MartinB123
Senior Retro Guru
Hi all, thought this would be a good place to share pictures and details of our 653 frames, full builds, frame builders etc.
I think on last count I have 6x 653 frames in my stable. 653 is my favourite tubing - it's relatively lightweight, super comfy and made by decent manufacturers/builders. There's a Ribble/Dolan/Kowal theme with a few of the frames that I have
It all started in late 2012 with this beauty which was advertised on this very forum. I should've kept it as is, but it was tatty and I wanted to refurb a frame...
Which turned into this:
Which got a dent in the top tube and I decided to sell it.
Then came along my Z-Team Peugeot:
Which ended up like this:
The group is now on the black 653 later in this post and the frame is hanging in the garage (would like to get it repainted one day as it's my favourite frameset to date)
Then came along this beaut. Bought on eBay and came with relatively modern 9 speed stuff. Stripped it, sold it and fitted a period 8 speed RSX group to it. It's an absolutely great frame to ride, and very fast too...
Last spring I bought this frameset from eBay (user is also on here somewhere) and used it as a fixed gear for a few months, then mothballed it:
Then this spring I decided to go mad and paint it black (paint wasn't great from seatpost removal) and fit the black 10 speed Veloce group:
Came across this in May/June and didn't really know what to do with it. I had a Chesini that I built up with 9 speed Chorus, but it was slightly too large for me so it was built up:
Haven't had the chance to ride it in anger as the headset needs either new bearings or a replacement, but it's potentially a very decent ride!
Then came along a Dawes Linear 653 which I bought complete earlier this month. Top of the range in 1994 and extremely comfy to ride. This is my winter commuter - again a fixed gear. I may decide to build this up as a geared bike next year as it's sensational to ride (now fitted with front brake):
I also have this interesting beast. A Dawes Synthesis which came to me with a stuck seatpost. Kind of building it up for winter but have lost momentum currently. It's half built so ignore the seat and bars/bar angle:
I think on last count I have 6x 653 frames in my stable. 653 is my favourite tubing - it's relatively lightweight, super comfy and made by decent manufacturers/builders. There's a Ribble/Dolan/Kowal theme with a few of the frames that I have
It all started in late 2012 with this beauty which was advertised on this very forum. I should've kept it as is, but it was tatty and I wanted to refurb a frame...
Which turned into this:
Which got a dent in the top tube and I decided to sell it.
Then came along my Z-Team Peugeot:
Which ended up like this:
The group is now on the black 653 later in this post and the frame is hanging in the garage (would like to get it repainted one day as it's my favourite frameset to date)
Then came along this beaut. Bought on eBay and came with relatively modern 9 speed stuff. Stripped it, sold it and fitted a period 8 speed RSX group to it. It's an absolutely great frame to ride, and very fast too...
Last spring I bought this frameset from eBay (user is also on here somewhere) and used it as a fixed gear for a few months, then mothballed it:
Then this spring I decided to go mad and paint it black (paint wasn't great from seatpost removal) and fit the black 10 speed Veloce group:
Came across this in May/June and didn't really know what to do with it. I had a Chesini that I built up with 9 speed Chorus, but it was slightly too large for me so it was built up:
Haven't had the chance to ride it in anger as the headset needs either new bearings or a replacement, but it's potentially a very decent ride!
Then came along a Dawes Linear 653 which I bought complete earlier this month. Top of the range in 1994 and extremely comfy to ride. This is my winter commuter - again a fixed gear. I may decide to build this up as a geared bike next year as it's sensational to ride (now fitted with front brake):
I also have this interesting beast. A Dawes Synthesis which came to me with a stuck seatpost. Kind of building it up for winter but have lost momentum currently. It's half built so ignore the seat and bars/bar angle:
