Building my TI-Raleigh Team Pro 753 (…and the other SBDU Ilkeston bikes I've collected along the way…)
It is Easter and I am loving the amount of time I’ve had in the workshop this weekend. I’m getting stuck into a couple of projects. Today is the turn of SB6560, a 531c 1984 Services des Courses frame that needs a small frame repair. I prepped the frame for this repair a few weeks ago and now have some time to finish the job.
All of the 50th Anniversary parts that I’ve carefully and patiently cleaned over the last couple of weeks have been re-united with the SBDU Ilkeston 753R frame that they came from. I’ve had a few things on lately so it has taken a little while to get focused on this build again, but all the prep and cleaning has meant a quick and painless build.
I’m well on the way to getting every part of this build back to their very best. Part three was all about the components of the 50th anniversary group, and putting the shine back onto them. There were two main components that I left out of that post, they were the hubs and the brake levers – the bar tape and brake lever hoods have made me think the most, leaving me in a bit of a quandary.
Part three is here..! That means I finally get to work with the Campagnolo Super Record 50th Anniversary group.
Part one was frame prep, the foundation of the build. Part two was fitting the head set and bottom bracket; joining the frame and forks together, the starting point to which all other parts are fitted.
Part two of the build to restore SB6398… and all that frame prep in part one will pay off now when I fit the head set and bottom bracket.
Here it is, the time has finally come…
It’s time to build SB6398. The end result of this build will be a bike that is 100% original, exactly the same as when it left the work stand of Denton Cycles back in 1984. It will only be the slight patina to the paint and parts that may give its age away.
All I can say is… “That was a very busy year..!”
Well actually, I can normally say a lot more than that. 2015 was an awesome year for many reasons.
I’ve wanted to put this bike together for a while, often changing plans and ideas of how I was going to build it.
A few weeks after receiving my frame back from Dave, and I’ve finally assembled the kit to build it.
I was very excited to receive a frame sized box from the courier today and couldn’t wait to open it.
I started every morning by pulling my boots on and going to have a lovely cooked breakfast. The boots didn’t hurt so much now, the Elastoplast on each heel and big toe were doing their job well!
Bikes are not much good if you can’t attach cables for brakes and gears, it would also be nice to carry a water bottle or two. That means that day 4 was all about ‘braze-ons’ – those little guides that you pass cables through!
Day 2 started with a plan, more pictures, sore feet, a huge blister and a tube box still full of tubes yet to be worked on…
This is a little off topic, I normally keep this blog just for my SBDU Ilkeston bikes. However, I’ve just spent a fascinating week in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, with Dave Yates learning how to build a bike frame.
