Another Kijiji find. At first I skipped right over this one. Not interested in a hybrid in the least.
I came back to the page and checked again, searched the google images of other folk's builds and found one with drop bars. Since gravel bikes are all the rage I thought, a set of bars, the 7 speed Shimano 600 drivetrain from Sophia and some tires would make this a poor man's gravel grinder. I approached the seller only to find it was a Northwood family and they were happy to give me the bike. This is the third bike I have been given and they are all dear to me.
I assembled parts from three other bikes and it all came together much better than expected. The steel frame is a joy to ride and with the solid parts from the Marinoni, she is reliable. Wheels are Ambrosia rims with Shimano 600 hubs and rear derailleur. Friction stem shifters from Molly (1974 Raleigh Citation) that are so simple to use I don't even miss indexing. This one has become my daily commuter.
Update (Feb.15): the stem shifters were replaced with a set of Sun Race SLR-30 indexed shifters mounted on the downtube. They took a little bit or re-engineering to fit but clean everything up.
Update (Mar.15): from the used shelf at Petries, NOS Tektro RL brake levers and Avid Shorty 6 calipers. 2 toned bar tape was a result of breaking the new blue tape and getting necessarily creative
Update (May.15) Clement X'Plor MSO tires, two tone bar tape is history.
Update (March.16) Ultegra bar end shifters, Saint MX 80 pedals, Tektro 926 mini-V brakes, Acera M361 crankset.
Named after the women's winner and record holder of the 2015 Tour Divide. Lael Wilcox rode 2100 miles from Fairbanks to Banff as a warmup for the 2745 mile race and then beat the old record by more than 2 days.
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| after conversion to a poor man's gravel grinder |
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| SunTour SLR-30 shifters |
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| NOS Tektro RL levers and Shorty 6 calipers, 2 tone bar tape |
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| First long ride, 80km of mixed gravel/paved roads July 5 2015 |
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