I've been itching to build the frame set from my "Holiday Guessing Game" thread, but money is tight this close to the holidays...


I got really lucky though and nabbed a Takara Competition with a full Arabesque kit for a c-note as a donor.


Got a chance to strip it down tonight, now I need to do some cleaning.


Hoping I can resell the Takara frame to get the cash I'll need for tires, etc.




Donor parts pile so far:











By the way...how do I loosen this nut? Not much clearance for a socket...







This is what I'll be hanging the parts on:






Can't wait to take this one for a spin.


Steve

hot. Love Ted's road stuff. Nice components for the build, too...

Nice looking Ted............I went and looked at an MTB a few years ago but it had a big dent in the down tube. These don't come around very often. Just my opinion but certainly worthy of a Campy group.

One of my favorite northeast builders, especially his MTB's. Should be a good one.

I guess I should have said the 600 EX stuff is just to get me rolling. My long term plan is to swap out each component with 7400 Dura Ace as I can afford it.
I always loved the racy look of the group, and this frame should be fast enough to match it. ( I already have a shiny Campagnolo build on my Bianchi, and wanted to do something different).



cheers,
Steve

What size is the Takara?

Beautiful New Hampshire frameset. Maybe one day.

Looks like the pivot arm on the right has suffered some damage and is bent inward, causing it to be too close to the nut. I've used a nut driver (8mm IIRC) and it fit. Try bending the arm outward enough to slip the nut driver into place.

It's a big one...62cm center of BB to center of TT.



Steve

Ah, well.... it was worth a shot.

Hahaha...it's nice to be among others with the same disease.



Steve

Thanks for the tip Bob...I'll give it a shot tomorrow night.



Steve

More parts for the build....














Got the darn levers off (Thanks Bob)...the guy who decided to use a nut instead of a screw should be whipped with old brake cables though.







Should they be bent like this?








And a shot of the Takara for the Japanese steel fans.







Steve

Randonneuring bars are often bent up like that.

Hubs cleaned up nicely...now I can start the wheel rebuild:






cranks are nice and shiny:








More to come....


Steve

Nice Wojcik!

I have a 91? Prolite Comp (pretty sure) mountain bike and I just picked up a Tig'd road frame of his last weekend. Tig welds are so small on both bikes they're nearly invisible. If the frame is early enough, it may have been built in Massachusetts.

I'll be following this Nice score.

Rainy weekend: hows the build coming?

Haha, would have been great to be in the shop, but worked an eleven hour day today, and have to do it again tomorrow, ugh. Good news is I'm off Monday...can't wait to make some more progress. Pics soon, I promise.

Steve

Update for YoKev....




Only had a bit of time, but got a few things cleaned and hung:




was surprised spindle called out the "one key release"



























Had a bit of a set back with the wheel plans...hubs are 36h, and the rims I bought on Ebay were listed as 36h, but guess what...32h, ugh...guess I should have counted sooner.
Hopefully I'll get it sorted quick.




Steve

nice nice nice!

It's coming along quite nicely. Bummer on the rims, maybe someone here can trade with you. Is the saddle just worn a bit or is it dirt that wont come off?

Kevin

Good to see that lovely frame again - and good too to see it coming together into a bike

Also nice to see an interesting (and different) parts group tying it all together. The 600 stuff looks to be in super shape and will look just fine on this frame. Too bad about the hubs/rims issue, but I'm sure you'll put that right soon enough. I'll be following this build with great interest

What pedals will you be using?

DD

That would be me! My size, too, but the garage is full. The bike you're building is a worthy recipient of the parts this frame had to donate.

Very nice build! I love these old bikes, so many cool frames that I have never heard of.



And what is the top tube length on that Takara? I might be interested, but I am guessing it is too long, but figured I'd ask.

Great looking bike. That "one key release" on the spindle caught my eye too, I didn't know they did that.

YoKev, yeah, rim mix up stinks, but I'll either end up with a set of 36h clinchers or a set of 32h hubs one way or the other.
Seat is just worn...I really like the old Turbos...it'll get a spruce up with white shoe polish before it hits the road.


DD, yeah lucking into the Arabesque kit was very fortunate...I'd be stalled for a while if I had to buy a group piece by piece.
Hopefully the rim/hub situation will sort itself out soon. Pedals will be one of my old favorites...Suntour (I know, I know...wrong group, but I like 'em).


Standalone, thanks for the smile...let me know if any space opens up in your garage, lol.


Chitown_Mike, glad you like it.
TT on Takara is 23" center of HT to center of ST. (BTW, on the off chance I sell the Takara though BF, I'll make sure to buy an ad)


Bianchigirl, Thanks. I love learning little things like that about obscure parts too.





Cleaned up the last small bits. Not sure if I'll be keeping the tan hoods (white might be nice if I can find a cheap set).






Steve

That's coming along nicely. Look forward to seeing it when it's complete!