Well here she is. What started out as being a sympathetic and low cost resto ending up becoming a needs must do whatever it takes to make it useful resto/conversion!
From front to back we have:
Midge On-One bars in gold to mimic the original gold bars. Thanks to
@biggs682 for that deal
(original bars were far to narrow for me).
105 SPD-SL pedals. Re-cycled and refurbished off my lads bike
New seatpost from
Decathlon. (the stock one was too short and very heavily scratched).
San Marco Ponzi saddle. (original saddle was battered)
105 8 Speed rear mech. Thanks to
@Martin Archer for the deal
(original rear mech was FUBAR).
I received a couple of front mechs to help the project along from
@cosmicbike @toeknee &
@Martin Archer, but sadly I couldn't use them due to either fitment issues or I simply couldn't get them to work correctly, I'll hold onto them and pay it forward in the same way when someone else needs a helping hand though
. So I've stuck with the orignal Sach Huret front mech, it's as simple as they come but it works faultlessly so it can stay. My OCD for having matching components will just have to go and *uck itself
Rose Xtreme Airline/Tiagra wheelset. (frame has been cold set to accept these modern wheels, so it's future proofed as well
)
Schwalbe Lugano tyres. Cheap enough yet well regarded
The frameset has also been Waxoyled internally to hopefully ensure it's good for many more years, and all the inner cables have been replaced along with the BB and brake pads.
Only things left to do are change the cassette, fit a new chain, (both ordered yesterday from
CRC), and I'll be putting some guards on for the winter, (Tortec Reflectives @ £25 from Geoff Smith Cycles). I might fit new decals at some point, but I'm struggling to bring myself to pay £18 for a set TBH
I hope it gets well received, but at the end of the day I'm happy with it regardless. I would have liked to keep it all original but it just wasn't practical to do so, and I'd rather have it in a usable condition that suits both me and my local terrain than just sitting as an ornament