Repair and repaint Reynolds 753 frame

[BalkanExpress]

My rule of thumb is 4.5lb for a bare frame in 531DB or 531C. This assumes a medium suze of 22". A 531 plain gauge frame is just over 5lb bare. Thickness of stays and cast/pressed lugs have an impact. My Jim Bundy track frame is 4lb 3oz despite an extended seat tube and some pretty heavy Colnago-style lugs and a thick investment cast BB. It's almost certainly 531 Pro (no decal but he built a lot of 531 Pro track irons).

753 should be 4lb or under for a bare 22" frame.

On my cheap digital luggage scales the frame came in at 1.78kg with a bit of seatpost and the headset caps included.

Finally I thought it was time to add a couple of photos

 

[rogerzilla]

Before getting any work done, look carefully at the chainstays, inside and out. 753 chainstays have a reputation for rusting out as they're so thin.

 

[randynewmanscat]

On my cheap digital luggage scales the frame came in at 1.78kg with a bit of seatpost and the headset caps included.

Finally I thought it was time to add a couple of photos


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Jeze! I started reading from the first post and was going to suggest having someone with oxy gear to burn it out but it looks like a monster has been trying to get inside the seat tube.
I have melted several stems and seat posts out for people over the years, always on crap frames that I don't want to see ever again, unfortunately yours is a nice frame.
I used a straight nozzle of 1/16" and chased it down the sawn off stump in a line, it cuts through the alu like a knife in butter and does not heat the steel enough to cause problems, the flame is moving fast enough. Once the stump is melted through along its length its easy to fish it out with a hooked steel bar fashioned into a slide hammer. On a friends mountain bike there was a very long post and I had to use a cutting nozzle to melt the entire post, the paint blackened but did not burn off.
For anyone encountering stuck alloy in steel, avoid chisels, saws, hammers and the red mist, find someone who welds for a living. Try phosphoric acid (alloy wheel cleaner) or caustic soda, it will work if the corrosion area is not large, if that fails to budge it see a man with oxy acetylene gear and knowledge of how to use it.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Once you get that seat post out, and the tube replaced, it would be great to see the finished product. Last time I had to remove a seatpost, I had to use a Dremel head in a flexi-shaft. (running off a specialized grinder, and not a Dremel tool.)

 

[rogerzilla]

It's too late as it's been sawn off, but a good way to remove stuck seatposts is with a custom puller - like a crank puller - that clamps the seatpost and then pushes against the top of the seat tube. Poisson's ratio works in your favour by stretching the post and compressing the frame. There are YouTube videos showing how.

 

[Cambram]

A bit like the seat tube remnants in my "Fake Colnago" thread in this section. Strong solution of Caustic soda plus a 8mm threaded pull rod will get it out. Use rubber gloves otherwise caustic soda will find every nick and scratch on your hands and hurt for days! The heat generated also acts as a good paint stripper. Good luck.

 

[midlife]

If the seat tube is trashed why are you getting the seat post out. I thought you were getting a new seat tube?

 

[BalkanExpress]

If the seat tube is trashed why are you getting the seat post out. I thought you were getting a new seat tube?

You think correctly. The seat tube has been replaced and is waiting to be painted. May be waiting a while as the repair shop is a one man operation and he has 90 frames in the queue . If I am lucky, I may get it back and built just in time for the Eroica Limburg Joop Zoetemelk 40th anniversary if his TDF win ride

 

[BalkanExpress]

So 11 months on from the last post, I finally received this back yesterday

Seattube and lug replaced by Jan Weymans the veteran Belgian framebuilder. He also did the repaint which is good but not fully 100%.

Interestingly (or not) under the cableguide were the figures 1082, these match the fork and suggest a build date of October 1982 .

 

[fossyant]

I like that !

 

[rogerzilla]

Exciting! A tip from someone who's built up a lot of freshly painted frames: put bubble wrap or foam rubber around the tubes until you've finished with the heavy tools. One slip with a headset press, headset spanner or BB spanners may leave you cursing.

 

[Specialeyes]

Me likey! I also look back, misty-eyed at the February 2020 optimism of there being an Eroica Limburg

 

[Gunk]

That’s crying out for some Super Record!

 

[BalkanExpress]

That’s crying out for some Super Record!

I am a contrary so and so...as a result I'm going with Dura Ace black (7100). I know someone who will be happy @midlife

 

[BalkanExpress]

Me likey! I also look back, misty-eyed at the February 2020 optimism of there being an Eroica Limburg

Such plans in February.. Limburg, Retro Ronde, Anjou, ....I don't think we will get any of them this year either