All of the 50th Anniversary parts that I’ve carefully and patiently cleaned over the last couple of weeks have been re-united with the SBDU Ilkeston 753R frame that they came from. I’ve had a few things on lately so it has taken a little while to get focused on this build again, but all the prep and cleaning has meant a quick and painless build.
The chainset and derailleurs were up first. With the chainset attached, the front derailleur can be fitted and aligned and rear derailleur attached. Pedals and chain are also fitted.
All the original inner and outer gear cables as well as cable ends have been used. With just a light coating of normal cycle oil on the chain, the gears run up and down the freewheel smoothly and quietly.
Brake calipers are next… all the original brake blocks and cables were used although I hadn’t fitted the cable ends at this point as I wouldn’t be cutting the final length of cable until I fitted the brake levers and tape.
So at this point, the handlebars have no tape and the brake levers have no hoods.
It was a really hard decision but it was forced onto me, and I had to replace the handlebar tape and brake lever hoods. I wasn’t too concerned about the bar tape, as I explained in part 4, I didn’t believe the tape was an original part of the build, it was probably a later addition. The brake lever hoods were split and sadly, they ripped as soon as I tried to do any work to the tape and brake lever position. Thankfully, they are standard Super Record items and not specific to the anniversary group, so a NOS set of hoods have been fitted.
But everything else on this bike, the parts, the paint, the bearings and the cables, even the cable ends, have all been kept original to the bike.
I took it to Karen’s studio and stole her camera for an hour to capture some final images and to capture this bike and all of its beautiful detail . First thing to do was photograph the handlebars with the new tape and brake lever hoods. There are so many details to get right when building a bike, and getting the correct length of brake cable is one of those things that so many people get badly wrong… this is how I was taught, this is how I ride them and this is how you will see most pro bikes of that era.
Now that the bar tape and levers are fitted and in the correct place, I could fit the original brake cable end caps. It’s not often that the left hand side of a bike gets photographed, but this bike has so many details, even the ends of the wheel QR levers are well worth being photographed.
The paint on the frame is so shiny, parts like the front derailleur are reflected in the paint surface.
SB6398 is finally restored and rebuilt. From an unused bike that had been stored away, with dirt, grease and rust starting to cover the frame and parts, it is now an immaculate, original example of probably the best bike available in 1983.
SB6398 is a stunning bike that I feel amazingly lucky to own! I’m passionate about SBDU bikes and I’m equally passionate about Denton Cycles… this frame embodies both of those passions. To top it off, it is fitted with the most sought after group set, Campagnolo’s limited edition 1933-1983 50th Anniversary Campagnolo Super Record!
All posts in this restoration series…
Part 1 – SB6398 Frame Prep
Here it is, the time has finally come… It’s time to build SB6398. The end result of this build will be a bike that is 100% original, exactly the same as when it left the work stand of Denton Cycles back in 1984. It will only be the slight patina to the paint and parts that […]
Part 2 – SB6398 Headset & BB
Part two of the build to restore SB6398… and all that frame prep in part one will pay off now when I fit the head set and bottom bracket.
Part 3 – SB6398 Anniversary Group
Part three is here..! That means I finally get to work with the Campagnolo Super Record 50th Anniversary group. Part one was frame prep, the foundation of the build. Part two was fitting the head set and bottom bracket; joining the frame and forks together, the starting point to which all other parts are fitted.
Part 4 – SB6398 Wheels & Brake Levers
I’m well on the way to getting every part of this build back to their very best. Part three was all about the components of the 50th anniversary group, and putting the shine back onto them. There were two main components that I left out of that post, they were the hubs and the brake […]
Part 5 – SB6398 Final Build
All of the 50th Anniversary parts that I’ve carefully and patiently cleaned over the last couple of weeks have been re-united with the SBDU Ilkeston 753R frame that they came from. I’ve had a few things on lately so it has taken a little while to get focused on this build again, but all the prep and […]
