My Concorde build

Clintoo
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:09 pm

My Concorde build

Postby Clintoo » Wed Jul 16, 2014 2:51 am

I bought this frame a while ago on ebay. I had the intention of doing a retro 7 speed, but it never quite got off the ground.

I had been commuting on a cheap single speed with crappy chinese wheels that I bought cheap on gumtree. I think the large coloured deep dish rims are designed for slow speed touring, rather than a quick commute. The wheels were not quite up to it. So it was a question of do I sell it or upgrade the wheels. So i ended up selling it and probably spending more on this build. But it should look a lot better.

The plan was to go with a retro steel frame and carbon everything else, while trying to keep the costs down a bit so I don't get to many uncomfortable questions about how much I spend on bikes. My parts list is as follows:

concorde frame;
FSA track cranks
Velo solo SS conversion kit 46:18 (I'm running a free hub);
Spinergy rev x
cane creek levers
sram force brakes
carbon bottle cages off ebay
carbon bars off ebay
carbon seat post off ebay
selle smp off gumtree
look keos

The track cranks I bought from ebay on the cheap. however, they turned out to be expensive as an italian ISIS BB at my required shell width cost me more than the cranks. But they do look good, which is important.

SS kit looks to be pretty good, and the multiple sized spacers helped with getting the chain line correct. But I need to buy a 1/8 chain. I thought a normal 8 speed would fit, but the velo solo chainring is wider than normal (trap for young players)

Carbon cages I bought of ebay for $15 delivered. they look identical to a set of Arundles I paid $80 for. and in a nice matt carbon. I was so impressed I bought the bars off the same seller. he did the bars in a matt for me too. bars look really nice.

Spinergys were another bargin from ebay. I was struggling with a wheelset and theses came up. So I thought I would take my life in my hands and give them a go. They havent exploded as yet :)

SMP saddle, I have 2 of the 209s on my roadie and commuter and love them so I jumped on this one for $120 on gumtree.

The stem, is just a mockup.

now for some pictures of where it is at.

Clintoo
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:09 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Clintoo » Wed Jul 16, 2014 2:59 am

finally got the photos working. is there some easier way with flickr? or is it just me
Last edited by Clintoo on Wed Jul 16, 2014 11:55 pm, edited 6 times in total.

Clintoo
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:09 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Clintoo » Wed Jul 16, 2014 3:02 am

Last edited by Clintoo on Wed Jul 16, 2014 11:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Clintoo
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:09 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Clintoo » Wed Jul 16, 2014 3:08 am

this whole photo linking does my head in on this site

User avatar
Stovepipe
Posts: 181
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:41 am

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Stovepipe » Wed Jul 16, 2014 5:44 pm

wwwow i think we have very different views on keeping the cost down! very nice concorde frame

User avatar
Mulger bill
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 29060
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
Location: Sunbury Vic

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Mulger bill » Wed Jul 16, 2014 6:53 pm

Clintoo wrote:this whole photo linking does my head in on this site
Fixed it for you.
Many of the hosting sites will, when asked for forum code, provide all you need to copypasta and post without mucking around with BB tags. All I had to do was delete the

Code: Select all

[img][/img]
from the code you supplied.

Shaun
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011

Clintoo
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:09 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Clintoo » Wed Jul 16, 2014 10:07 pm

thanks Shaun

easy when you know how

Clintoo
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:09 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Clintoo » Wed Jul 16, 2014 11:30 pm

Last edited by Clintoo on Thu Jul 17, 2014 12:14 am, edited 2 times in total.

Clintoo
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:09 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Clintoo » Thu Jul 17, 2014 12:01 am

Stovepipe wrote:wwwow i think we have very different views on keeping the cost down! very nice concorde frame
thats what happens when you go italian/belgian. it was cheaper than going period correct campag :) but there are a few second hand bits on it.

yeh the frame is in pretty good condition. the chrome is porbably a 9/10. the paint is probably a 8 and the stickers about a 7/10. the frame is gunmetal grey which ties in nicely with the carbon. It does look better in person. I will take some decent photos outside.

I think the wheels set it off. But I have always liked the rev-x but could never quite get approval to purchase them way back when.

Clintoo
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:09 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Clintoo » Thu Jul 17, 2014 12:19 am

the rear drop outs were slightly too narrow for my axel. So I had to take to it with my dremel to widen them a fraction. Is that normal for 7 speeds to run a narrower axel? The axel spacing on the frame was also slightly too narrow, but I cold worked it to suit. I laid the frame on its side on the ground and stood on the rear stays while pulling up on the other side. that was enough to widen it the 5 mmm I needed.

The dremmel got quite a work out, that and 1/2 a can of spray on degreaser was needed to clean up the seat tube and forks so I could get the seat post in and the quill down far enough. But I got there in the end.

Does anyone know where you can get the old style race numbers that bolt on up in the top triangle?

slidetaker
Posts: 308
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:07 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby slidetaker » Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:53 pm

May be the Spinergy hub axle is always custom.

yeah. cold set 7-speed 126mm to 130mm is the usual practice. just need to ensure rear wheel sit perfectly in the middle of frame.

Clintoo
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:09 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Clintoo » Thu Jul 17, 2014 4:09 pm

I had checked it with another 10speed wheel as I was thinking the same thing, but that had the same issues. But I have solved it now anyway.

yeh I checked that. it seems centered on the brakes. I'll ride it and see though.

User avatar
HLC
Posts: 722
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:23 pm
Location: Sydney.

Re: My Concorde build

Postby HLC » Sun Jul 20, 2014 4:42 pm

beautiful frame. Would look great with a new (or old) campy group set...

or some Pista record cranks and shamals.

each to their own though! Not sure what you paid for the rev x's but the safer (lol) option would be some china carbon road wheels. Will probably be lighter too and would be suitable if you eventually put a road group on!

Enjoy!

Clintoo
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:09 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Clintoo » Mon Jul 21, 2014 3:14 pm

cheers

Yeh, I was originally thinking that. But I thought I am probably going to get the most use out of it as a single speed. I currently have a good roadie, commuter (my previous good roadie, with a stealth paint job), MTB and dedicated wind trainer bike and I did have another SS. so thought another bike my be pushing it. So I sold the SS and replaced it with this.

Record cranks and shamals were what I was originally thinking. but then I started working out the build costs.

The Rev-X were 1/2 the cost of the chinese wheels. I was originally considering them, but thought for the price I might look for second hand and spotted these. The fact that I had alsways wanted a set back in the day didn't help either. But they look to be in good condition, I pulled the rear hub apart and the grease inside was pretty much as it came from the factory. Seller had said he only raced on them and they do look like it.

I will just monitor the carbon around the rivets and the circlip where they had seemed to fail. I'm riding with a free hub, so not quite as bad as fixed. Plus given it is only a single speed, there is a limit to how steep a descent and my max speed that I will be doing as I would need to get up there first.

Clintoo
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:09 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Clintoo » Mon Jul 21, 2014 3:28 pm

I finshed the build on the weekend, but forgot to take photos. Bar tape turned out ok for a first time. I struggled a bit as I ended the tape at the corner of the bar where it transitions to the flats. So I struggled to cut the bar tape to line up properly.

Rides well and the wheels do seem relatively fast and the bike is alot more responsive than the old SS I was riding previously. The 1kg weight saving on each wheel would probably help too. I managed to do both Reserve St and Page/Stock road climbs easily enough (for those in Perth) with that gearing.

I need to find someone with a scale, but Im thinking sub 8kg. which is not too bad for an old steel bike. the forks are quite heavy on it.

I rode to work today on it. Which given the black skies may have been a mistake, but Im holding out that the 40% chance of no rain will fall in my favour. Went quite well and comfortably sits on about 34km. I'm debating going down 1 tooth to 17 on the rear though. I was getting a tow this morning from a guy who was sitting on around 40km which had me really spinning and I think I can do all the climbs with the higher gearing. I'll ride it for a bit longer and see. But with this gearing I just find myself spinning too fast to comfortably maintain high 30s. Maybe it will force me to adapt :) But it has been relatively calm lately too, so I might change my mind when Im beating into a 30knt head wind. oh the compromises of SS...

My old SS had same gearing,being 46:18, but it was running 165mm cranks. I am now running 175mm. So I'm not sure if that extra leverage makes a difference on the climbs etc. as it did seem easier to get up the west perth hill. Maybe its the 4-5kg I reckon I am saving in weight. Plus the other bike had these stupid 360mm track bars and no hoods. So I guess having a wider bar and hoods to hang onto would help in getting the power down??


I

User avatar
HLC
Posts: 722
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:23 pm
Location: Sydney.

Re: My Concorde build

Postby HLC » Mon Jul 21, 2014 7:22 pm

So you are a Perth boy, you must have bought the rev x's off Jase or Bart (can't remember who had them lol)

When i lived over there, i was riding 49:16 fixed, so that's 80 gear inches. I used both 165 and 170mm cranks and went brakeless. Did that for nearly 3 years, so i reckon you can go to 46:17, which is about 70gi off the top of my head and quite short considering how flat the city is.

I still run a slightly bigger gear than that in Syd and it's 10x more hilly than Perth!

Clintoo
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:09 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Clintoo » Tue Jul 22, 2014 12:47 am

yeh I just ordered a 17t cog.

i got the rev-x from qld but cant remember the guys name.

I do live down the road from reserve st (it's 9% in places :) ), so I ride it everyday and generally do Mosman hills on the way home.

Does the crank length make much difference? Ive got to do a bit more reading on it.

I do like the freehub and the brakes though.

User avatar
jaseyjase
Posts: 2993
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2009 2:00 pm
Location: Perth

Re: My Concorde build

Postby jaseyjase » Thu Sep 18, 2014 6:30 pm

haha yeh not me, sold it to another feller, pretty sure his name wasnt anything close to clintoo (assuming thats your name)

looks like a fun build, and more importantly a fun ride. Converted roadies are the best SS builds imo.

I used 49/16 but my commute is only 34kms and as HLC said, perths pretty flat generally.

I definitely felt it helped me improve as a rider though, condition legs etc.

Ill keep an eye out for ya mate

**edit** do you work on Roe st? across fromo City West Station?

I saw a dark bike with double spinergy's entering the driveway this morning, about 8-ish!

Rigaberto_17
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:52 pm

Re: My Concorde build

Postby Rigaberto_17 » Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:56 pm

Love it mate, great job. Those Concorde frames are beauties.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users