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...or a Bobbin, or a BLB.
She has been seduced by the eggshell colours, gumwalls, and 'leather' bar tape. I think I understand what she wants (a 'retro', relatively fast geared commuter that doesn't weight a tonne so she can carry it upstairs), but for a budget of up to £500 I really feel we can do better than that.
Instinct would be to get a decent old ratty 531 frame, take it to Armourtex or similar, build with 2nd hand 105 with a 'retro' chainset, and get her some 28 gumwalls, Brooks tape etc. Easy. The bloody problem is that I'm not in the UK.
So...if I you had to point a friend of yours in the direction of one of these places that do bikes like below, which would you go for?

I would much build her up something a little like this...(sorry Gaston)

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I have a friend based in East London who needs something to commute on. Ideally, it would be something relatively plain colour-wise, but with modern components (happy with Tiagra level upwards I guess). I think she wants a more 'classic' styling and something quite pretty, hence the steel request. I would just like something sturdy, comfy, and reliable for her.
Have seen quite a lot of nice things on ebay, but they all have downtube shifters which are a no-no. Unfortunately, I'm currently out of the UK, otherwise I could just buy the frame and build it up to taste.
Budget is up to around £400
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After buying one of my dream (lol) frames from @Ludd last year before moving abroad, I am finally getting round to building it up. I want to use NOS/nearly new bits and keep it period correct (99 I think), but I have a couple of things I need advice on:
Record 9, Record 10, or 7700 for authenticity?
What bloomin wheels? I like the silver Campagnolo and Cosmic wheels from earlier in the 90s, but what the hell were they using in 99? Have a feeling Shamals were black then and I can't find any. Maybe I just get some old Zipps or something?!
A couple of pics of the frame stolen from Ludd's advert:


I will try my best to keep the thread updated as I go
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Great thread...
Moved to Middle East and looking to go walking in Tajikistan next month, and some ridiculous snowboarding in Kyrgyzstan in the winter.
Never really considered Stans as holiday destinations before but they really look like they have some incredible scenery and interesting history.
Good luck, I will be following your adventure on here!
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Thanks both. Don't have the bike yet, just working from limited ebay pictures so don't know PCD. I think (hope) that the rest of the group is C-Record but it's hard to tell. Might be Chorus according to Velobase, I'm totally uneducated in these things but bought on impulse. Probably paid too much, oh well. Guess I could always change my name to Adam Brown or something.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-MERCIAN-531-ROAD-BIKE-EROCIA-CAMPAGNOLO-/292057927631?
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I've just bought my first Mercian from ebay, and I'm pretty bloody excited. However, I'm struggling to identify the crankset. The pictures are quite limited, but I can see that it says 'Strada 170' on the inside of the non-drive side. Initially I assumed Campagnolo, but they don't look exactly like any I can find online, and in addition they have some panto that appears to say 'AB'. Only thing I can think of is Ambrosio perhaps?
The bike is supposedly from 1984, some pics below. Any help greatly appreciated, thanks.



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Sorry to be a lazy prick, but there are so many messages in this thread it's hard to form a conclusion from just skimming...
Currently contemplating a pair of 40-50mm wheels for my WW-ish build. Had always assumed I would go for Farsports, but they are about $580 plus postage for the cheapest set on EdHubs, which doesn't seem that cheap anymore...
What is the general consensus on the 'best' Far East place to source at the moment? Another option I'm looking at is getting some rims from Light Bicycle for about $340 and getting them built up here. That still seems expensive to me, but at least I would have more control over the build.
Do I just need to suck it up and pay $600+ or am I missing a magical retailer that can do things cheaper? I see CN*Carbon mentioned in some places, are they all pretty much the same quality?
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Bought this from @inkleined a few months ago for a project that just doesn't seem to be happening! I think this is in pretty lovely condition, just a few marks on the brifters (hardly any rub on the cranks).
Details:
Chainset: Record 10 53/39
Shifters : Record 10
Brakes: Record Ti no brake pads (can supply new pads for £10)
Front mech: Record braze on
Rear mech: Record 10 Medium cage
Cassette: Veloce 10 speed 13-29 (brand new 0 miles, still have box) (Also have a 12-23 Record Ti which is super light)
Chain: KMC 10 speed (brand new 0 miles)
BB : Tifosi carbon 102mm (brand new done 60 miles)
Cables: Campag ultrashift cables (brand new done 0 miles, inners still uncut)Pics to follow, but would like just under what I paid please £335 posted




She's in Bow...that sounds good, cheers.