WolfgangVerne 

I'm sure some of you have seen my request for black anodized/painted vintage components over in the C&V Sales section, so this build won't be a complete surprise. But for those who haven't, I'm putting all black components on this lovely 3Rensho instead of opting for a nice Dura-Ace, Super Record, or Superbe Pro groupset that it likely deserves. Inspired by a few photos of some nice pink and black bikes and with a desire to do something different, I figured I'd give it a go.

Here's where I'm starting from. I did weigh the frame and the fork before installing the headset (with only the dropout adjust screws and seatpost binder bolt left on) and came up with a weight of 2016 grams for the frame and 786 grams for the fork.



This frameset came to me with a very nice Suntour Superbe Pro headset, which I unfortunately can't use. Forgot to grab a picture of the frameset with the Superbe headset installed, so you're seeing it here with a Tange Falcon FL250c headset. I was having trouble tracking down any vintage headsets that were anodized, in decent condition, and didn't cost a fortune. So I opted to go with a new part here instead. It's quite a nice headset though and I think fits the frame nicely. All aluminum construction, sealed cartridge bearings, and comes in at a svelte 86 grams.



I opted to use this Gipiemme shifter mount as it will give me the freedom to use a wide range of downtube shifters, and it's mostly black to boot. I may end up painting the whole thing black, but we'll see how far I want to go.



For the bottom bracket, I'll be using an old World Class titanium bottom bracket. Still spins nicely and only weighs 162 grams. Figured while I'm at it, I might as well use some lighter components where I can just to complicate things further.



I was originally planning to compromise with the derailleurs and just find a pair with black accents, but then I came across this braze-on Suntour Superbe Pro front derailleur and couldn't resist. The anodization has faded and is missing in quite a few places, but I think I can make it presentable with some touch up paint. Another nice, lightweight component that comes in at 80 grams.



The only real downside is that it requires me to use a braze-on adapter clamp to secure it to the frame. The only one I could find in 28.6mm diameter and that was black was this unit made by Problem Solvers. It's a little meaty (it weighs 30 whole grams!) and I'd like to find an alternative, but it works for the time being.



For the rear derailleur I found this Suntour Sprint derailleur that I believe came off an old Cannondale "Black Lightning." The Suntour logo is missing a large chunk, but the rest of the derailleur is in great condition overall. Or at least as good as I can expect with my fairly strict requirements. Comes in at 204 grams. From my quick research, this era of Sprint was positioned in between Superbe and Cyclone in the Suntour line-up, so it should shift nicely as well.



As mentioned in my for sale post, I have a black Velo Orange Grand Cru crankset (nice vintage style and with drillium for extra lightness) and a carbon tubular wheelset that I'll be using for this build. The carbon wheelset may not be many's first choice, but the wheels are black, they're light, and they're aero. So I think they end up being a perfect fit. Sporting a 9 speed cassette currently, I'll try that for starters, but may end up needing to drop down to 8 speed depending on how much range I can get the derailleur/shift levers to cover.



Threw everything together for a quick test of the colors to make sure I wasn't making a grave mistake and I think it is turning out quite nicely so far. Debating on whether to hit the white Grand Cru logo with some acetone to really black out the crankset, but otherwise am quite happy with how it looks.

obrentharris 

Beautiful bike!
I like the black-on-pink theme.
Brent

WolfgangVerne 

I do have a bit of a conundrum with the seatpost. I might as well go lightweight here as well, seeing that I've done that with a few of the other components. In for a penny, in for a pound and all that. The new nice, cheap, black seatposts that are abundant on eBay and Amazon and would be so easy to use, just seem too hefty now. That was my original plan, so I'm going to have to improvise. Here's where the conundrum comes in. I have a nice Ti American Classic seatpost that's light (174 grams) and would look the part, with the small exception of it not being black.

So the question is, do I paint it? I have a friend who could likely powder coat it for me, but I don't know if there's any unforeseen issues that could cause. Anodizing is an option, but that likely wouldn't be cheap. Or do I sacrifice a little weight and go for something easier like a nice, new, and cheap black Kalloy seatpost?

Bikejock200M

I would say go with black for the seat post. Because the headset is also black, I would go black post, bar and stem.
you could easily just paint the post for now. I am so vote to remove VO logo, would probably remove the Suntour logo from the rear derailleur also. Looks great so far!

J

WolfgangVerne 

For the remainder of the build, I have already purchased a stem, a handlebar, and brake calipers which are all currently in transit. I'll post photos of those as they come in.

I sourced these re-badged Modolo Pro levers from another forum member. The levers came to me with a white Scott logo, but a little acetone and a razor blade made short work of those. I already had a set of new black Rustines hoods, which fit close enough for my sensibilities. They're not aero, but they are in great condition, they are light (176 grams), and they have drillium to go along with the crankset. Still deciding whether to stick with these, or try to source some aero levers. Curious to hear your opinions on this matter.



The other component I'm on the hunt for now is a saddle. I pretty much exclusively run Brooks saddles, but might be open to trying something new on this build for the sake of a little extra lightness. I am considering a Brooks Cambium as I think it has some nice classic features and would be a little more appropriate than a leather saddle. But open to any suggestions on what saddle would be a good fit. Perhaps a Turbo or something similar?

LittleGinseng 

You haven't made any mention of a black chain. Do you have any prospects in mind?

furthernorth

Love it!

TenGrainBread

Don't paint the AC seatpost, leave as is and use it. Not everything needs to match. Some contrast is good.

obrentharris 

I agree with @TenGrainBread.
Try the AC post as is before deciding to go all black. You already have some silver accents in the derailleurs, the brake lever drillium, and and the chainring drillium. I think it will all work together.
Brent

Last ride 76 

Go with the black kalloy, and send that one to me to put on the dark green 3rensho arriving tomorrow from Alex's horde (hoard)... Eric
I have a black American Classic (logo is too scuffed for your bike) on a red and yellow serotta) That's what I really suggest. Wicked light, of course.

WolfgangVerne 

Didn't see a lot out of options out there for a black 9 speed chain, but I did find one made by YBN (Model SLA901) that I ended up purchasing. Could have possibly went silver here as well, but decided to try black first and I have some silver chains kicking around to swap in if needed.

SLA/SLA901-Yaban Chain Industrial Co., Ltd.

WolfgangVerne 

Fair point. I'll hold off on the seatpost until I get the stem and handlebars installed and see what I think from there. I do have a black Ideale saddle I can throw on there as well to test how an all black saddle will look with the TI seatpost.

WolfgangVerne 

Glad someone picked that up from Alex! I was tempted to go grab it and potentially just throw together a parts bin build and use it as a commuter. I'm a big fan of anything with paint that resembles a "British racing" green.

I'll definitely keep you in mind if I opt to go a different route with the seatpost. Don't really have a need for this one otherwise. Curious what the weight difference is between the Ti and the aluminum models, probably not much.

Last ride 76 

Are you now?

Oh I thought you said Kermit green, wait...

Last ride 76 

Back in the day... Before Covid-19. December 23, 2019, my last pandemic-free ride. (Owned this bike since 1974.) Repainted 2015

At one point I was going to suggest this type of Roval wheel for your build, but I saw you had plenty of options. True black, hidden nipples, aero, with partially black hubs. ( I bought the wheels this way. I don't think the previous owner could afford a front brake.)

WolfgangVerne 

Beautiful bike. I'm sometimes wary of white handlebar tape, but it looks really nice with the rest of the white accents.

I had considered trying to source some black aluminum rims similar to what you have, but was worried the brake track wear would ruin some of the all-black affect. Don't have that issue with the carbon rims. May still end up trying that out though at some point if I can find a good set at a reasonable price.

styggno1

Our frames look very much the same because of the colour. Yours has two sets of bottlecage braze ons and a different version rear derailleur cable stop. Mine has Shimano EF fork ends. Serial A184. Does yours have Campagnolo fork ends and would you share your serial? I believe yours is a bit newer. At A184 Andrew Muzi put mine at 1983.

WolfgangVerne 

Beautiful bike! I definitely took a look at your build thread when deciding how to put mine together as they are the same color. I've heard it referred to as "Rose" before, but I'm not certain. Mine has Campagnolo fork ends and the serial # is A390. Definitely newer, but not sure what year range that serial number would put it in.

microcord

A friend had similar rims, and rim brakes. At the top of one hill, his rims were fine. By the time we reached the bottom of the hill, one rim was warped. Luckily the tyre didn't pop out. We all rolled warily to a station, packed our bikes and went home. Appearance (and wind resistance and weight) be damned: at least for use with rim brakes, I'd rather have bog standard, box-section aluminium rims than carbon fibre rims.

merziac

WolfgangVerne

Stick a piece of black elec tape over the GC and take the same pic to see, I bet we black it out.

Last ride 76 

Thank you.White cloth bar tape - just for display/short rides (with washed hands, no less, if i remember to do it). It's my old racer, restored, and neither of us are as fit as we were BITD. White cork (the cushiony stuff) goes acceptably off white as far as I'm concerned. otherwise plastic or BLACK. I have not been riding with determination this year, just an hour or so at a time, stuff tends to stay cleaner, not that it is a good thing. I sold the nicer pair of those Rovals I had, on ebay,

This tape is fine with me, and this was my daily rider for a year or so. Can wash the worst grime off w/ soapy water. (Not as white as it looks, but not bad.) Helps that I mostly ride the hoods.

WolfgangVerne 

Good call, I'll give that a try tonight and see what I think. I'm leaning the same way as you at the moment though.

WolfgangVerne 

These are tubular rims, not clinchers, so I'm not as concerned about any warping. I do recognize your point though. I definitely keep an eye on them, but I've been riding on these for years now with no issues. I know some of the early carbon clincher rims had issues with heat from heavy braking warping the walls, but don't think the tubular versions really had the same issues.

If I do end up coming upon a good aluminum option I may end up going that route in the future, but for now I'm pretty content with the carbon rims.

WolfgangVerne 

Cork is definitely the way to go for a daily rider. I typically only use cloth bar tape, so white has generally always been a no-go for me. Although I did pick up some white Benotto cello-tape recently for a Peugeot I picked up. Think it will be a nice mix between the two. Closer in appearance to the thinness of cloth, but also much easier to clean.

Last ride 76 

My rides are relatively short. I hated anything but cloth, until that Gios- came from Germany like that., and I cleaned it off after couple weeks. Sold! and funny I got a bike wirh pearl white Benotto... Love Benotto, for the bling and the weight weenie that won't ever go away completely. If I were riding long hours, yeah, but I'm not right now.