mikemowbz

For those not 'in the know', 'CanCon' is an abbreviation of 'Canadian Content'.

And I'm pretty excited about it.

After a bit of back and forth by email, followed by a home visit and some negotiation over a difference of both opinion and means on price (settled amicably with a partial trade that lightened my over-supply of consumables)...I've scored a Cyclops road frame.

It's got all the (slightly eerie) trademark Cyclops decals - and the deep metallic purple paint job that I've lusted after for some time - setting those decals off better than any other paint scheme I've seen.

It also sports a 'Freuler'-style geometry (as I've heard it called), with significant HT and ST extensions that make a 58.5x57.5 frame fit like a rather larger one (with ostensible benefit to stiffness and general handling, I hear).

The marque is relatively well known in Canada, Mike Mulholland having been both an excellent builder and cycling scene fixture in southern Ontario (later moving the business to Vernon, BC). He built a lot of nice bikes, generally custom; mine was built for someone named Jacob Astin. Sadly, Mr. Mulholland passed away in 2005.

I've got a bit of a thing for Canadian bicycles; this will join my Marinoni and Proctor as a top example. I've been particularly drawn to Cyclops as a marque for some time...certain coincidental details speak to me, as do the slick decals, paint, and generally nice (but never ostentatious) details. For example: The Cyclops marque was born in 1983, the same year I was - and Mr. Mulholland's given name was Mike, as is mine (we share the same initials: MM).

Pics to come, I promise...

mikemowbz

Just a couple of initial pics, no great staging (I'm afraid)...

As it stands after a clean/wax and fitting of seatpost (Syncros Ti), saddle, and bar/stem combo:



Right fork leg decal, detail:

KonAaron Snake 

Very nice Mike! I had one of these and it was a very nice frame. The details were workman like, exactly as you stated . I love the Illiminatus headbadge. The paint and design is one of my all tie favorites and a conversation starter. I remember you mentioning wanting one of these a long while back, and am glad it came your way.

Narhay

I saw this one on Craigslist for about a week. I knew there was someone in Vancouver here who was quite a fan of cyclops.

mikemowbz

Thanks, Aaron! It's hard to beat in the paint-and-design department, and I love the history of the marque.

I believe Mr. Mulholland was, among other things, a certified coach and a one-time cyclocross champion...after taking up cycling seriously at 32 or so.

I'll be interested to see how it rides, as reports/examples seem to vary a bit (randyjawa seems rather pleased with his, at least).

This one is *shockingly* tight in the rear triangle, with a crimped seat tube for wheel clearance and no chainstay bridge...as there would not have been room. I suspect not a long-distance bike, but could be a lot of fun for fast and short runs - which is often what I can find the time for at the end of the day.

True Temper RC tubing; specs similar to SL, not the heat-treated RCX stuff that had problems. In doing a little research, I noted a forum post elsewhere in which none other than Richard Sachs suggested that RC was among the best steel tube sets ever produced...so a good start with the materials.

Yes! And the seller was right in my neighbourhood - and very reasonable in negotiating a final price and partial trade.

Funnily enough, this was my 3rd go at this bike - passed on sale of the complete bike by a guy down in Ladner in November 2013, then went for it 6 months later when the same seller posted with a more reasonable price. I emailed the day the seller of this frame set went to pick it up, albeit two weeks after the ad was posted (I hadn't seen it). The most recent seller is more comfortable on a touring bike on-road...or a modern MTB barrelling down a hill. Good for me.

The above story is oddly similar to how I ended up with my Proctor, except that the originally seller there was in Tsawassen rather than Ladner, I passed for different reasons the first time around, and I got the frame in the end as a result of a WTB I posted rather than the Proctor being listed by the person who bought originally instead of me. There may be 3 million people in the Lower Mainland, but it's a small world sometimes...

KonAaron Snake 

Was RCX the ultra thin stuff Serotta used for the 7-11 team that self destructed on climbs?

mikemowbz

Precisely. A lesson well-learned by Serotta, who had been skeptical in the first place, about having confidence in well-tested materials and practices and not moving too fast to adopt changes under external pressure and for the sake of 'innovation' and weight savings. True Temper had some issues at the time, but the RC tubing seems to have a good rep. The Cyclops, while I haven't quantified it, seems to be a very light frame...

mikemowbz

Detail shot of the extended seat tube on the Cyclops (with a Syncros Ti post fitted):



I've only had time to clean 'er up and play around with a few options beyond seatpost/cockpit.

I'm thinking I might end up with a mix on this one.

I'd like to use C-Record era Campy brake levers + Athena faux-monoplanar calipers - but with an 8sp Dura Ace drive train.

I might shift more one way or the other (or even do a U-turn and go Mavic: starfish cranks, 840 RD, etc.; or Suntour Sprint?), but at least that mix is era-appropriate. Some folks would still mix-and-match even ca. 1990, right?

If this frame turns out to have a highish BB (I'm thinking I might have Mike Mulholland's take on a crit bike, given some of the geo), I've been meaning to try out some 180mm DA 7400 arms I have on hand...

More pics, and more progress, expected when the work week ends and it's sunny out in the yard...

KonAaron Snake 

I like both ideas, and they somehow both fit this bike's ethos. Mine was a Frankenstein as I recall.

mikemowbz

I didn't expect to work on this until the weekend, but scored a bit of downtime this morning. Experimenting options.

Dura Ace RD, shifters, and 180mm cranks, tricolor FD, Campy Athena(?) levers and brakes at the moment.

Likely go with H+Son grey TB14s laced to 5600 hubs; either Conti GP4000s...or a less tall tire, given clearances.

Mock up with a set of track wheels I had handy, getting close to a complete build...but I'm not sure I'm happy.

One of my main concerns: do the Athena 'monoplanar'-style brakes look incongruous or out of place? I might swap for Centaur dual pivots or Shimano if these don't grow on me on as part of this build; they're beautiful brakes, but I'm undecided as to whether they suit the bike and general look thus far.

A couple of 'candid' build shots, pending better ones:









Incidentally: maybe not a 'crit' bike. BB actually seems on the low side (looks like it will be 26-26.5cm up with 23mm tires inflated).

I put the 180mm cranks on anyways. I'll need to pick up pedals anyways. Low profile track pedals, and we'll see how it goes.

randyjawa 

After finding, building and riding hundreds of vintage road bicycles, purposely comparing one to the other, this proved to be the best ride quality of everything...



Nothing in my experience has offered the great feel, fit and functionality of the Cyclops.

mikemowbz

Yes! I've seen your Cyclops, and your impressions of it, online here and on your site.

Undoubtedly contributed to my desire to acquire one.

I like the blue of yours and the purple mine is painted in, the best.

I ended up doing a bunch of work on mine this Friday night, a bit of a change of direction.

Pics tomorrow with Campy 8sp drive train, brakes, wheels, etc.

Vonruden

very cool bikes!

KonAaron Snake 

What was Cyclops output like? I also recall hearing that there are cyclops that he didn't build. I don't remember the details, but I think I recall that the ones with rider names are the real deal.

devinfan

Amazing frame. Looks VERY similar to one I was chasing in Toronto but couldn't afford. Cyclops are one of my all time favourites. This one is definitely a Mulholland built Cyclops, its got all of the signatures. In general the decal will either state "Built by" "Custom Built by" or "Painted by" and that will tell you the story. Congrats!

mikemowbz

Aaron:

Yes - devinfan pretty much nailed it. To fill in the detail just a bit, Mulholland often repainted other, non-Cyclops bikes - and slapped on Cyclops decals while at it. So there are many bikes floating around that have the Cyclops livery, but on closer inspection turn out to be something else. I've seen a couple of these, and they sometimes carry a very explicit decal on the top tube (as devinfan states), noting the bike is 'painted by' M. Mulholland & Son. Sometimes not, so there's a little detective work to be done sometimes. The 'Painted By' bikes seem to rival the 'Custom Built By' bikes in number.

As far as production goes, I really can't say. Surely far less than Marinoni or Gardin. Always a smallish operation, as I understand it. About ~20 years of production from 1983-, I believe. Jocelyn Lovell, from whom Mr. Mulholland took over after the former was rendered quadrapalegic by a dump truck, supposedly made only a couple of hundred frames in a couple of years producing them; I've never heard a ballpark figure for Mulholland.

They seem to be relatively uncommon, even in southern Ontario and BC. But they do turn up semi-regularly.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has a firmer idea about production numbers.

Thanks! I was super happy to find it, and the fellow who sold it was a bit of a bike nut - fun to talk to. This one is definitely the real deal; I've passed on two 'Painted By' bikes locally in Vancouver, and one 'Custom Built By' that was too small, so a long search comes to an end with this one. I remember one of these with the extended HT and ST being part of a batch of frames that surfaced at a bike shop in Toronto a couple of years ago. I gave chase remotely from Montréal, but didn't get anywhere with it.

I'll snap a couple of pics with the Campy stuff (and a bit of mix-and-match) this afternoon. Sunshine looks to be cooperating.

mikemowbz

OK, sunny-day outdoor pics of the mostly-done build:



From the back:

Cockpit:

Staring you down, one eye at a time:

Very clean DO treament here, and love that almost-iridescent purple paint:


Drive train, mix-and-match style:


As y'all can see, switched up the build plan a bit with the 8sp Campy Chorus/Record RD, Ergos, and wheels + Centaur dual pivots.

Still got the 180mm DA cranks and braze-on tricolor FD. Need some track pedals. This setup may be a pedal strike risk, as BB is quite low.

Deda bars and a Nitto Pearl out front. Question: yellow Newbaum's, purple Newbaum's, yellow Fizik...?

Syncros Ti post and Brooks Pro up top, though may have to swap the saddle for rearward adjustment. Handsome saddle, but...

Think I might swap the blue Schwalbes for black/tan Veloflex Masters currently in the mail or the Conti GP4000s I have on another wheelset.

Seems to be shaping up alright.

KonAaron Snake 

DIG! Love the ergos on this.

randyjawa 

Mine was built for a fellow who's name, Geoff Magur, appears on the top tube of the bicycle...

mikemowbz

My purple one here was custom built for a fellow named Jacob Astin, as I might or might not have mentioned somewhere in this thread.

I do like how it's turning out with the Ergos and other Campy bits.

It'll be the only (mostly) Campy bike other than the Mercian (6sp Super Record). And the only vintage bike in the house with integrated levers.

Need to get some supplies to do the shift cables...

Wilfred Laurier

Sweet bike!

I retired my 'clops a couple years ago after discovering cracks beginning on the underside of the seat cluster. Mine is also a 'Freuler' style, too, although I had never heard that term before. I believe mine was built for the 1991 Toronto bike show, and I bought it in 1992.

The one thing about the RC tubing is that I believe it had a published rider weight limit of 190 lbs. I was never under 200 lbs when I rode it, but the tubes held up fine.

Funnily enough, mine was built by the shop where I got it with all Shimano parts except for an older Campy front derailleur - it is like a photo-negative of yours!

mikemowbz

I'll keep an eye on that seat cluster area as the bike sees use.

I know True Temper spec'd rider weights for their tube sets at this time, and I'd seen that on their promotional material for RC...but, yeah, I wouldn't put too much stock in the lawyer-safe numbers. I'm not going to be racing or otherwise giving the frame a hard time, and the tubing specs are comparable to Columbus SL or Reynolds 531C, nothing fabulously thin/lightweight (unlike that fateful RCX stuff mentioned earlier).

My bike and yours almost certainly date within a few years of one another, I'd reckon, as it seems like the HT/ST extensions fit into that late 80s/early 90s timeline.

It is funny that your ended up as 'photo-negative' in that regard. Maybe they tried the Shimano FD, and noticed that it crowded the rear wheel because of tight geo and particular design of certain Shimano FDs of the period - an issue I'm currently dealing with right now! It's possible, if yours is as tight as the one I have here.

Any pics of your retired Cyclops?

Wilfred Laurier

I will see if I can find some pics. The only ones I can recall are just of the underside of the seat cluster.

As for the mismatched FD, mine has loads of clearance for the derailleur. I believe the Campy FD was just a preference of the guy who assembled it as I have heard others say they got the same configuration on their road bikes from the same shop.

randyjawa 

A new piece of interesting information has come my way, regarding the pedigree of my Cyclops. Both farther and his son, Mark Mulholland built my frame set and, apparently it is one of the rarest they made. Certainly news to me.

In the email, Mark commented on my Cyclops, indicating that the frame was, actually, a combination of steel and carbon fibre...

"My father Mike and I built that frame.
It looks to me to be one of the rarest ones we built.
If I'm not mistaken its an Excel carbon fiber frame.
This tubing came from France and has the steel tubing drawn and
shrunk around the carbon fiber.
If you look inside the seat tube you may see the carbon fiber about 4 to 5
inches down.
The reason there are lugs under the gear lever mounts, was so we could
solder them on rather then braze so it wouldn't burn the carbon fiber."

I assume that the lugs mentioned are those to which the shifters attach, as seen in this photo...



Wow, long have I wanted to ride a carbon fibre frame set and, wadda ya know - I already gots one and its my favorite. Good day in Jamaica, so far. Can't wait to get home to pull the seat tube and have a peek.

mikemowbz

That's awesome, Randy.

I'd certainly noticed the 'and Son' on the decals...but haven't hear much at all about him!

It's really cool that this frame you've been enthusiastic about turns out to be a rarer and more unusual beast than we might have imagined.

Sweet!