JaccoW

Here I am again with what is supposed to be a quicker project. My Batavus is now pretty much done and I am itching for a new project.

I'll be able to tell what this project is for in a few months but let's just say I wanted a lightweigh ladies commuter bike.
And what better way than using a Reynolds 531ST 'mixte' as a basis.

Bike:
The basis is a 1995 Gazelle Lausanne Hybride X-tra Lite.


More pictures in this album.

History and background info:
As far as I can tell the Lausanne model started life in 1989 as a higher end handbuilt "supersportfiets" or "trimfiets" which basically means it was built as an upright, long distance commuter or touring bike. Not meant for heavy duty trekking but as a very comfortable bike for long days or weekends in the saddle.

Available in a men's model in sizes 56/58/60/62/64 and women's model in 53/56/58 it was always a well-equiped bike with fenders, mudguards and dynamo lights with a frame made of Reynolds 531 'Super Tourist' butted tubing at a 72 degree headtube angle weighing in at 13.7 kg (30 lbs).
Early models were 12-speed doubles but later models had 21-speed MTB gearing with 7-speed Shimano cassettes and later even 24-speed with 8-speed cassettes.
They were originally designed by Gazelles racing department, which can be seen by the Champion Mondial sticker on the non-drive side chainstay.

Back then it cost around fl. 1750,- or €1420/$1580.- in today's money.

1998 was the last year of the steel framed models as the 1999 model had a new, modern, oversized 6061 aluminum frame though the women's version came in both a women's step through as well as a mixte frame! The weight of the bike however had crept up to 17.4 kg (38 lbs) by then and was more designed around the needs of people who used it recreationally and didn't mind giving in a bit of weight to get suspension forks and gel saddles and adjustable stems. With the ever taller Dutch there came a size 61 women's version in 2003 and by 2011 the model name was discontinued.

The one I have seems to be the 1995 model, size 56, in a red coral/titanium color combination.


Plans:
At first I was planning of stripping the bike and repainting/powdercoating it in a different color but the original paint on this is pretty much pristine and close to the color I was planning anyway.

So for now I will be stripping it of any excess weight and make it a bit more classic with a more elegant stem + handlebar and turn it into a 1 x 9 commuter.
I will probably build some new wheels with a dynohub and give it a slightly more aggressive stance for some speedy runs to the train station and city riding.

I'm trying to use classic or second-hand parts to keep the cost down but I don't intend to keep it period correct.

Thanks for looking.

Current status: (19th June 2019)
Well then, the bike is pretty much done now.


I know some of you enjoy part lists so here are the specs:
Quite a few parts were scrounged second-hand from different places and some parts are new.

Other projects:

• Batavus Randonneur GL
• Gazelle 'Super Licht'
• 1989 Koga-Miyata Roadace 3-speed

JaccoW

Currently it is sitting in the shed, waiting for all kinds of parts to arrive looking like this:


The first bits to arrive are these:

• Stainless steel North Road bars
• 2x Nitto stems (not sure which one I want to use yet)
• Brooks B67 (?) saddle
• Sunrace thumb shifter

JaccoW

...

I think riser stems and flipped North Road bars are not a great combination...

Good thing I have a regular quill stem too. Just waiting for the shim to arrive.


And these are going to get a good cleaning.

With everythin removed I could take a good look at the bottom bracket. It seems like a plastic SKF square taper but it requires a special tool to remove.
Apparently they have excellent bearings but removing them usually requires fire, saws and patience.

That's going to be a nice job for this weekend.

JaccoW

Got some confirmation that the bike is a 1995 model with the serial number:


Stripped the rest of the parts and swapped stems. Much better look.


I had to order a bottom bracket tool as it is some weird SKF/*** model.

JaccoW

Teaser:

JaccoW

Got some more parts in the mail.

JaccoW

I'm still waiting for most of the parts to make this bike rideable again so I got a few of the more tricky but satisfying parts out of the way; wiring the dynamo lights.

The basis is going to be the older, but still high quality, Shimano Deore XT DH-3N80 dynamo hub. I could have gone with a modern hub but pretty much all of Shimano's current offerings are black and this is already stretching the budget a little.

So today I drilled some holes, pulled a wire through the frame and routed the cables through the fork twice to get that nice and clean wired up look for the bike. Oh yeah, and repurposed a bit more chainring to make a bracket for the light.
I'm reusing the B+M IQ-XS on this bike. I had it on my Batavus but while it looked and worked pretty well, its bigger brother the IQ-X is birghter and has a nicer light field that is a little less blotchy. More than fine for riding around the city.


Drilled the venting hole to a bigger size to pull the wire through.


Mounted light to rack, wired everything up. I'm thinking of unwrapping the wire from the rack and just connecting everything with tie-wraps. Still waiting for some R-clips to try and guide the cables a bit better.


I think I might have an issue with the bottom bracket here. Even a 42T chainring doesn't clear this bike with its wider rear stays. So I'll probably have to look for a wider octalink bottom bracket soon.

JaccoW

Today I received some of the new parts for the bike today. Seat post, pedals, lock and chain.
I also found a classic French (?) Rigid chain guard on eBay with all of its parts still there.

The chain guard was cleaned, sanded with 600 grit wet sandpaper and eventually slightly polished with automotive polish and then waxed for a durable finish.
I'm not fitting it yet because I expect the chainring and new bottom bracket to arrive tomorrow or the day after.




After cleaning. You can see the surface is pretty rough


600 grit


Polish and wax.

JaccoW

Not done yet but the bike can shift, brake and ride in the dark with front and rear dynamo lights with internal routing. I built the front wheel this afternoon before dinner and I was amazed at how fast it went. 3rd wheel and it took me less than an hour from build to truing.

Still waiting for some final parts and I still have to figure out a way to mount the chainguard. The original clamps are designed for narrower tubing and this bike has an oversized 531 downtube.

The weight at this point is pretty decent though. 14.7 kg (~32 lbs) including the frame lock which would mean this bike would be in the sub 13 kg (~29 lbs) range if we ommited locks, rack, fenders and mudflap.

More pictures... in a month or two.

JaccoW

Chainguard is mounted! I ended up fitting and drilling a plasticised metal band which worked great.

I took her out for a testdrive today and it rides really well. The wide tyres make for a plush ride and the gearing seems like it should be good for racing to the train station.

One thing I didn't like it the brakes. I don't know if I can't set these up correctly, the brakes are old and the springs are worn or if the VO salmon pads don't work all that great.
It's either too short and rubbing because the arms don't move out by themselves or too wide and don't brake at all.
I'll fiddle with it some more but otherwise I'm getting different brakes.

The shifter works pretty well, except for one gear in the middle where it starts jumping.






(Ritzelrechner aka Bicyclegearing.com)

alexnagui

That's gonna be a very nice bike! Well done!

JaccoW

Thanks! I have it standing in the living room while I wait for the last couple of parts (new brakes) and I really like it. Let's hope the person this is meant for likes it too.

alexnagui

That's the most important thing!

JaccoW

Bike is pretty much finished by now. Took it for a spin today to see how it rides.
Still a pretty plush ride and quick to accelerate.

I ended up replacing the original brakes with silver Tektro CR710 and Koolstop pads. Good thing too because the plastic sleeves of the old ones were cracked which explained part of the lack of power and difficulty in setting them up.
Had to use thinlines for the front as the pad holders got stuck against the fork and were too thick.
But it wasn't the canti posts that was the problem, those were modern sizing. They were shorter than some other examples I have seen and the pads are just too far back.

New brakes work really well, they make the bike stop on a dime and even lifts the rear a little bit, though that might be because I'm too big for the bike.
Wailing like a banshee though.
I'll have to take a look at that later.

Stripped and polished the original rear kickstand as it was a little bit tattered with some corrosion on the aluminum here and there.

Still playing around with a few parts but for now;


(Saddle set to my height.)


New brakes


Polished kickstand

Rexnuktia

Good work on the chainguard. I will be doing something similar with my Campy chainrings.

JaccoW

JaccoW

Well then, the bike is pretty much done now.
Gave it a good clean, polish and wax this weekend and will be hiding it soon.

I'm curious what a front basket would look like on this bike but I'm afraid even the smallest Wald basket won't play nice with our bike racks at the train station;

(Picture from Rotterdam.nl)

I know some of you enjoy part lists so here are the specs:
Mostly a mix of second-hand parts and some new classic looking parts.

mechanicmatt

Beautiful bike!

JaccoW

Gave the bike a good cleaning today. It has been wet around here the past few weeks and you can tell the anodization of the rims is starting to wear off.
I can easily remove it from the rims but the tyres are fairly grimy now. Anybody got an idea how to clean these whitewalls?

Removed the pads and sanded + cleaned them too which seems to have helped the front brake to stop squeeling.

JaccoW

Evening coastal ride yesterday:

Sonoma_Mike

Westley's Bleach White tire cleaner. In nearly all automotive stores in the US