1993 Condor Professional 653 (Dave Yates built)

[sjcprojects]

The cranks are now both polished with the logos removed, and the seatpost and saddle added. I have a tendency to have slightly smaller frames than might be ideal, aesthetically at least, though I've always found they ride fine for me. This a 56cm and a 58 is more my size, but I guess I have longish legs because even on my bigger frames I have a fair bit of seatpost showing. Even so, this bike has surprised me with how long the post has to be to be correct for me; it is bordering on indecent for many, I'm sure. Luckily I bought a long post, so there's still lots inside the frame here.

Annoyingly I've had to pause the build at this point because the Campagnolo gear cable outers I bought ages ago are odd sizes, where two of the pre-cut outers are far too short to actually use for anything other than the part to the RD. So, I need to get some more outer cable, which is in fact not so easy to get in white and of course costs about 4x as much as other cables, but that's Campagnolo for you, I guess.

I bought two Condor bottles before I even started work on this bike because they were on sale at the time. Now, looking at it, I wonder if my paint colour decision was influenced by wanting the bottles to match, which would really be the wrong way round, but I wouldn't rule it out...

 

[ChromeChainstay]

i ride a size down on all my bikes. Looks stunning. Flite saddles is all i use

 

[sjcprojects]

i ride a size down on all my bikes. Looks stunning. Flite saddles is all i use

Thanks. Flites are definitely one of my favourite bicycle components, just the perfect combination of style (the original versions at least) and function – the only choice for a 90s road bike, really. This one is an original from 1993, I actually took it off another bike to use on this one.

 

[sjcprojects]

I have all the cable required now, but then realised I don't have a stepped ferrule in my parts drawers so I'll have to stop by my local bike co-op tomorrow to pick one up and hopefully finish the job off.

I also picked up a very lightly used Chorus FD to upgrade from the Veloce one that came with the bike. Having the two together, I thought I'd do a little comparison of the two. I think they are both from the 1992-94 period (in a radical move, they started putting the groupset name on components in 1995).



The Chorus weighs 15g less than the Veloce, so not a massive difference. Looks-wise, the Chorus is definitely nicer, though, with the anodised aluminium pivot arm, rather than the pressed steel and plastic inner of the Veloce one. The part that attaches to the frame is also noticeably larger on the Veloce, and has the painted finish that the lower groupsets had in this era.

I don't normally get quite so nerdy with such things, but this build has meant a relatively deep dive into the world of Campagnolo in the 90s, so I'm now at the point where I actually find such differences interesting...

 

[sjcprojects]

Well, I have cabled everything up, but I have a not entirely unexpected issue given the age of these parts - the RH shifter does shift, but it's pretty stiff. This is my first time with Ergopower shifters, but it certainly seems stiffer than I would expect. I've managed to resurrect some Shimano STI shifters with lots of GT-85 followed by spraying grease in, but can this work with Ergopower shifters? Is it worth trying before taking anything apart?

I've read about the common issue with worn 'G-springs' but as I understand it that causes issues with indexing, not stiffness.

 

[ChromeChainstay]

You have new cables/housing Campagnolo ergo kit, right

 

[winjohn]

Wow! I have just read this from start to finish. What a journey and what dedication to excellence and authenticity in the build. I take my hat off to you. The bike looks amazing.
You have both given me inspiration for the M Steel tourer frame I just bought and also slightly worried me as to how the costs of doing this sort of thing mount up!

 

[sjcprojects]

You have new cables/housing Campagnolo ergo kit, right

Good point, and yes I did make sure to get the right cables and housing. It felt stiff even before being cabled up so really I should have tried to sort it before getting to that point, but never mind.

It’s only that stiff on the last few clicks up to the lowest sprockets. I’ll see if I can clean it out at all as a first try.

 

[sjcprojects]

Wow! I have just read this from start to finish. What a journey and what dedication to excellence and authenticity in the build. I take my hat off to you. The bike looks amazing.
You have both given me inspiration for the M Steel tourer frame I just bought and also slightly worried me as to how the costs of doing this sort of thing mount up!

Well, thank you, I appreciate it. It’s not technically the most ‘authentic’ build out there, but I have definitely pushed the boat out more than on previous builds.

It’s probably mainly because having got the frame re-sprayed and fully restored, it just seems wrong to put anything very used looking on it - so then you end up with something that almost looks like a brand new bike. This is the first time I’ve done that - I usually am quite happy with a bit a patina.

As with anything, it’s all about how far you want to take these things, I suppose. I’ve tried to be moderately sensible .

Anyway, good luck with your M Steel - also built by Dave Yates, I would guess?

 

[winjohn]

Anyway, good luck with your M Steel - also built by Dave Yates, I would guess?

Thanks, after reading your thread I have posed that question on LFGSS.