darkmagus

I've been searching through the forums for a while and figured I should post up my newest build. My frame appears to be identical to cuda2k's. I was looking for an older Campy group when I came across this Ultegra setup for super cheap. This thing rides like a dream and doesn't like to go slow. I absolutely love it....looks like my LeMond will be finding a new home soon. Oh, and I'm using my backup camera so the photos really don't do it justice.

Frame/Fork:--------'83 or '84ish Gazelle Champion Mondial AB-Frame #3280367
Handlebars---------Profile Design
Stem----------------Nitto Dynamic 10, 100mm
Seatpost------------Lightspeed Titanium
Saddle--------------Selle Italia Flite Gel
Wheels/Hubs-------Mavic MA40/Shimano 600
Tires----------------IRC Paperlite 700x23c
Brakes--------------Ultegra
STI Shifters--------Ultegra 9 Speed
Crankset------------Ultegra 53/39
Rear Derailleur-----Ultegra
Front Derailleur----600 in photos (Ultegra installed now)
Pedals--------------Shimano 520

jan nikolajsen 

beautiful color scheme. looks so good. what's the history? where did you pick it up?

a gazelle is one of my three most wanted frames. one day..

jan

cuda2k

Yup, that sure looks familiar. And the ride characteristics sound familiar too! Now you're gonna make me go look up my frame's serial number to see how close they are aren't you? brb...

edit: my frame number is 3277792.

And don't worry about the Shimano stuff, the dutch built bikes with what ever worked best for them, and my Gazelle was once decked out in Shimano too. In time the right Campagnolo group will come you way.

Wino Ryder

Beautiful bike. Nice pics too.

s70rguy

I hate to state the obvious, but shouldnt every serious classic rider have a Gazelle in his stable?
And there are so many colours to choose from!

Seriously, that particular colour combination is nice, and so is the same one with red metallic or green metallic headtube - seattube contrasts. The white - blue is the colour of the Gazelle factory amateur team of 1980 - 81.

cuda2k

or 2!



or 3! ... what, I do need a track frame.

darkmagus

Thanks everyone! So based on the two serial #'s do you think mine is an '83 too? Or maybe an '84?

I picked up the frame on ebay a few weeks ago. I payed more than I really wanted to for it, but I ended up scoring the donor bike for super cheap. The frame was $265 shipped, but I picked up a Giant OCR1 for $300. After selling off the excess Giant parts I'm in the Gazelle for $500 on the nose...which I was really happy about.

My only complaint was that the seller didn't disclose that some genius decided to etch random numbers on the seattube (poorly). You probably can't tell in those photos but it's on the edge of the 531 sticker. If it would've been a cheap frame then whatever but not when I payed a premium for it.

Now I wish I could find a matching cross frame...

Elev12k

The ''random numbers'' you mention are probably a postal code. In Holland it a common practice to engrave your postal code in the frame, so the owner can be traced back after a bike has been found after a theft. Indeed not so nice they engraved it at that place on a bike having a serious price tag.

Nice bike btw. Beautifull colour combo indeed. I am owner of a blue/grey '82 AA Special (that has to be build) and a cherry red A.

cuda2k

$265 shipped isn't too bad for a 531c frame in that condition. I've paid more.

I am tempted to one day complete my gazelle collection with an AA-Super and a track frame. Though I keep thinking I should look at other brands for the track bike, and I was thinking something Italian for the Super Record group I have (though the AA- would work for that group as well...)

s70rguy

Hey darkmagus, tell us the postal code, and elev12k and me (condiering the size of the frame, I think we need two of us ...) can pay the guy a visit and tell him in no uncertain terms what we, and the rest of this forum, think of this engraving!

lotek 

well like the advert says "If it ain't Dutch, it ain't worth much"

Darkmajus, Nice Gazelle! and a sweet price too.

yah, okay fine, I'll start looking and add a Gazelle to my collection, priority right up there
with a Jabo, Joco, Presto and Batavus . . . sigh. maybe a Jan Jansen and a Van Tuyl?

Freek, can you find another gazzele? I liked that one you had.

Marty

darkmagus

Be sure to take a video camera......

I think 'etching' may have been too nice. More like scratched with a dull butter knife....then poorly touched up with white-out. Seriously though could the person who did it not see that they were about to run into the 531 sticker? Hmm well at least I may find out where the bike once lived.

cyclotoine

I paid more for mine! Seriously, another model? AA-super? never heard of it. Is it built with 753? I own a gazelle and In still don't understand how to differentiate the models. I think I have an AA but am entirely uncertain.

darkmagus

As I've gathered from the board:

753 Frame: internal cable routing, 753 tubing
AA-Special: internal cable routing, 531cs (not sure about the cs though)
AA-Frame: no eyelets on dropouts, Campy Record
AB-Frame: no eyelets, same as AA except with a lower tier of Campy components
A-Frame: has eyelets for racks/fenders,

Of course I could be completely wrong on all of that.

cuda2k

believe that the AB used a different BB shell than the AA-frame, and there were different for crowns for the two. There was a .1 kg weight difference between AA and AB. My dutch isn't good enough (read, none at all) to read much of my gazelle brochure. I'm sure s70rguy will fill in the blanks. And then there was the Champion Mondial Aerodynamische with aero tubing for a couple years.

oh, appears that the AA-special also came (standard) with a braze on tab for the front derailleur. also a partially chromed rear right chain stay. Gazelles could be ordered from the factory with lots of custom options, so an AB with some of the AA- AA-special features wouldn't be out of the question I suppose. But at some point you'd end up with an AA-frame with a different name on it I suppose.

darkmagus

Ah, yeah I knew I was forgetting some things. There's also the AA-Special with the wishbone rear.

cyclotoine

So your (at darkmagus) frame and cuda's frame are both AB, and the only way you can tell is based on the fork crown and BB, what kind of fork crown and BB do they have and what do the AAs have? What are the differences? Sorry to be so picky and inquisitive but it seems to me that Gazelle has a very interesting way of differentiating models, the details are very small and there are a lot of options, it seems more than most large production bike companies and gazelle was a pretty large producer (afaik).

s70rguy

Here's what I wrote on CR-list, not long ago.

A-frame had long dropouts/fender eyelets and a c.10 mm longer wheelbase. From what I can see with the naked eye, geometry was in essence the same. To make it more complicated, i have seen A-frame's with short dropouts ... I believe this is because customers could always order what they wanted from the factory.
Until the late 70s there only was a choice of A-frame and AA-frame, then (78? 79?) came the 753-frame.

In the 1980 brochure the models were:
A-frame
AB-frame
AA-frame
531-SL frame
753-frame

1982:
A-frame
AB-frame
AA-frame
AA special-frame
753-frame

1984:
A-frame
AB-frame
AA-frame
AA special-frame
AA Super-frame (ultra short chainstays, wishbone seatstay, dented seattube, gearleverbosses on top of dt)
753-frame

Diversification!

The differences: A-frame: fender eyelets, slightly longer wheelbase, and from A-frame to AA: more expensive fork crowns and bb shells.
Before c. 1980 Gazelle used the 'butterfly' brakebridge, and the AA-frame had a 'X' shaped chainstay reinforcement. After 1980 you can see small alterations, on one hand because the market asked for the f.i. micro fusion or aero bb shells and fork crowns, through the toptube brake cable routing or fd bosses, on the other hand you can see cost-cutting measures. The most obvious of those is the paint-job: no more lug-lining, and a bit later (around 1987 I think) the move to 'fade' paint jobs.
Nothing of those cost cutting measures took away from the quality of the frames IMO. As one of the British CR list members put it at one point: there's nothing special or fancy about the workmanship, but they ride so d***mned good!

Re. the engraved postal code: 3053ZN, thats Rotterdam, where I live! About 3 miles, as the crow flies, from where I live. More relevant, about 500 meters from the RWC Ahoy cycling club, and its circuit. So, who knows, former owner may have been a member there, and I may know him ... (or her!).
Darkmagus, how did you get that frame? So cheaply ...

javal

The Ultegra group is as good as they come. I enjoy the mix of Ultegra rear derailleur and 600 elsewhere on one of my upgrades and it works immaculate! But foremost; stunning bike, great achivement!

darkmagus

Right after I posted the number I went and did a google maps search and found the house. I was thinking it was like our zip code which doesn't tell the exact location. Wow, now I'm kinda glad it's on there.

Well, it's good to hear I didn't overpay for the frame! And I guess I should have clarified....it was more than I was planning on paying for a frame at the time. Not necessarily more than I thought it was worth. Here in Portland, Oregon the bike market is insane so I was pretty sure I could get even more for it. The auction had a starting bid of ~$225 and no one was really bidding on it until the last few minutes of the auction. I think I finally threw in a bid of $300 to hopefully ensure I got it.

Here's the auction page. Oh, and where are my chrome forks and stays!
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=360098504494

Also does anyone know what that sticker near the downtube shifters is? The first letter is missing but I'm pretty sure it says Handenhuis Noord, Rotterdam 12. From what I found it means Hand House North? I wasn't sure if it designated the factory where it was built or maybe a bike shop where it was sold.

s70rguy

Bandenhuis Noord: tire house north

https://www.de-peppelweg.nl/peppelweg...fullnews&id=12

Very close to that adress from the engraved postal code.

And yes, where are your chromed fork tips??? Ohhh, radmaenner ... not the first time he's not 100 % accurate ...

Its funny, I have an exact same AB-frame here, 58 c-t, better condition, framenumber 3269873, postal code in same spot, but: 5251 NE 5 ...
Anyone interested???

caloso

Very nice. As you've found out for yourself, the Champ just begs to go fast. Enjoy!

roliviuro

the beauty of mine ! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...9294277&type=1