cudak888 

It's raining and I'm tired of coding up the new Schwinn Paramount Registry for the Headbadge. Stepped outside to snap some beauty pictures of the work in progress:







-Kurt

Pcampeau

Beautiful job so far! Not to jump too far ahead but I’m eagerly awaiting your fender selection. You’ve got acres of clearance up front but from here it looks like it may be a little tight around the seat tube. Any idea yet what you’ll use?

non-fixie 

Excellent thread and an interesting build plan. Looking forward to the rest of the story.

noglider 

The paint came out great.

cudak888 

I know what I really want, but I probably can't afford them even if I could find them - Le Nervuex Type B's or anything that looks like them. They're the third from the left with the accordion pattern. They look like a vision straight off of Raymond Loewy's desk.




(Pic via @THREADLESS1430 at: https://flic.kr/p/mWtGae)

Someone's making this fender set with a 10 hexagon row, which I prefer a lot more over the VO (yech!) or Honjo (overdone) variety, but the article on this Meerglass rando doesn't list the model:



I'm also open to suggestions within these particular styles, but I'm really seeking someting more distinct than the average Honjo H-47 set.

-Kurt

cudak888 

More farting around, this time with the handlebars.

The bars that I ordered from AliExpress more than two months ago finally showed up (even after the dispute and lack of tracking), while a pair of VO Porteurs happened to show up the day before for another project.

The Porteur bar looks quite small when installed (and yes, I have them purposefully upside-down, so the bars rise up like North Roads). Not to mention that just looking at them tells me all I need to know: Stretching out to grab these bars would be living hell.





Enter the China bars, which are inexplicably marked "Frank" at the ends. Slang for "Francs?" Who knows - if anything, this bike is turning into the pit of obscure names.

At any rate, the Frank is - as I feared - wider than I prefer. They look more like old American balloon tire handlebars combined with flat French rise. However, that flatter rise means these bars have the unique side profile I'm after. Plus, they feel quite good in the hands while straddling the frame - the extra sweep back is absolutely necessary with the 100mm stem and the insanely long top tube. The lack of fenders also make the package look visually top-heavy, so maybe it'll improve once that's sorted.







I think we can agree that no matter what it looks like from other angles, this angle makes up for all the rest. This is the the streamlined era standing up in the crowd and demanding the recognition it rightfully deserves.




-Kurt

TenGrainBread 

Looks good. Probably not a lot of people around who would spurn a Honjo fender but put some Ali Express bars on their bike

Regarding fenders, the frame is ornate enough. I feel a pair of smooth (no pattern) Honjos would look best.

cudak888 

The Ali bars are equal to the quality of the Velo Orange bars. Virtually no difference except for the shape of the bars and the lack of the VO logo.

-Kurt

santa fe 2926 

And the model trains as a background!

cudak888 

Temporarily borrowed a 26.6 seatpost and seat pin from one of the Velo Yellows for a quick mock up. Saddle is probably too low, and the bars are about an inch too high to look proportional.

The biggest thing in my eyes is that it still looks like a Klunker that dropped its bottom bracket to the ground and went to finishing school. The fenders can't come soon enough.















-Kurt

cudak888 

Good news - ordered some Nitto shims for the handlebar (it's a 25.4 in a 26.0) and they'll arrive soon. Also snagged a 26.6mm Nuovo Record seatpost on eBay for a very agreeable price.

The one thing I could use help with is to find a seatpost binder bolt with knurling on one side (like Campagnolo), rather than the Sugino type available through Problem Solvers right now. Found this pic on Flickr with the differences:


Campagnolo + Sugino seatpost binder bolts by Stronglight, on Flickr

Usually I'd just stick my finger into my spares box, but I don't have any spares like this.

FYI, Campagnolo binders are not an option, unless it's a hybrid with a generic bolt one one side and the Campag binder half used on the knurled side. Have had too many experiences of the Campy ones relentlessly snapping every second time.

-Kurt

francophile 

Fairly certain I have several Simplex binders I picked up in bulk on eBay several years back at a negligible price that are ribbed like that vs. keyed. If not, I've got a bin full of little bits.

Are there any specific measurements I can take on it to help you figure out if it'd work for you? If it'll work, I'll drop it in the mail this week.

Edit: This style here is exactly what I have, I just worry the ears may be too small on one side: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Simplex-sea...S/312618377192

cudak888 

I've never used the Simplex binders before, but the Bottecchia's lug ears are about 22mm from end to end. Would the Simplex binder span that?

-Kurt

francophile 

Here's all the pertinent info I can possibly think to give you - except I just realized I forgot to measure the diameter of the smooth and ridged areas I can run back to the shop if you need that info.

My main concern would be the fixed end with the flats. Not sure why they did that. But otherwise, pics say it all. I've got three of these left. One is earmarked for a project. One is yours if can use it.

cudak888 

Should work. PM incoming.

-Kurt

cudak888 

No pics yet, but I wanted to thank francophile once again for the Simplex binder bolt. It has since arrived, fits perfectly, and I have the Brooks permanently installed along with the 26.6 Nuovo post now.

Now to deal with that headset and the elusive crankset.

Also - and my apologies if I've mentioned this before - does anyone have one of these oddball (and really nice looking) Shimano ST-7S60 Nexus 7-speed shifters?



-Kurt

francophile 

I just realized as I broke away from my troubled hunt for a French/22.0 black stem that I totally failed to tell you the bolt shipped. sorry, I've been a little absent-minded lately. Just glad to see it worked out for you.

cudak888 

And here it is, wearing the new seatpost and seatpin. The B.17 is probably a lot higher than it'll ultimately be set at, but I don't want to scratch the post unnecessarily.



The only French bit on this French-esque build . Also, no worries about the crack - that's in the paint, not the frame.





Still really unsure of those bars. It's going to take the fenders and crank to bring it together. Almost tempted to make a fender dimpling tool to turn a set of smooth fenders into what I want.



No worries at all. I've got so much on my mind ATM that my only concern is whether I'll ever return to normalcy.

-Kurt

francophile 

Yeah, uh, There's No Such Thing

.

cudak888 

But I thought they canceled The New Normal!

-Kurt

noglider 

I thought seatpin and seatposts are synonyms. What are you talking about?

cudak888 

Maybe my mind is having a brain fart, but I thought "seatpin" meant the binder bolt. As in it pins the lug together.

-Kurt

cudak888 

The recent find of the Polycarbonex city bicycle donated a suitable-looking steel headset to this build, so that's the end of the el-cheapo. I'm not keen on the bulky, oxidized zinc lower top raceway, but it'll have to do for now. I love the top nut.








-Kurt

Narhay

Looking good. I remember reading this thread waiting for my van to have some work done to it in the winter. It is coming together nicely.

cudak888 

Thanks. I've debated on whether to throw the Altenburger dual pivots on it, but I think those will be better suited to the COVID Raleigh Pro build.

The chainguard off that Polycarbonex frame might look really nice too, but it'll have to be cut down in length if I do use it. I also won't be able to use the bottom bracket mounting plate.

-Kurt