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My Dad's birthday: Varonha Frameworks 853 custom
Hello fellow Road.cc readers,
It was my old man's 75th recently and I wanted to treat him to something different. So we cycled up to Hither Green to ask frame builder Winston Vaz if he would make a Varonha frame for the occasion.
The frame is thin wall Reynolds 853, parallel 73 degree angles and Newvex lugs. My Dad was asked if he would like his initials on the fork crown- they are hand cut in stainless steel. Another highlight is the stainless cutout from the headbadge soldered onto the downtube.
We slowly collected parts, maybe admitted a Jan Heine influence, and knew that the choice of Campagnolo and a 32 sprocket meant a Potenza groupset.
Paint and luglining by Mario Vaz, hand built wheels, bike build and photo gallery by The Bicycle Works.
A big thank you to everyone involved. It was a labour of love and a joy to treat my father. We're delighted with the result:
https://www.facebook.com/thebicycleworks/photos/ms.c.eJxFj8kNwDAMwzYqLCe...
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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12 comments
Thanks for all the kind comments and stories. Much appreciated.
Yes, ideally would've chosen a different chainset. Maybe time will let the Campagnolo chainset become easier on the eyes.
Agreed - I'd love to see Campy/Shimano do a modern retro polished chainset, they just suit certain bikes/paintjobs better than the matt black we put up with now.
Initials on a bike of a 75+ year old? That is optimism!
Eh?
Lovely bike btw.
Lovely, a vintage looking bike with gears and brakes that actually work.
I know the quill stem is authentic but I had enough of those bloody things back in day and would have put an aheadset on this. Not my bike though!
Pure class, well done.
Sublime sir, I have this sudden overwhelming wish I had thought of the idea before my dad died. He could never afford a decent bike for himself but he made sure I had one.
Nice and Irealise it is all about personal choices but for me the Potenza c/set is out of place. Something more in keeping with the rest of the look of the bike like an Andel or Velo Orange fluted.
I still run toe-clips and straps on my 50s 531 Carlton and used Stronglight 99 bis cranks and have done several builds including Dura Ace STIs so can appreciate the blend of modern with a vintage looking frame.
I hope he has many happy miles on it.
Thanks jaysa, appreciate the kind comments. Yes, it's an Aspin saddle. The mudguards are Velo Orange Facette (45mm).
Thanks kil0ran, appreciate the kind comments and your own story.
Proper lovely. I got the cycling bug from my Dad, unfortunately he's no longer able to ride but he would have loved something like this. Spent some quality time with him back in the summer putting together my new Fairlight Faran, he was delighted to hear Reynolds were still going strong and we got talking about the race bikes he'd ridden in the '50s (was a decent county-level TTer in his day and would think nothing of doing Southampton-Brighton-Southampton in a day). Turns out that he was as much of a gadget hound as I am, high end cameras, ham radio, bikes, etc. And to think he gave me loads of hassle for the amount I spend on that sort of stuff
Having a longer look at your bike pics - is the saddle an 'Aspin'. And what mudguards are those?
That's beautiful ! What a lovely idea