Velognome 

Nice....timing and cam gears are also prime targets.......nothing more enjoyable then opening the timing cover and finding holes...beautiful holes.

Last ride 76 

Originally Posted by natterberry View Post
I just don’t feel like ****ty work is “in the spirit.”
Wasn’t the purpose to lighten, not to look like sloppy garbage?


"Well yes but the two often did not go together, power tools can be a slippery slope."
- Merziac


I beg to differ... Speaking as an early weight-weenie, there were a few wankers who did sloppy looking work, but they were definitely in the minority- we're talking about carving up the most expensive, beautifully finished components on the planet, for the most part. I did not know many folks that had the nerve to show up at a starting line, with a bike festooned with mangled Campagnolo components. The pack would not have been kind to them.Especially if the individual in question was not a regular top finisher.


Style also played a big part in drillium, even in the early seventies. Note article recently reprinted by BF member SpeedofLite Component Drilling (Two Articles from Bike World 1973-74) Many of the early examples were done by pro mechanics for pros or by really skilled "amateurs" ... We saw fantastic stuff, (I remember the first Colnago Pantographica I ever saw, at Green Mountain Schwinn in Burlington, VT 1974. I was doing jewelry (silver) smithing in HS at the time, and intensified my efforts cutting shapes, etc. It became a small cottage industry (maybe bigger on the West Coast.) Below is my Ron Cooper, rebuilt in 1976, following a 1975 crash that required replacing the top, head, and down tubes. Lugs were purchased blank from Proteus Design and then returned for brazing. The brake cable guides may be the only ever made of Reynolds 531 steel, (cut and shaped from my old top tube). Restored/repainted 2016



Jon Williams was referenced earlier. Look at his work on Flicker. Ne Plus Ultra.

Random paint infill of components. Modern replacement of: 1) Pedals-now SR ti 2)Wheelset -Weyless with Wolber Profil rims - Rovals in 2nd photo 3) Super Record headset 4,5) Regina Hollow Pin chain, Suntour Winner Alloy freewheel 6) Concor saddle Current weight, a good bit under 19 lbs.

Bitd, Racing weight - under 20 lbs. - lots of drillium, alum. nuts, bolts, Teledyne Ti Axle, Rear Arc-en-Ciel 36 spoke 3X HF tied & soldered/ Front Medaille D'Or 32 spoke radial LF. Racing tires (when I could) Clement Criterium Seta Extras.

Detail painting fail... Still not entirely resolved 4 years later but shows lugwork. I added brake cable guides, shift bosses and water bottle mounts after frame returned (unpainted) from Proteus . Now just white and green paint, ok, but nothing special. I could not match yellow saddle, bar tape, and brake cables. I gave up.

Velognome 

This is classic and what last Ride 76 is talking about : Rings, post, bars, levers, seatpost


But there was also plenty of fine work done at home:

merziac

Last ride 76

Agreed

It would have been largely self regulating now wouldn't it.

Mr. drillium wads it up on the drill or the first ride where he finds out he went too far, scraps the part and replaces it with a new one, many examples would never make it to the group ride, race or anywhere else.

Once it caught on there were plenty of skilled lads making beautiful parts but I would bet plenty of them spent quite a bit on the education.

Last ride 76 

I forgot the other source of practice materials, parts that were crash damaged or had been replaced due to severe road rash. Never messed with calipers. Some small hint of self-preservation, I guess.
Cheers, Eric

merziac

I knew it, HA!

Last ride 76 

Too true, I also ha radial spoked wheels loosen up twice and flop around so badly I barely crossed the finish line, I did not know what I did not know...Still don't I guess.

Nemosengineer 

64 Gram Dura-Ace 7800, I think this may be either an art form or a mental disorder.

https://bikerumor.com/2013/05/29/fou...ce-derailleur/



: Mike

Velognome 

Found this classic example of vintage drill work on ebay.


Note that the pattern on the inner ring is slightly irregular.......gives the work some heart and soul!

JohnDThompson 

Even factory-drillium can be a little wobbly:

styggno1

I love it - and I have got all kinds. Professionally done, amature, idiotic, nice, bad, dangerous, etc. Still love it.

73StellaSX76

As a reference shot, I removed these rings from a Campy NR crank on a used bike I bought in 1977. I swapped the rings partly because they are well worn and partly because I wanted to go back to Campy rings. I always assumed these were factory drilled by Sugino, I could be wrong. The small holes are chamfered on both sides. In any case a set such as these could be used as pilots for a DIY pattern for rings of the same size, using chain ring bolts to attach the pattern to the subject ring. The pattern could be varied by drilling different hole sizes in different locations if a center drill is first employed.

repechage

Note on this bike that the brake calipers are cut off below the brake blocks.