3Rensho SR Export
 

Here's my 1984 3Rensho SR Export. Most of the components are original Campy SR/NR, with some modern updates as needed (Chris King headset, Koolstop Campy-compatible brake pads, Gore brake cables, & Ti Eggbeaters (red)). The bars and stem are Nitto Dream/Pearl, with Benotto tape over some white padded Scott tape. Seat is a Selle Italia Turbomatic. The bike was repainted and tweaked by CyclArt in 1991, with original decals. When it was repainted, I had them chrome the rear dropouts, and I added a pump peg, chain hangar, second set of bottle bosses on the seat tube, and different top tube cable guides.

Just got a new wheelset (Phil Wood & Mavic Open Pro, with DT spokes and Vittoria CX 25C tires). The Record C hub seals died, so it was time for something new.

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Wow!

Jake

Here are a couple of more pictures, taken before I got the new wheels. Not great, but they'll give you an idea of the frame and paint. I'll try and take some better pictures later, when there's some sun outside.

You can see the offset fork crown, which is a trademark 3Rensho design. The original all-chrome fork was painted this way, because I liked it better. CyclArt also added the two-color paint in the investment-cast seat stay tops.

The brake caliper arms are the last-generation NR, which have the triangular cross-sections and script engraving; the pad holders are the first-generation Chorus, which accept hex-key bolts. The levers are SR, as is the crank and derailleurs. All the SR/NR components that aren't anodized have been smoothed/polished, and I added black paint in all the engraving. The hex-head fitting bolts on most of the components have been changed to stainless steel hex-key bolts, where possible.

The chainrings are from TA (52-41), the freewheel is a 6-speed Dura-Ace 7400 (yeah, not Italian, but it is the best freewheel ever made and it works incredibly well with the SR changer), and the chain is a hollow-pin Regina.

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awesome bike!

do you know anything about later 3rensho SR exports? A friend of mine in japan recently acquired one, however the seat stays caps are just flat... and the fork crown is different....

beautiful...are there any serial numbers on it?
I always thought mine was a 3rensho "Cyclone Super Record Export", but since seeing this I went to the Yellow Jersey pages and learned a thing or 2:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/konno.html

I love the Rensho. I hope to find my own one day.

Thanks, guys.

Serial # A338-525. The size is 52.5, center to center. The frame cost $500, and was bought 26 years ago, almost to the day! The total build with Campy SR/NR was $1050, sans wheels. The top tube is Ishiwata 019 (.8/.5/.8), the down tube is Ishiwata 022 (.9/.6/.9), the seat tube is Ishiwata 019 (.8/.5, 27.2 seatpost), the head tube is Ishiwata 019 (1.0), the fork blades are Ishiwata 019 (1.0), and the chainstays are Ishiwata 019 (.8).

The CyclArt color is #103 Red Brilliant. The repaint job cost more than the whole bike (UPS damaged the bike when it was shipped from one state to another, when I moved across the country, and they paid for all the work).

I have the 1984-85 catalogs. The SR model and the TR have the same engraved investment cast set stay plugs. The SRA (aero), Katana, and time trial bikes have fastback stays with the fixing bolt going through the stays. The Althlete model has what looks like flat top stays and a normal non-offset crown (that was the least expensive road model, which came with Shimano 600).

Rides like a dream. Solid BB, but comfortable. Controllable and precise steering, but not nervous. Classic steel road bike ride.

Here are some closeups.

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More pictures, shot outdoors.

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It is a "wow" Jake that's for sure.

I've had the opportunity to see two of these bikes in the past week. Pretty fancy frame details to put it mildly.

Thank you for this link unworthy1, it gives me a little more background info to get up to speed on this brand.

I think I'll add this to the "gotta have one" list.

Thanks JML for sharing this incredible bike. Gorgeous.

great looking bike. but what was that about the Campi hubs and seals? I assume that they were older than the rims that are pictured in the first set of pics? \

what makes it an 'export'? is that just the model name or was it built especially for the export market?

The model name is "Super Record Export," which was applied to the chainstays of the bikes brought into the US, apparently.

The first set of wheels I had on the bike were build on Campy NR hubs with Mavic MA40 rims, and they needed truing more than I had hoped, although they were built by an excellent builder. The second set was built on Campy C Record hubs and Mavic Open4CD rims (the black rims in the pictures), and after 25 years, the rubber seals in the hubs went bad. It's the death knell to what was otherwise a great spinning set of hubs. They swell up over time, and bind. Whether they bind or not, you can't service the hubs without tearing out the rubber completely. There are no replacements -- Campy never made any, and the rubber was glued to the hub. While the hubs could be repacked with new grease, there was nothing much preventing dirt from entering the races. I guess I got my money's worth out of the old ones.

The new wheels are Phil hubs with Mavic Open Pro (silver) rims (32-hole) and DT double-butted spokes, cross-three. They were built by a great wheelbuilder in Pittsburgh, Scott Wickham. The Phil rear hub has the required 126mm spacing, and takes a freewheel; it was also available when I bought the bike long ago! The only other thing I could have done was search for NOS Campy hubs, and I couldn't find any NR 32-hole hubs; besides, the Phils are just about the best, smoothest, and longest-lived hubs ever made, even if they're a bit heavy. The wheels are just great.

Wow, I am surprised I had to dig through the threads to find this one. Nice bike, i'm going to bump it up for the weekday readers.

Sweet bike! I will have to post some photos of mine soon!

Its just not fair :cry: (go look at my "Fake" thread to see why I,m crying).

Some more pictures...

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Any chance of scnning in and posting the 84-85 catalog you have? It will help many of us dealing with our projects!

I sent all the scans to Velobase: http://www.velobase.com/. The direct link to the ZIP archive is http://www.velobase.com/Resource_Too...me=3Rensho.zip.

And you should look at 3Rensho Blog: http://vintage3rensholove.blogspot.com/.

I also have the 3Rensho reviews from Bicycle Guide, Bicycling, and Winning. Those sites also have the magazine reviews I sent, but they're not posted. The scans are too big for posting here, without loss of detail and ease of reading.

But here's a link to a scans of the Bicycle Guide review of the SRA model.