loudbay

One of the winter projects is up and running! I've been lusting over gravel builds lately so of course this has some inspiration from that fad. Bought this cool Reynolds 531 frame local as frame + stash parts. At the price it was too cool to turn away and after cleaning it up, decided it was in good enough shape to justify a matching groupset... Found a donor Nishiki triathlon series for the 105, and cool bronze wheels. I ended up having to use the original 600/Ultegra calipers for a little more reach than the 105s offered. Tubes, cables, housings and some old 700x35s is where we’re at. The tires are a close fit at the chainstay, but there’s a bit more room for those that are interested on the frame capacity. It still needs a rub down with some goof-off and to re-clean the wheels, but otherwise it’s already busy making smiles here on these nice Colorado afternoons!

Anyone else have one of these 520s? I kind of wish it had the cantilevers, but I suppose I have a couple of canti bikes too, so this caliper version was not a deal breaker. I know most people here have heard this before, but drops in the dirt is a ton of fun!

Wharf Rat

That’s a nice job. That bike looks like a fun one. I’m starting to appreciate caliper frames. They leave the 650b option open. I also find dual pivot calipers much easier to set up then vintage cantilevers.

loudbay

I was hunting for something to go 650b with, but at 35mm, these are pretty chunky, and I have 45mm (used to be 50s) on a dirt drop bar Surly Crosscheck that is pretty cushy. It was nice to set something up beginning to end without troubleshooting much. Also, if this one doesn't stay in the stable, I imagine it will be easier to sell like this.

Cheers, M.