Eddy Merckx

In preparation for the 2009 BW family assault on the Round Taupo event I built my beautiful wife Jacq this lovely early 90's Columbus SLX Eddy Merckx. I bought the frame off my friend Declan from the much missed Valley Cycles in Aro Street, and built it up using primarily Shimano Dura-Ace 7400 parts begged, borrowed and stolen.

At some point the frame was restored by the talented Ross Bee, whose sad loss is still keenly felt. Ross here pays tribute to the proud cycling heritage of the eponymous frame builder's home country.



The sexy Easton aluminium Dura-Ace seatpost.



The Dura-Ace 7400 derailleur still looks grouse. This one has been customised by original owner Henry with an SRP alloy and titanium bolt kit.





I still love the look of the old Elite Ciussi bottle cage, with their cool bottle retention "buttons".



The 7400 front derailleur...



...and headset. Note the interesting anti-cable rub device that is pressed in between the lower cup and the frame itself. The Merckx logo on the crown is the sort of neat superfluous detail that is sadly lost in modern frame construction.



The brake bridge also proudly bears the Stamp of God.



The front 7400 caliper. As you can see, I used one of my own stickers on the headtube, as Ross can't have had the correct scan to place a proper Merckx logo. This will do until I can eventually be bothered scanning one myself.



The 3ttt handlebars and stem - incredibly I had a matching pair!





Battered but still perfectly functional DA 7400 STI levers. These were the first "brifters" ever produced, and with one fell swoop they revolutionised gear shifting and arguably affected how racers could time attacks, irrevocably changing road racing to a degree at the same time.





The wheels are Antosh-built Ambrosio Formula 20 Crono tubulars kindly donated to the cause by my buddy Glenn, built onto non-period correct DA 7700 9 speed hubs. The front spokes are radial and the rear radial non-drive/three cross drive-side to build a stiff wheel that is still able counter the fierce torque that pedalling puts through a wheel. The tyres are the venerable Vittoria Corsa CX tubulars.







Et voila! I was unable to procure some 7400 cranks, so the chainset is also from the later Dura-Ace 7700 groupset. The *cough* MTB pedals and Velo saddle are Jacq spec, and best ignored for the purposes of this post.



Hope you are enjoying these detail blogs of my small but much-loved collection of bicycles. Pedal on, Oli.

Casati Monza

This lovely old late 1980's girl has been through many incarnations over the intervening years, from tri bike, to road racer to training hack. Way back in the mid-nineties ex-owner Big Mike Grey gave her tattered Italian dress a fresh coat of Ross Bee goodness, so the finish isn't original nor are any of the parts. In her latest iteration I've given her a life as my fat tyre roadie for inclement weather and/or gravé riding excursions. The components are a mélange of old and new bits I had scattered around the Batcave, which have all added up to create a really nice riding bike with a loving reference to an earlier era...

The patented "tuning fork" seat stay caps create a notable point of difference for the crowded frame market of the day.



The pantographed bottom bracket shell and Mavic sealed b/b. The colour detailing in the pantographs was done by me using Humbrol model enamels, probably on Cycle Services work time.



The Cinelli X/A stem is shimmed with the traditional Coke can to enable me to use the 3ttt handlebars - for some reason my collection doesn't contain any Cinelli road 'bars or 3ttt stems!



My modern Turbo saddle sits atop a Campagnolo Record seatpost.



Yes, Campagnolo. Mmmmmm.



Speaking of which, the Bianchi engraved chainring doesn't really go with the frame but it sure suits the Super Record cranks.





My battered old Campagnolo Record Look-made pedal bears the scars of several unscheduled dismounts and hard corners.



The Super Record rear derailleur has had a hard life too...



This poor abused specimen was the original rear derailleur off my beautiful custom TI Raleigh.



I knocked the wheels up a year or so ago - modern Campag Mirage hubs on Mavic Open Pro rims, laced up with Sapim Race spokes and good old brass nipples, set up with 9 sprockets.



Funny old downtube gear levers - shifting gears with these was an art of both timing and precision, and changing gears while standing was damn near impossible. However, after many years of riding with today's standard brake/shift levers I found it surprisingly easy to reacquaint myself with this antiquated method of gear selection.



The headset is a threaded Campagnolo Record one that I managed to cobble together from three different munted ones!



And here she is, my Casati Monza.



Thanks for reading, Oli

Raleigh Gran Tour

I built this bike up for a customer in 1982, and I use it as my non-lycra errands bike in advance of one day actually being able to find the time to go touring...

The chromed chainstay glistens under the workshop fluoros, despite a scattering of rust spots.



A sturdy Mavic MA2 touring rim on the rear has replaced the original Module 'E' at some point, but the front one survives still. Both are shod in sturdy Continental touring tyres to keep me rolling. When I got my hands on the bike the rear wheel needed a heinous flat spot smashed out and a rebuild, but the front is still rocking the original ugly as hell galvanised spokes I used back in '82.





Period San Marco Regal saddle - heavy but still very comfortable. The seatpost is a cool SunTour XC Pro one.



The battered Reynolds 531 decal and the tidy seat cluster.



SunTour GS-III drop-out and the Shimano 105 rear derailleur.



Shimano 105 chainset.



One of the things I love about this bike is the pinstripe detailing. Handbuilt in England, just like me.



Sakae SR Custom handlebars and stem. Note the handmade leather Titus grips still going strong after 30 years.



Downtube 105 shifters, lovely medium-point Prugnat lugs and a brazed on stop to prevent the levers sliding down the tube. The rust that is visible was from before I got my hands on it - hopefully the multiple coats of Rawleigh's Bicycle Wax will prevent it deteriorating further...



Reynolds 531 forks turn on a classic Tange headset, and the 105 calipers do a passable job of stopping the bike.



The Raleigh Gran Tour in all its glory. Like the rest of the componentry, the brake levers are Shimano 105, but using some Modolo hoods to replace the rotting, bubbling originals. I've used some old Shimano 747 SPD pedals so I can a) avoid toe clips and b) use my spare mtb shoes that enable me to walk around without looking like a penguin. The full-length mudguards are courtesy of the estimable Brian Phillips, and the Fibre-Flare light from my friends at Cycletech.



Thanks for reading, Oli.