Oh man, oh man that is going to be some bike.

Well, this is progressing slowly but I think I know the path I'm going to take. The Shimano 600 Tricolor set I have on hand is just in so much better condition than the Chorus set I have. So I'm going with that on this bike. I'll be using the Fulcrum wheels for sure now but will probably break out the heatgun and pull off the decals. I lucked out and was able to get a discontinued silver Thomson 26.8 seatpost with setback for 1/2 price from them. The seatpost let me dial in my normal setback from the BB and then the Nitto 80mm stem puts the reach spot on.

I guess the final decision now is just cosmetics. What saddle to put on it which may then dictate bar tape color to go on the Nitto Noodle's handlebars I'll be using on it. And of course the housing color white or red....

I've got a lot of range of motion back on my separated shoulder but I still can't do any work with it. I won't even mention how worthless my thumb still is on my other hand. It may be awhile before this is done unless I pass it off to the LBS.

That's a nice frame set. I dig the paint.

What is the tab on the underside of the top tube?

Number tang

Well, snowing like crazy today and I was bored. Did a final paint touch up on this. I'll let it cure a day or two then do a gentle wet sand and polish to see if I can blend the worked areas in a bit better. Not that it really matters but just because I've got the time so I might as well give it a try.

I weighed the bike and all the parts just for the heck of it too. Looks like it'll easily wind up in the 21-22 lb range.

Well, finally got the bike finished. Should get the first test ride in today or tomorrow. Built up with a fairly nice Shimano "tri-color" groupset and sporting some "non-classic" Fulcrum Racing 3 wheels. I think it looks pretty good and hopefully can report that it rides really well shortly. Came in at a respectable 21 lbs, 2 ozs as in the picture below with the pedals and bottle cage.

Pretty, enjoy the ride

Very lovely! The frame is subtle in a really elegant sort of way, but still looks racy (due mostly to the rather pro-peloton style paint job). That's a rare combination in my estimation. Enjoy it!

-Gregory

Yeah, I'm about 50/50 on pulling them off. I haven't decided on this one yet. I just use a heat gun to warm up the decals and find they come off without leaving any residue.

I did get this out for a ride yesterday. Two major issues. First was the FD wouldn't trim or otherwise move after the first time I trimmed it. Had the LBS guys look at it and they said the spring is jacked up despite how low mileage the groupset is. It seems to work most time if you push the shift lever forward a tad as you activate it. But yesterday I finished the ride into a strong headwind with only the 3 small gears in the back available. The seatpost also slipped and I forgot to bring the right size allen wrench to fix that. It came with a 26.8 seatpost and that's what I have on it. But most 531 are larger so I think it's the wrong size post. Going to try a 27 or shim the Thomsen I have on it right now.

I think I remember using a 27.2mm when I had your frame. But it has been awhile and the photos I have are not conclusive. Typically 531C did use 27.2mm, but that really depended on the builder.

Yeah, I didn't even check that, just went by what the seller sent with it. Today I used a 27.0 I had on hand and all was fine. It's a SR Laprade though with a toothed seat post clamp. Couldn't get the Fizik level like I needed for comfort.

Bike worked fine today. My legs are not back yet so they held me back. I did a little over 25 miles on it today. It is a harsher ride than the Serotta CSI I rode yesterday. But the bike seems to be eager to go and for a while I ran in the low to mid 20 mph range with no issues.

LOL. Those were my impressions when I rode it. It just seems to want to go. I always enjoyed riding that frame and had it been just a bit smaller, I would have kept it. But then I might not have gotten the JDR I have now.

Just thought I'd update this with some more impressions on how this bike rides. I"ve finally back to my normal routine so getting in a lot of miles on a lot of bikes. This bike is certainly a bit rougher than most I ride. It's a bit twitchier on the front but turns fast and stable. The rougher sections of road really rattle this one on both ends. Enough that it really does seem to rob me of some momentum. In contrast the Serotta CSI and Greg Lemond Maillot Jaune ride smoother. Also, when tired I seem to be able carry more speed with the other two mentioned bikes. The Reus is plenty fast but you seem to need to keep on the power to hold speed if that makes sense.

Today I was out on it for 25 miles. My quads were blasted from 50+ miles of riding yesterday that included over 2700 ft of climbing with a 42T small chainring. The first half of the route today was slow for such a calm cool day. But in the second half I got it going and was able to run the bike in the low 20 mph range for many of the remaining miles. The bike felt great at those speeds. I honestly am not sure how I feel about this one yet. I need one day on it with no winds and fresh legs. I will say that despite being a 531c tubeset the bike is plenty stiff. My 531 Bob Jackson is a lot flexier and so was the Trek 560 Pro I moved on a couple of years ago.

And some more info to share. The front fork has a lot of clearance. Today I was able to mount up a Continetal 4000s II 700 x 28 on a set of Fulcrum Racing 3 wheels and still had plenty of room. That may help taking some of the harshness out of this one on the rough roads I ride. I'm taking out a different bike each day this month but I'll get this out this week and see how it feels now and it it seemed to slow it down any....which I doubt.