Out of Alan Weaver's loft: the Beacon Heroica two-TT series

George · Post by **George** » 11 Jan 2015 14:13

One thing leads to another…

Alan Weaver has recently been rummaging in his loft. I think he was supposed to be making himself useful, sorting things out. Instead, he emerged from the dust, coughing and spluttering and excitedly waving an extraordinary find: a folder of time-trial result sheets from the 1980s. This led to a handful of us spending a significant part of the weekend reminiscing about bikes and courses of yesteryear.

And it led me to think that, because I still possess my 1980s TT frame and many of the components, I'd like to rebuild the bike that was my pride and joy thirty years ago.

And THAT led me to ask myself: "What will you do with it when you've rebuilt it?"

The obvious answer, surely, must be: "Ride a time trial."

So here is my proposal:
On Wednesday 22 July and Wednesday 29 July, we have two club TTs coming up on a flattish five-mile course (K20/5). I am hoping to ride the first one on my rebuilt MKM, and the second one on my 'modern' TT bike.
And I'm inviting anyone else who has (or can borrow) both a traditional TT bike and a modern TT bike to do the same. I have a bottle of Champaign that I had meant to open on New Year's Eve, but didn't, which I will gladly present to the rider with the shortest aggregate ten-mile time. (Which I can safely say will be me only if no one else takes up the challenge.)
No strict rules, but by 'traditional', I mean tubular frame, no carbon, no discs, no deep-section rims, no tri-bars, no pointy hats, etc.
If anyone can suggest a handicapping system that would make the outcome less of a foregone conclusion, please suggest away. However, since this is all just a bit of fun, I don't specially mind if the outcome IS a foregone conclusion. I envisage it all happening within the context of the ordinary club time trials, without interfering with the activities of those testers who aren't interested in outmoded machinery.

A footnote: at this point in time, I am neither physically nor mechanically ready to implement this plan. I'm setting myself a goal, not making a commitment.

AlanW · Post by **AlanW** » 11 Jan 2015 14:21

Its nice to think that I have inspired you George!

Patch · Post by **Patch** » 11 Jan 2015 14:27

Great idea George

Andy Terry · Post by **Andy Terry** » 11 Jan 2015 17:39

Alan - Time to build up the Holdsworth?

AlanW · Post by **AlanW** » 11 Jan 2015 20:54

Andy Terry wrote:Alan - Time to build up the Holdsworth?

Yes I would love to Andy. However, I do value my testicles far greater than the desire to rebuild the Holdsworth. Coz if Mrs W got wind that I was going to do it then she wouldn't be best pleased (and thats an massive understatement) hence the reference to my testicles!

Dave Cox · Post by **Dave Cox** » 11 Jan 2015 22:08

Ben at Venture Bikes has a beautiful classic lugged 531 frame on display surely there should be points for age of bike (not rider) and style????

George · Post by **George** » 12 Jan 2015 09:14

AlanW wrote:However, I do value my testicles far greater than the desire to rebuild the Holdsworth. Coz if Mrs W got wind that I was going to do it then she wouldn't be best pleased

I suppose it depends what state your old machine is currently in. I'm relatively fortunate in that I still have most of my old TT bike. I'm hoping that the only stuff I need to buy new is 'wear' components, such as chain, bearings, tyres, cables and stuff. I think I can do that for £100-150. For me, the biggest cost item is going to be having the frame resprayed. If I go for a quality enamel job, that may set me back about £150, but I could theoretically have it powder coated for a fraction of that. So the whole project might cost me £200-300, spread out of several months. However, if you've got to source a lot of components off eBay, I suppose you could easily end up spending £1000.

I haven't yet checked out the exact state of my mothballed components, but there are two things that could be a spanner in the works for me:
1. Rear wheel: I have a vague recollection that the screw-on block may be both badly worn and totally jammed on. Not sure how I'm going to resolve that.
2. Pedals/shoes: I still have my cage-style Record Piste pedals, but I fear that I long ago threw out the last pair of shoes with a two-point fixing system for an old-fashioned cleat. If that is indeed the case, I'm not sure whether shoes of that type can still be bought, or (if they can) whether I can justify the cost to myself. It's possible that the bike will be built up with old pedals for display purposes, but that I 'borrow' some modern pedals from another bike to ride the TT.

petemarshall · Post by **petemarshall** » 12 Jan 2015 11:20

George
You could always just use clips and straps with no cleats, there are quite a few "traditional" cycling shoes for touring still made. A friend (who refuses to go clip less, but doesn't use cleats), swears by these
http://www.quocpham.com/products/fs0904.html
and these ones are even better quality

http://reynoldsshoes.co.uk/

But I haven't seen anybody with new shoes that have fittings for slotted cleats in an age.

I bet a cobbler somewhere in Northern Italy still makes them if you fancy touring the Dolomites for a couple of weeks in search

George · Post by **George** » 12 Jan 2015 11:35

petemarshall wrote:I bet a cobbler somewhere in Northern Italy still makes them if you fancy touring the Dolomites for a couple of weeks in search

Haha, in my dreams, Pete!

Thanks for the info, which confirms what I expected, really. I used to have some shoes like that for general purpose cycling once. I could in principle tack some plates on with old-style cleat tacks. However, £130 is a lot for a pair of shoes that I'm only going to wear once a year. First step is a thorough loft search, to confirm what I do/don't still have. After that, if I don't unearth anything, a bit of chewing the fat.

petemarshall · Post by **petemarshall** » 12 Jan 2015 15:59

I shall stick to clipless. Even without cleats I am not sure I can remember that quick reach down to loosen the straps move and the embarrassment of riding my first TT in 20 years will be enough (and I was the slowest even back then), without falling off at the end! Can't afford tubs, but everything else should be pretty trad.
My rather wonderful frame goes in for a proper re spray, new decals and some minor repairs this week (back to the very shop that made it) so will look lovely in Celeste with loads of shiny bits, even if the rider looks like a sad old mess.

I have been recording the process of rebuilding this for those as sad as me who like nothing more than looking at broken down bits of aged bikes.
Here
http://www.petemarshall.me/

AlanW · Post by **AlanW** » 12 Jan 2015 19:19

Sadly, all I have remaining is the frame and forks, headset and bottom bracket. To be fair the frame and forks are still in pretty good condition, so wouldn't necessarily need re enamelling, although it would be nice to get it done?

So even without having the enamelling done, it would still be an expensive exercise.....shame.

One day maybe.....

George · Post by **George** » 12 Jan 2015 21:39

petemarshall wrote:I have been recording the process of rebuilding this for those as sad as me who like nothing more than looking at broken down bits of aged bikes.
Here
http://www.petemarshall.me/

Thanks, Pete.

AlanW wrote:So even without having the enamelling done, it would still be an expensive exercise.....shame. One day maybe.....

Sounds like we'll have to have a re-run in 2016, to give you a chance to get ready, Alan.

George · Post by **George** » 14 Jan 2015 12:10

I've discovered that I do have an ancient pair of shoes, which appear to date from the era of transition to clipless pedals, since they have both three-point fixing holes and two-point fixing holes. However, I no longer have any two-point fixing cleats.

Searching for cleats on the net has led me to this site, where they sell cleats that can be fixed to modern shoes:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/tocleat.html

The site looks like something from the turn of the millennium, but the content appears to be up to date, and I have found relatively recent references to the firm in forums, suggesting that they are for real.

$30 (£20) seems like a lot for a couple of bits of moulded plastic... but it's a lot less than the price of another pair of shoes, and it does seem a shame to put modern pedals on the bike. So I think I'm probably going to do this anyway. So I was wondering: is anyone else interested, while I'm at it? Seems a shame for two or three people to each incur the shipping costs and non-sterling transaction fee from the card company.