geomiko

Picked up this SBC Black Label last Saturday. The guy never built it up, it was too big for him. It'll be my first 'virgin' build.

Cleaning it up, I noticed a few things:

The welds are pretty fugly. The puke green color doesn't help. The bottom bracket looks pretty rough, lots of metal shavings from when the threads were tapped. Nothing that can't be cleaned up, but still not ideal. Also, there's some chipping/peeling where the head tube meets the down tube.

All in all, I can't really complain. It's an inexpensive mass produced frame, and I was able to get it for a good price. It's a 62, and measurements indicate it'll be a little roomier than my 62 Steamroller. I'll build it up with mostly spare parts and it'll be a fun beer getter.

Has anyone else built one of these up? Would love to hear any opinions.

Cheers

Zdawg

The reviews online from state do warn about their quality control. I, too, appreciate smooth welds on an aluminium bike but I guess you can't complain for the price. If I had a big enough garden, I would buy some spray.bike and custom paint it before I build it up, who knows you might be able to come up with a cool pattern that distracts from the welds

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Rolla

The welds in the photos don't look any worse than most other inexpensive aluminum frames. The track end inserts are a nice touch, and the frame decals are appropriately subtle. Just chase and/or face the BB and the head tube, which I do any time I'm building up from a frame. It'll look better with some parts on it.

Rage

You did the right thing going with the bare frame. ‘Nuff said lol.

geomiko

Spraying with spray.bike sounds like a good idea. Never painted a frame before but seems like a fun project.

Pressed in the headset the other night. Finally able to use this Bianchi fork an old college buddy gave me. Been sitting in the closet for several years, glad it can see some daylight.

Rolla

Shoulda painted it first!

Zdawg

You've got some nice pictures there with the focus. Did you edit them at all? What device did you use to take them?

geomiko

True, adding parts is the wrong direction to go if I'm doing a paint job. I think I'll wait to paint, I've got most of the parts for this build already and I want to get it assembled before moving this month. The green isn't the prettiest, but I think some decals will help.

Appreciate it, these were all taken with a Sony a7sii with a Sigma 18-35 1.8 lens. The first three photos of the bare frame are unedited, the last one with the fork I did some minor adjustments to in Photoshop. Just made it a little brighter and added some contrast.

Bianchi pc

[QUOTE=geomiko;22459312]True, adding parts is the wrong direction to go if I'm doing a paint job. I think I'll wait to paint, I've got most of the parts for this build already and I want to get it assembled before moving this month.

Right on. Paint is a big hassle & or expensive.

Id ride it first and see if it was a keeper.

geomiko

Well, I guess you either die a budget build or live long enough to Get Fancy. Was planning to use an old POS bottom bracket on this build, but couldn't pass up this Campy BB I saw at the swap meet yesterday.

Put it in last night, I'll add some cranks today or tomorrow.

JohnDThompson 

Nice bottom bracket, but it's a road bottom bracket. You may have to play around a bit to get the chainline right.

geomiko

True, it's not ideal. The spindle is only a millimeter longer on either side though so I don't think it'll be the end of the world. If it doesn't work, I can always put the other bottom bracket in.

geomiko

Cranks are officially installed, we'll see how the chainline works out. Tossed some Charbon on the frame and it's really starting to look like a bike. Waiting on a seatpost, it's a 31.6 which is larger than my usual 27.2. In the meantime I'm waiting for the roads to dry out so I don't destroy these bearings on the first ride.

Bianchi pc

.......I'm just gonna come out and say it.

It may may not be a popular opinion but -

I kind of like the color (at least the way it looks on my screen).

& the tig welding looks alright too:-)

IAmSam

I don't pay much attention to build threads so sorry for being late here - but are you sure this looks right to you?

geomiko

Thanks, it's definitely growing on me too.

What looks wrong?

IAmSam

You don't see a gap between the cup and the shell, the almost completely exposed edge of the shell, or the opening at the flat?

Good luck - ride safe

Rolla

Perfectly normal for vintage Campy Record and the like.

IAmSam

If you look real close you will see that unlike on the OP's bike - in your pics the cups do completely cover the edges of the shells except only the flats, which as you pointed out is to be expected, and do not have sizable openings into the BB shell as his does. Jus sayin...

Rolla

If the photos were all taken at the same angle, I think they'd all reveal very similar gaps. Regardless, it's not really a problem, as the shell and threads obviously accommodate the cups securely. If contamination is a concern, recall that lots of vintage steel bikes have pierced BB shells.

IAmSam

My mentions of the visibly larger opening at the flat had nothing to do with it possibly allowing contamination into the innards of the bottom bracket - I was just using it as a "gauge" to show how mismatched the cup is to the shell. If that and the almost completely exposed BB shell edge and the noticable gap between the cup and that edge are fine with the OP, and you, then I guess we are finished here. I wouldn't want it on my bike but its not mine so I'll just wish you both good luck & safe riding...

Rolla

It doesn’t matter if it’s fine with me; it’s not my bike. The OP already acknowledged in an earlier post that the BB isn’t ideal and he’s willing to replace it if necessary. I’m just saying that I wouldn’t rush out and replace it because of the gap, especially at this stage of the build.

V3XED

Late to the game here, but to comment on the original post...
I have the gen2 of this frame, and quality control was horrendous.

The first frame they sent me was unridable due to a majorly misaligned rear triangle.
Six months later when they got the replacement out its rear axle spacing was too wide, and had lots of small dents and finish flaws.
And like you mentioned, super grimey threads on the BB shell, had to spend a long time chasing them with a pick to get the BB threaded in.

Anyways I threw some spacers on there and made it work, rides and looks great at the end of the day but I wouldn't buy anything from them again.
And yes, they are "cheap" so I guess its a matter of you get what you pay for. Maybe not fair to expect A++ quality on $350 frameset in this day and age.

the sci guy 

any updates geomiko ?

Love the color and the subtle decals. Just right. Find some fun stickers of stuff you like and smack some on the top, down, and seat tube to give it a little character and some personal touches.
Not a fan of giant dish wheels, but to each their own.
Will you be keeping the super stubby BMX style stem or was that just for testing purposes?

geomiko

Sorry for the delay in posts.

I had hoped to get this build done before moving across town, but I just got too busy and haven't given this bike much attention. Finally got the wifi setup at the new place and can post pics. Here's how it looks right now:





The BMX stem is mostly for a placeholder for testing purposes. I got it from an LBS in the town my parents live in, it's a fun little nod to the owner of that shop.

Anyways, I haven't ridden this thing yet, but hopefully will soon. Thanks for following along.