realised that 1.8/1.5 mm spokes in silver are not that easy to find.
Thanks for looking, @bikeworkshop!

A few days ago, I found an offer for a single matching spoke in the classifieds (including 63 replacement spokes and nipples in purple...). Awesome, right?

View attachment 1023018

And since I had ordered the wrong nipples at first and still had two Syncros rims hanging on the wall for rough terrain (thanks again to @Guinessisgoodforyou!) I'm building another set of wheels that I can put on for bumpy descents.

View attachment 1023048View attachment 1023049View attachment 1023050

This way the bike is staying light and original and I won't destroy the light wheels

Lovely! I’ve been on the lookout for some Backdraft rims for a while not many about!

Those Syncros rims are great too (I have a pair on my Zaskar)

 

[KayOs]

Wait, that statue ... I can hardly see it, but ... is that Karl Marx?

Very nice bike, I love the dropout arrangement.

Yes that's him.

The dropouts are called Joe Breeze 3d I believe. Paul Brodie and Scott Nicol also used them on some of their frames.
They are stiffer while also being lighter.
I also like the way they look.

 

[KayOs]

Lovely! I’ve been on the lookout for some Backdraft rims for a while not many about!

Those Syncros rims are great too (I have a pair on my Zaskar)

Yeah they seem to be quite rare. The first time I saw them was on this bike. There are some on Ebay but all as complete wheels and pretty expensive

 

[grantoury]

Yes that's him.

The dropouts are called Joe Breeze 3d I believe. Paul Brodie and Scott Nicol also used them on some of their frames.
They are stiffer while also being lighter.
I also like the way they look.

I was kidding about the statue, very pronounced bust, I rather like it, if you forget about the propaganda history for a moment.