While I play around with different options on the build I'll keep this thread alive with an update now and then. This is the latest. (By the way, every time I show a bike on this stand I get a warning about crimped tubes. I've got this clamp adjusted so that it is loose enough, and with enough play, that I normally have a chamois wrapped between the top tube and the clamp. All is good.)



I’ve been torn over staying true to the roots and going with a very French drive train vs. using period Campagnolo (because the Campy cable and housing guides that were on the frame lead me to believe that’s how the bike might have originally been built up.) So I dug through my parts bins and began to layout French stuff in one pile on the floor, and Campy stuff in another. As I pushed aside different Baggies of mechs, I realized I’d forgotten all about a Zeus kit I’ve been saving for.. well, for something.

Seems like a good time to put them to use.





I made one blunder right off the bat. I wanted to check to see if the spindle was long enough for a nice Stronglight crankset I have on hand (it wasn't.) Only after starting to snug things down did I recall that I loaned out my Stronglight and my TA pullers quite some time ago, and that I'd never gotten them back again (nor ever gotten an email response from the loan-ee.) That makes the second time in six months I've forgotten about this situation, and the second time I've had to rely on someone else to fix my goof. So a big shout out to Mark Pace at Pace Bicycle Haven in Independence, Missouri for his patience! Right now I've got a Japanese crank on there that fits, until I figure out exactly what I want to use for real.





This all French wheel set, with Maillard hubs and skewers, Atom FW, and Frenchie-French rims is quite a bit heavier than I'd like. I may switch them out with a lighter set with the same Maillard hubs and Nisi rims. That particular set currently has an Atom corn cob and I'm actually considering leaving it in place. Y'know...up until sanity kicks back in.

I managed to fit 32 Paselas without a hitch. I have yet to decide if wider tires look "right" on this bike, but personally I don't care for the ride of anything narrower than 28.

I'm still digging around for a 26.2 seat pin that I know I have. It's eluded me so far, which just means that my efforts to sell off/trade off parts these past few years have not been as successful as I (translation: my wife) had hoped.

That's all for now. More to come later.