Attn: This Page is no longer current as of
10/06
The Barracuda Mk.I page has been moved to This Page.
The Photo Story of my first completely custom build road bike.
The Prologue.
The Schwinn Traveler that I had been riding throughout the summer was indeed a nice bike for cruising around the streets of my home town, even pushing myself to participate in the local bike shop's weekly Saturday morning rides with it. The old 1980 Schwinn Traveler, with its extensive upgrades even carried me through my first Metric Century in mid September. The Schwinn was lots of things, but one thing it wasn't was light, nor good fitting to my six foot body. It was big, which only made it heavier. It wasn't long before I learned enough to know just one thing for certain, if I was going to get the most out of road cycling, and really enjoy it, I was going to need a better fitting bike.
It was not long before a bike that appeared to suit my needs appeared locally on Ebay. An early 80's Centurion Sport DLX. Sporting Tange Infinity tubing for the main triangle it was certainly lighter than the 1020 Hi-Ten frame I was currently riding, and even more importantly it was a 60cm frame which I knew would fit me much better than the Schwinn's 63cm size. The Sport DLX was nothing special, a typical example of a lower end 12speed bike of the day, sporting SunTour derailleurs with stem shifters, Dia-Compe N500 brakes and 27" wheels. However the price was right, and it would give me a project to work on for a while. Little did I know just how much of a project I would soon made of it.
Chapter 1 - The Repaint.
Above Photo - The Frame has received its last coat of Ocean Blue paint.
The dark Navy Blue that was on the Centurion, along with the Centurion decals wasn't in terrible shape, in fact it appeared that the bike had been seldom used and sat in the garage for the better part of the last 20 years. However, while I have been told I have a thing for blue bikes, this particular color blue just didn't do anything for me and since the goal was a complete custom job - the first order of business was paint. I choose DupliColor Metal Specks - 'Ocean Blue' for my color coats, with a medium gray primer and several coats of clear over the color.
The finished front fork. You can see the difference in color between the fork blades and steering tube.
I had hoped to use the pictured Shimano 600EX brakes, but the reach was too short for my wheels and had to go with some Tektro brand long reach dual-pivot brakes for the time being. Maybe Santa will bring me some longer reach period correct brakes for the bike.
Right side full frame photo.
'Custom Build by Jon Fischer' decal on right side of top tube.
Final work on the frame is completed 11/20/2005
Chapter 2. - The Build Group
Originally the plan was to use a growing list of Shimano 105 parts from the late 80's 7speed group that I had been collecting off of Ebay in NOS condition. I had the front and rear derailleur already on the Schwinn and the crank set waiting in a box at home. The only older part of the planned group was a beautiful set of friction downtube shifters from the original early 80's 105 group - known as the 'Golden Arrow' edition. As fate would have it, a discussion on BikeForums.net where I frequently post popped up about this fairly short lived and relatively rare group. A member mentioned that he had a number of parts in this group in practically NOS condition if someone was interested in purchasing them. I think I had a Private Message sent to him within minutes. In short, a few Private Messages and a Money Order later I was the proud new owner of the crank, front and rear derailleurs and downtube shifters.
Sadly Jim Price, also known as sydney on bikeforums, passed away as result of being struck by a car on Thanksgiving, before I was able to send him photos of the bike that he helped me build. Not only by supplying the parts, but also sharing the depths of knowledge he had freely. sydney - you will be missed, but not forgotten.
Crank and front derailleur mounted on frame. Bottom bracket is a Shimano UN52 sealed unit.
Close up shot of Front Derailleur showing engraving on front of clamp.
The rest of the build parts were to be a mix of parts that I had picked up cheap at one online shop or another, or had taken off the Schwinn when it was sold. I picked up a new 26.6 seat post, a 1 bolt style by ITM off of Ebay to go with my Selle Italia Flite saddle, replacing the old bulky post that the bike had come with. I got it in my head that I wanted to use Shimano 600EX brakes, though from a little later era than the Golden Arrow, that's what I decided on. I have acquired a pair, but their reach is too short for this bike and get put away for a later date. A pair of Tektro long reach dual pivots will take their place for the time being. The brake levers are going to be the only other semi-modern part on the bike. I found that the feel of the Tektro R200A brake levers, the same as the Cane Creek SCR-5 and a Campy knock off design, fit my hands much better than the narrower Shimano styles.
Remaining parts that have been decided upon more than once include: Cinelli XA stem in a 100mm length, Cinelli 66-40 traditional bend handlebars. I found a later pair in England on Ebay that had the cable grooves for my aero levers which I am quite happy about even if it will likely delay the final build a few days. Rounding off the Cinelli front end of the bike will be white Cinelli cork wrap. I know that white gets dirty quickly, but that just means I'll maintain practice at wrapping the bars. Alloy 27" wheels with 3x 36 hole lacing make up the selected wheelset for this bike, paired with a modern Shimano 7 speed freewheel. For over all gearing I have a 52/42 front double and the rear seven speed is a 14 to 28 spread.
Chapter 3. On the road again.
I finished assembling the Barracuda Mk.I on Thanksgiving Day 2005. Everything went very smoothly though a bit of fine tuning on the derailleurs and fit have yet to be completed. I plan to get the bike over to a local bike shop soon to get an official weight measurement but I'm going to guess somewhere in the neighborhood of 24-25lbs. As of December 23, 2005 I've taken the bike out for a few rides on the local streets and enjoyed the bike thus far. I can tell I need to fine tune the fit a bit but beyond that the bike feels much more responsive than the Schwinn. I hope to take this bike out for number of organized rides next season from the weekly Richardson Bike Mart Saturday morning rides to metric and full centuries. Just hope the paintjob holds up. I've already discovered that it is not the most durable paints out there and really don't want the paintjob to be a yearly job that I have to do on the frame.
These photos were taken prior to installing the new 7speed freewheel. I suspected the original 6speed to be the cause of some chain skipping with the new chain and replaced it with the 7speed model of the same gear range. So far so good with no more chain skipping in the rear. So far I figure I've got a little over a hundred miles on the bike since the new year and am aiming to hit 1500-2000 miles through 2006.
If you have any questions or comments about the paintjob, decals, or build of the bike feel free to contact me at the email address below or via the Guest Book. I'm always willing to help out a fellow cyclist when I can.
I have decided that this bike accompanied me on my first major organized ride of 2006.
The Spring Fever ride in Sulphur Springs, Texas
The Barracuda Mk.I - at home on the road.
Links to my other Pages:
Cycling Home Page | My Bikes | Cycling Log | Guest Book
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The website of Jon P. Fischer Since April 4th, 2005
