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Really handsome colour that. Glad it's popped back up to the top so I can see it again! Made me want to do an NJS build. Specifically with that ridiculously expensive candy blue Kalavinka on NJS Export which I totally can't justify in any way.

Or can I?

lines starting with a 'greater than' denote quoted text

Yeah I've seen those cranksets on eBay too and they do seem to be pretty bargainicious. It would be a question of how round they are, because some of those new steel ones listed as vintage aren't very round or true. I guess a machined set is probably more likely to be round though.

Those wheels are entry level hubs with budget rims. Sealed bearings. You wouldn't be able to build them for that price. For a retro looking set you don't need to care about in the winter salt etc, you can't really go wrong at that price.

On the subject of cotter pins, are there actually any good new remanufactured ones or are they all basically cheese? All the new ones I've used have been super soft and just mash up compared to the old ones

That looks so damn good built up. I was reading this thread a couple of months ago and it's practically got me hooked back on this forum.

Can't see the latest pics btw...

Since I've got to pop the headset cups out again and since it's due some BB bearings and since I'm going to passing Mario Vaz's place weekend after next, I might drop this in for a respray while it's in bits. I'm sort of tempted to drop my other frames in as well while I'm over there.

Did you build up the 3Rensho yet? That's a stunning looking frame.

^Lovely. Those or DA!

Ok, well the centre punching dodge on the headset cups hasn't worked for long and I can feel them shifting around on braking. Not good and there's an audible clunk from time to time. They'll have to come back out and I'll use some 0.1mm shim. I'm sort of tempted to bin the headset in favour of loose balls, tbh. If there's any misalignment it'll just be taken out by the ball bearings rather than compounded by the multiple cups, tapers and cartridge bearings.

Good points which I hadn't considered, GA2G and Pragma. I've edited some of the detail out of my post. @Pragma - dropped you a line via email.

I haven't read the whole thread but what I have read has been really enlightening. Really good thread.

I've got an Almax Immobiliser III and Stronghold which I've had for years. When I got it I tried to see if Almax would supply me with a single link because I was interested to see how long it would take to cut through with my [edit: brand and type of grinder removed] grinder. They never replied. I'm still interested to know, because it's a properly tonky chain but I don't think it would take too long to cut through with a [edit: type of cutting disc removed]. Since I haven't read the entire thread, has anyone tried cutting one?

Most of them are dead heavy, don't actually fold particularly small and especially if you're near London you'll pay through the nose for what is actually a pretty crap bike. Raleigh Twentys and the BSA and Triumph equivalents aren't too bad and seem to hold their value more because of their cult following. They're quite awkward for taking onto trains because they don't actually fold down very well. I don't think Bromptons ride particularly nicely, but the way they fold is impeccable for taking onto trains.

I had a Universal shopper which was a really crap centre-hinge folder from the 70s I think. I rebuilt it in various guises and at some point lost the hinge when I remade the frame but this is what it looks like. 44-13 suicide fixed gear:

Well it's all pretty budget reliable stuff. Got two sets of wheels I've built, one set are 32h Velo Orange rims on Acor hubs and the others are some late 80s bullet-section 36h Rigida rims on Ambrosio hubs. Andele chainset, Cinelli 1A with Dawes bars and a Unicanitor.

Two winters haven't done it many favours and it's looking a bit tatty now. I had considered getting it blasted and powdercoated, but I'd want a good match to the gold and I'd need to get some decals made. I found some artwork for them on a Russian forum but the fact is it'll never quite look the same because the originals are painted on.

It rides great. Out of all the bikes I've had, this is by far my favourite! The mega short wheelbase is hilarious to ride!

Long time lurker here and only posted a few times but I thought I'd stick some pics up of my daily.

It's an XB3 Спорт from about 1984-1987 from what I can work out. Made in the Kharkov bicycle factory in Ukraine, which was USSR back then. I think these were Soviet training bikes, a bit like the training bikes they keep at Herne Hill. It's no special steel, not particularly light or heavy but it is sturdy and tough. Clearances are quite tight. Looks like this most of the time except with a brake and a Crosstop.

I bought the frame in early 2013 and built it up as I worked out what I could and couldn't use, because some of the Russian sizes aren't the same as conventional bike parts. It had a headset and bottom bracket with it which was a relief because these are the bits that are funny sizes. Fork was undrilled when I got it, but I like riding with a brake, so...

The Russian bottom bracket had Italian square tapers and my track chainset is Shimano taper. The BB shell is English threaded but it's got a right-handed thread on both sides. What I did was took apart two cartridge bottom brackets and pressed it back together onto the axle using just the bearings and centre spacer, then used the two right-hand threaded cups which just slide over the bearings and used a lock ring on one side once I'd centred it. It works well. Neco bottom brackets make this an easy job.

I also did the headset recently which was a proper ballache. Each time it felt a bit brinelled I'd been popping the cups out and turning them round a bit but it got to the point where it was too rough and I had to do something about it. So here's the score: the steerer has a 26 x 1mm thread instead of the usual 25.4. The headset cups are 30.4mm and the crown race is 27mm. So it's close to a JIS headset. I figured I could use a JIS headset of the same stack height, re-thread the top race and re-use the existing lock nut. The only one I could find in a similar stack height was a Stronglight, so I swapped out the 26.4mm crown race for a 27 and re-threaded the top race which was easy because it's alloy. I centre punched the cups to make them a press fit in the head tube but if I did it again I'd probably shim it with 0.1mm shim.

Edit: see below - the centre punching wasn't a good fix for the headset and I shimmed it instead.

I really enjoyed my basic session the other week. Well done to the coaches and the atmosphere was great. There were a few riders who thought they were a bit better then they were, but they soon got put into their place, because my other half was watching from the side and she said there was a lot of shouting going on in that particular group! As I said before, I really wish I'd dragged my sorry ass over there a bit earlier in the year because not only are the numbers up, but winter season is nearly on us!

Is it ok to turn up on a Monday night as a spectator? I'm heading over on Saturday for a beginners' session but I live so close I'd like to come over and support a bit more.

My first post.

Thanks all for putting so much info into this thread. I'm hoping to get down for an induction session on Saturday 8th but I'm tempted to nip in one evening as a spectator before then. I wish I'd made more effort last year, because it sounds like the Olympics has made it very popular!