Well it did end up being a rather long time, didn't it!
I'm afraid I am again in a rush, and won't have time to provide my long-overdue explanation of the name "BIS" and its logo. I will merely say that, unfortunately, everyone thinks the logo says "B.S." because I insisted on wrapping the "I" over the top the downtube.
I will also say that I think Marcel looks absolutely incredible, and that Olivier's work here (most of the frame, the rack, décaleur, and stem) is truly wonderful—beautiful and also very functional. Noah's paint, as usual, is exceptional.
More photos as the build progresses!
6 comments:
Very nice.
Bars: A
Stem: A
Rack: A
Decaleur: A
Frame: A
Derailleur: F
Needs a Simplex SLJ, Spidel branded.
I actually HAVE a Spidel-branded SLJ, believe it or not -- but I truly don't like that derailleur, functionally or aesthetically. The Mavic is my favourite ever. It works like a Dura Ace 8400 and it looks like... a Mavic. I should point out that I completely disassembled it (one of the selling points of Mavic components of that era) and sanded off the anodizing on all the silver parts and polished them. Also: the painted white logo on painted black aluminum matches the bars perfectly -- how could I NOT use it?
Any Mike Barry disciple must have good reasons for eschewing an SLJ. What model Mavic is it, and what are the plans for the remaining components. Please tell me you're using a Stronglight 49d on this baby, and some nice Simplex retrofriction shifters like the ones on your green bike.
I know what Mike has said about the SLJ; in my experience, it's just not a great derailleur, compared to more modern slant-parallelogram offerings. (And if you read the interview with Grant Petersen in which Mike said the 'If I only had one derailleur with me, on a trip around the world, I'd make it an SLJ'... it's sort of dragged out of him, and Mike clearly says it's an unlikely scenario. Mike rides with Campy Ergo levers and loves them!)
But yes, the good news: the cranks are TAs (not 49ds, but close enough, and very pretty) and the shifters are Simplex Retrofriction!
The build is actually nearly done. The wiring has been a huge pain, but is nearly now all set up...
Please post more pics of the special constructeur details on the machine: stem, decaleur, rear dropouts, bridges, rack. All these are what set apart a bespoke frame from one off the shelf, and show your workmanship. Beautiful machine. My fav of your creations thus far.
Will do shortly, I promise. I should say right now that this bike is called BIS and not A.HAMMOND because two people contributed to making it: myself and my friend and associate Olivier. He is responsible for most of the details you mention: the rack, stem, décaleur, the rear triangle bridges. I made the fork, the lugs, fancy details like the rear dropouts, and did most of the finish work. I hope to get photos of everything up by the end of next week.
I love this frame too! Hard to say I like it better than the Curnoe bike, but it's certainly up there, though a very different machine...
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