dim

Managed to get this bike for cheap. It's being delivered tomorow evening. I'm planning to use this for my daily commute aswell as some audax rides. I will add a Son 28 dynamo hub, dynamo lights, new saddle, new cables, etc. I may upgrade to Shimano 105 at a later stage. I was not planning on buying the Condor, and was looking for a Koga Miyata instead but could not find on in my size for cheap

kevindsingleton 

Looks ok. It may be leaking water, though! Check those seals!

It appears to be a decent steel-framed bike, with decent components. Check the hubs, bottom bracket, and headset for grease and rust, lube the seat post and stem, swap the brake pads for new, lube or replace the cables and housings, and make sure the chain is good (or, replace it, why not?), and it should last a long time, more. The only thing I don't like about it is the brake cables coming in on the "wrong" side. You can fix that when you hang the 105 stuff on it, though.

I hope you got it for a decent price, and it fits you. Nice bike.

plodderslusk

Very Nice frame ! You already have Shimano 105 on that bike
VeloBase.com - View Group

fietsbob

Used to be regional bike shops in Britain that made their own frames , thats ended.. 80's we went into an FW Evans shop and they had Self made frames,
FW Evans Bikes.
90 Joe Waugh in Newcastle was selling Bikes built up from frames made there, when I Passed thru town , took a ferry to Norway, it's gone too.

thats all gone now . few survive. Mercian .. any Others?

MR BIG STUFF

Location:Cambridge UK

kevindsingleton 

Yeah, I didn't dislike that, as much, though!

bikemig 

I dunno, I have a hard time wrapping my brain around a reynolds 531 bike with campy drop outs built by a very reputable British company and "decent steel" bike.

This is a fine bike which is obviously in need of some work. Nice score.

kevindsingleton 

"Decent" isn't a swear word! Notice that I used it, again, in the same post, in the part you snipped.

dim

Thanks .... if it fits me proper, I will get it restored and either powder coated or resprayed and rust removed and add framesaver. I paid £180 (approx $264 USD), but good used bicycles in my area of the UK cost a lot, as many people/students cycle

I will add a Son 28 dynamo hub, dynamo lights, a Garmin Edge 1000, a Gilles Berthoud handlebar bag with the Klick Fix bracket, and Gilles Berthoud rear pannier bags, aswell as a Brooks Cambium C17 saddle.

I'm planning on doing some long Audax rides with this and will also use it for my daily commute. I'm hoping that it's fairly light and similar to my Koga Miyata Road Champ which I owned (the Koga Miyata weighed under 9kg (under 19 pounds) and was a really comfortable ride, but it was 2 sizes too big for me

mercator

Actually, Condor is still making custom bikes. I was in their shop a couple of years ago, seemed to be going strong.

fietsbob

Well Custom is not like building batches of them in a variety of sizes and stocking the store full of them, is It?

bikemig 

$264 isn't bad for a full reynolds 531 frame even in my neck of the woods where bikes are a whole lot less than in Cambridge. The bike doesn't appear to need a repaint. I'd take it apart, touch up any rust spots, and use some frame saver on the inside. Then I'd build it up with whatever parts tickle your fancy.

I wouldn't sweat the weight. This is a very good bike; whatever weight it is is the right weight.

Lazyass

Sweet ride, a level above "decent". Some Cane Creek Grey Matter brake blocks work really well on those old calipers, they're real grabby and work pretty good in the rain. Those pads are probably original.

dim

thanks for that! the brake blocks were worrying me and I will have a close look at your these!

himespau 

Looks like you've got yourself a really nice bike there.

dim

thanks! I will let my LBS have a look at the bike ... they are very good with vintage bikes ... frame saver is definately going to be used though (I have a brand new Surly LHT which is due for it's first service and from what I read, a bottle of frame saver is enough for 2 bike frames

MichaelW

Condor have a decent reputation. Depending on the age, the framebuilding may have been farmed out to one of several bikeframe workshops that built for several brands. The seatstay arrangement looks like a Bob Jackson style.

dim

received it last night and went for a short ride. Nice and smooth ride, saddle seems very comfortable (it's the original leather Condor saddle). Bike fits me fine, but I will try and have the brake levers moved higher up onto the bar.

I have brand new Schwalbe Durano Plus tyres which I will fit, and will replace the fenders/mudguards with stainless steel ones (I'm not too worried about weight on this bike as I will use it as my daily commuter/trainer.... as it stand in the pic, it weighs just under 12kg (26.5 pounds)

Needs new bartape etc and I will most probably get a Brooks Cambium C17 saddle

I will also add a Gilles Berthoud handlebar bag and a Son 28 dynamo hub with lights.

The frame is made of Reynolds 531 ST ... I googled that, and the ST stands for Super Tourist which is no longer made:

Reynolds 531 Tubing - the Cycle Tourists Friend

forks are Reynolds 531

I will check for a serial number, and contact Condor in London and find out if they have any info on this bike.

I will restore it and spend some money to get it up to scratch.

Lazyass

You should post it in the vintage section. There's a lot of threads about Condor bikes.

kevindsingleton 

Be careful using the word "decent".