I'm very happy with almost everything. The fender lines are almost perfect (any imperfections here are due to the angle more than anything.) All the important things are right.
Here's the seat cluster—one of my favourite areas, with lots of decals, good reflections, lots of colour... (Curnoe routed the cable on the other side, but I decided to go left, for a number of not particularly interesting reasons...)
The rear brake (which works well) and the fender reinforcer.
The day's best view. Lots of triangles, and all the main colours...
The bottom bracket area looks nice. But, unfortunately, I'll probably need to swap the actual bottom bracket. This SKF 116mm JIS taper BB is too narrow by about a micrometer. With the driveside arm tightened almost enough, it's about to touch the overly-large driveside cup on the SKF BB. Another quarter turn and there would be creaking. I'm sure they're very nice BBs, but they're just not practical for use with TA cranks. I'll swap in a Shimano—after photos, for this red cup looks too good! (Maybe the red cup with fit on to a Shimano BB?) The good news is that all the clearances are right with a 116mm BB, and the chainline works...
RED CHAIN! Silly, perhaps—but one of the best details, I think. Note that the Chorus derailleur had no trouble shifting on to the large cog (24). We'll see if the reduced chain gap has any effect on shifting.
View from the front. The Nuovo Record headset was the right decision... Note also the red donuts, which look good. I'll lower the stem a bit.
So now I need a proper studio shot of Greg Curnoe Bike with a white background. Once I have that photo, from the same angle as the painting, Phase One of the project will be complete.
10 comments:
Adam,
That looks great. I think it works really well.
Those SKS BBs come with a 2 mm or so spacer... I had to use it on the drive side when I had a TA crank. Have you tried adding the spacer?
Thanks Michael! The brick background definitely doesn't show the bike at its best, but yes, it still looks okay.
A yes, the spacer is on there. Chainline is good, the BB is the right length... but the actual spider of the driveside crank arm is right up against the drive side BB cup. If you were using a 121mm, it would jut out more and wouldn't be a problem... but the chainline would be off and you'd have more Q factor that necessary. A UN-72 looks like it's in my future... I also have a really nice old cup-and-cone Shimano 600 in 116mm, but I guess I'd rather avoid the maintenance... Hmm....
Really nice job, very Canadian and classy!
Hey, I wasn't expecting CLASSY, but I'll take it! Canadian, unquestionably! Thanks!
Adam the bike looks great. It's nice to see the bits all together.
Now we have to ride.
How come the tire labels are not offset forward of the valve stem like the original? If I know you there *must* be a reason.
BTW it looks great and more rideable than the original.
A question I have been DYING to answer! With tubulars, you don't get a choice: the labels land where they land with respect to the valve stem!
Amazing, really like it!
Adam, as an appreciator of art and a Greg Curnoe fan, I have to say that you have done an absolutely beautiful job on a masterpiece of a bike. You really should send pictures of it to the AGO curators who are the experts on Curnoe.
Hillary in Durham, NC
Thanks, Hillary and Sam. I've taken your advice and alerted the curators at the AGO!
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