Steamer

I have been wanting a handmade lugged steel road bike from an American master builder for many years now. You know a Bruce Gordon, Goodrich, Tesch, Sachs, Bohm, Belinky, Oulette, Rodriguez, whatever.. I am not picky.

Well, recently I scored a Tom Kellogg Spectrum. Used, but gently. In my size!

Rides like a dream. I am STOKED!

Just had to share...

juvela

she's a beauty!

those lugs are PAPER thin.

hope you have enough of that stem in the steerer for safety; realise you are prolly well on top of that.

thanks so much for sharing this very fine mount.

gomango

Very nice.

Classy.

Could you show us the lug work a little more closely?

Steamer

Thanks! Yes, the lugs ARE very thin. It's one of the first things I noticed. The lugs don't stand out in the pictures very well, but they are nice. They are also pretty compact. I guess they could be called 'short point' lugs?

The stem is a Nitto Technomic, which has an unusually long quill. I am very nearly at the limit line, but not above.

My back is not as flexible as it used to be, so the position I have set up on this bike is quite comfy.

Steamer

Sure. I will try to take some close ups soon and post them.

juvela

thanks very much for the response.

are fittings contemporaneous with frame or later?

did you receive a construction date from seller?

thank you.

Steamer

the frame is believed to be mid 80's. Seller had trouble putting a specific year on it.

I will likely email T. Kellogg with the S/N and find out how old it is and what tubing it uses. No sticker.

Components are most of that same era, although it has a Nuovo Record crank that is older than the rest. The DuraAce FD also appears older. I will get some shots of the components too.

juvela

thank you Steamer.

btw - what is the item tucked beneath the seat cluster, a gonfleur?

Bianchigirll 

Very nice! I was expecting to see one his stark white Ti bikes but that is a beautiful blue. I love the way the pump is mounted, I been using some shorter Zefal pumps I acquired in a similar manner.

Sorry but I can't go mum on this, that back tire has to go!

KonAaron Snake 

DIG! You certainly got one of the best, and it's so clean. Looks like a sensible Shimano-campy mix. I had the good fortune to see a steel spectrum recently,and the paint quality really floored me...it had gold leaf on the seatstay caps.

I have a pre-spectrum Tom Kellogg that I haven't built up yet - this is inspiring.

RobE30

Tom and Jeff do amazing work. I am a regular visitor to the shop and am consistently amazed by what they're working on/building

KonAaron Snake 

Rob, you might appreciate this. It almost makes up for missing out on that amazing TK Ross a few years back.

Steamer

some more pictures:

Steamer

Steamer

That's an old Zefal frame pump/gonfleur/pompa I've been hauling around like that for years.

Steamer

Heh. I agree.

The bike came with a pair of 20mm wide Michelins and I don't like tires that skinny. I had a 25mm Durano available that I stuck on there as a temporary measure. I am probably going to get a set of either 26mm or 28mm wide Compass or Grand Bois tires. In tan-wall, of course!

Steamer

The components run down as follows:

Dura Ace front changer
Shimano 600 Ult. rear changer
Shimano 105 indexing shifters
Dura Ace 7 spd freewheel (13-24T)
Campag Nuovo Record crank 53-42T, 170mm arms
Campag Record Brakes and Aero Brake Levers. Levers are mid-80's Calipers might be older. Levers are the convertible type, I think.
Campag headset and BB (not sure of model)
Specialized hubs
Mavic Open 4 CD rims
Dura Ace seatpost
SA Titanio X saddle
Nitto Technomic stem, 110 mm
Nitto Handlebars (forget the number...), 46cm wide.
Bennotto Ribbon


Other than replacing tires, I am also going to replace the chain sometime soon.

gomango

If you can fit Compass Chinook Pass tires, order them up pronto.

It's like riding a really nice clincher like a Veloflex Master with the benefits of a wider tire.

I have them on two bicycles and they are a treat.

BTW I am a lug man and those are pretty.

Steamer

How true to size do they run? The fork and front brake have lots of room. A 32mm tire clears with enough room to spare. A 32mm actually fits in the back too, but with only about 2 mm clear to the chainstay on each side - not enough for my own fear factor.

A true 28 would be great. They just can't stretch out past 30mm, or I've got a minor problem.... ( I have heard the Compass tires actually stretch and get a little wider with the passage of a little time...)

gomango

Mine are spot on 28.

Zero stretch so far at 400 miles on one set.

The other is too new.

They should work dandy with Open 4 CDs.

I gave up on Challenge PRs acouple of years ago, as they grew and grew.

I ended up giving a couple of sets up at the time as they were too wide.

I do have a set of Challenge Strada Biancas on my Bilenky and they are 700x30. They are dreamy, but some folks online have reported blow out issues with these when mounted on rims that are too wide.

I have them on Dyads with no complaints whatsoever.

Another advantage with the Compass tires I have been riding them on gravel and cruddy Minnesota roads.

They don't seem to care a whit, as long as it isn't deep sand or loose river rock.

I'll see if I can't get some fotos for you this weekend.

Dfrost 

My oldest Grand Bois 28mm Cerf hasn't grown past 29mm in 2200 miles, and they seem to be more stable in size lately. The "30mm" Cypress are now marked as 32mm, which seems to be accurate, based on those mounted on the Rambouillet. Interestingly, one of my wife's 26mm GB Cerf started small at 24.5mm.

I will probably switch over to the Compass version of these tires as they wear out and get replaced, but I've got a few left in my inventory to use up first.

And to the OP - that's a gorgeous Spectrum! What a great find. Tom made me a custom stem long ago, and he was a pleasure to work with. Too bad I'm no longer flexible enough to use it.

juvela

46cm bend: that must be one big set of shoulders you have there Steamer!

dyander

Great score, top shelf vintage steel, enjoy the ride!

obrentharris 

Fabulous bike!
It's gratifying to see that the North American masters get the attention they deserve on C&V.
Brent

Steamer

I feel lucky to have picked it up. I got it for a very reasonable price. I had to drive 2.5 hours just to see it, but obviously that all worked out.

Oh, my shoulders aren't all that wide. I just like a wide grip.