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All the "specs" (like real specs, weight, strength, tolerances) move down the range over time though. Current sora is probably better engineered than 90s DA, and certainly Ultegra. I know that's not how we see it, but insurance may well want to argue something like that.

Whenever I have an insurance claim I always argue for the cash so I can control the tradeoffs. Had real problems getting equivalent spec laptop replacements in the past. I'm a software engineer, so I have specific requirements, insurance were only willing to provide something which cost similar to the old ones heavily depreciated RRP rather than something which actually performed similarly...

That was generic home insurance after burglary. Specialist insurance might be a bit better. But if you have requirements, make them known, because otherwise the insurers definition of "repaired" might not suit you at all.

@edscoble all viable, but I thought he meant "current DA".

Would be interested in your thoughts on how time and trickle down relate though - what kind of model or dura ace would you equate with current sora?
Does the higher level of effort put in to old top-of-the-line stuff count for anything in longevity etc vs modern entry level made with less effort but modern tooling?

@hippy, my understanding (which would need to be confirmed) is that the derailleurs had the same pull ratio from 6 to 10 speed (with the exception of DA up to and including 7400), meaning the shifter was the only thing determining the movement.

But that changed between ten and eleven speed (with the other exception: 10 speed tiagra, which went to "11 speed" pull ratio), so 11 speed rds respond differently to the shifter.

That might explain why you're having trouble sourcing the last of the lineage, they're expensive to upgrade from and people want to replace them. You could go back to 7700 (to maintain a fairly consistent appearance), I have a short cage one of you're interested. Or get a ten speed Ultegra Rd.

Summary: I don't think you can use any current gen DA derailleur, sorry.

Well that is an interesting gadget! Thanks!

More heart brake though. I could have sworn I measured that drop before and it was ok. It isn't now though.

Rear brake might have to be downgraded to an arabesque one, they're a bit longer. Very disappointing though. This one is so beautiful!

Thanks! Couple of cans of spray.bike and some hand cut masks.

Looked at low stack headsets today, but it would be a stretch to make it up. The steerer is actually more like 5mm too short. I think I'll switch to some other forks I have lying around which are... 5mm longer! There's still paint in the can...

Heartbreak. The steerer is 3mm too short!

Most likely, yes, though they will have to be steel!

I may have exaggerated when I said "everything", I meant "enough to make it function basically like a bike".

Also missing is the front rack which is (ostensibly) the whole point of the build...

Also (just realised this minute) I've run out of downtube mounted cable stops. So it will only function as a highly impractical 42-11 single speed until the gear cables get hooked up, unless I steal some form a working one...

Everything is here! Excitement building...

Nothing happens tonight though, it's Friday, and I don't have a headset press or crown race fitting tube, so nothing apart from the bottom bracket can go on til I've been down to LBK tomorrow.

Oh, and I stupidly bought the wrong nittos. 23.8mm bar diameter, everything to go on them is 22. They were probably the most expensive single component too! Facepalm. Might be up for grabs here soon...

Also, would like to check, those are rack mounting points I see on the stays and rear dropouts, right?

Potential dibs for a friend, enquiring as to their exact sizing...

Thanks! I'm glad I took the time to mask the lug cutouts, I think they set it off. It's supposed to have an elephant head like the tops of the forks, but I didn't have time to make the mask today.

Or, it is (purportedly) a Holdsworth, and I've seen replica pewter badges.

Photo

Squeezed the frame painting in between hailstorm today. Not ideal conditions, but I'm pretty pleased with it. The pinstriping isn't nearly as sharp as the fork, because I didn't flat the base coat down sufficiently. Time and patience ran short.

Shocking photo/lighting, I'll take some better ones in daylight (next time it's light and I'm at home at the same time. Winter. sigh)

Very nice. If only I hadn't put discs on the "non-negiciable" list for my next tourer, and then gone and bought some in preparation :/

Cool, thanks. Will PM to work out availability

Dibs on both please! I'm snowed under at work, but could bring cash on the weekend

And of course, post brexit, this will probably apply to everything, where currently you're only likely to purchase from the US or China outside the customs union.

It's a crapshoot. The VAT import threshold is £18, so potentially £3.60 tax, but the handling fee is fixed, so the minimum you pay when you cross the threshold is £12.60, which sucks for small items. It sometimes it's not applied. And others it is...

It also depends on how the value of the package is declared, and some aliexpress sellers are willing to get quite flexible. I never ask for fraudulent declarations, but I did once receive a milled metal keyboard case which cost about £60 and weighed several kilos, declared on the box as a single plastic keycap valued at 20p... Many sellers put in their listing that they're happy to do this, or that they do it as a matter of course to be more competitive.

These look fantastic! May I have a D1 medium please?

Well, I got the frame primed, fork finished and decided on a group set.

Going to use 600ex parts to match the crankset, which I really love. Got brakes and rear derailleur reasonably cheap off ebay, going to use a 600ax derailleur at the front for now, because it turned up cheap on here and looks pretty cool.

I'm going to use them with a 9 speed wheel and cheap indexed thumb-shifters, the kind that were on all my childhood bikes, for saved cash and warm feels.

I had to get a little creative with the brakes, the frame and fork expect long bolts with nuts, but the 600ex brakes are from the recessed nut era. I swapped the bolts with a pair of 600 arabesque brakes from the parts bin, so pleased to find out the diameter and threading are identical! The bolt heads are chamfered at different angles, but that's it!
Also means I'm now the owner of some... unusual arabesque brakes, ready to fit to modern frame. Got almost a full group actually, I should turn the neo-retro thing on its head and use it on a modern race frame! I'd find it pretty amusing, given the arabesque set was already designed to look a decade older than it actually is.

Also got a pleasant confirmation after rubbing down the frame (damn, freshly blasted steel rusts quickly!) - the main tubes at least are stamped 531.

I'm pretty pleased with how the forks came out, planning to do the frame with head-tube and seat-tube bands, and the same dip/curve/pin-stripe motif on the stays down by the dropouts.

Still need:

• headset / stem / bars
  
• wheels and cassette
  
• a couple more still, dry, above 10 degree, free hours of daylight, so I can finish the paint!
  

Now I'm gong to have to dismantle half the stuff I've stripped and serviced recently again, because now I know what all those steel nuts and bolts could look like...

Bloody hell! (switches tabs to amazon, orders a tub)

That stuff does the business, doesn't it?!

Ok, I've done some maths with some numbers I found on the Internet.

Premises:

• 8 speed cassettes space the cogs at 4.8mm to centre
  

• 9 speed cassettes space the cogs at 4.34mm

• standard shimano pull ratio is 1.7. That is, the derailleur moves 1.7mm for each 1mm the shifter pulls the cable

• old Dura Ace pull ratio is 1.9.

Therefore:

• a 9 speed shifter pulls 2.553mm of cable per click
  
• an 8 speed Dura Ace Shifter pulls 2.526mm per click
  
  

Its close, less than three hundredths of a mm per click discrepancy, but it adds up to 0.21mm of cable over 8 clicks, and with 1.9 ratio, that's closing in on half a mm out of place at the derailleur.

While clearly not ideal, that still doesn't sound like a lot. And you'd spread it so it was a quarter mm out at each end of the range...

Anyone done this? Unfortunately I don't have an 8 speed wheel (though I have some 9 speed shifters), so I'd have to invest in more than the derailleur to test it out. If it worked well, I'd expect there to be more advice available suggesting doing it.

@essdi, thanks!

@slothy, I was thinking to get a recent low-end shifter, as I don't expect to find thumb shifters for the old Dura Ace gear (bar end, maybe, but that would dictate a lot about my bar choices)

You might be right, if 7700 counts as "any 9 speed shifter" and it's used with an 8 speed cassette. That's interesting, because I could get 9 speed Sora or Claris shifters. I assume you lock off the extra click with the min or max screw at the derailleur. (edited this paragraph after reading Sheldon table AGAIN)

I guess I should look at Ultegra/600 series stuff as well, as it had the current standard ratio from waaay before DA. Few of them were proper silver though.

Aside: How come 7400 rear mechs are still available in good condition? Was it something to do with the shape of the body of the 7700 and later that maybe sticks out and makes them more prone to getting mangled against a wall? Or perhaps it's because 7400 is obsolete and so lots were replaced as part of an upgrade and haven't seen much use since. It's odd, there's a really marked different in condition when you search ebay.