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Early in 2010 I sought out an old Speedwell racer as a base for my first retro single speed project. My first bike (a 20 inch dragster) was a Speedwell. During a trip to Sydney in early 2010 I went to the Deus Ex Machina shop at Camperdown and was inspired by their love of all things old and mechanical.
On 4 Jan 2012 I finally finished the bike and took it for a ride. It rides Fantastic! I plan on using it for my commute to work in the city.
Specs:
Frame & fork – Speedwell Streak, 58cm, colour is Dulux Mother of Pearl (powdercoat).
Wheels – gold anodised Deep V rims, Quando hubs with flipflop rear, 16T fixed/16T freewheel, white 700x23c Maxxis Re-Fuse Road Tyres.
Crankset – gold anodised Driveline cranks, with 45 tooth chainring, gold anodised Wellgo pedals, gold halflink chain.
Handlebars – shortened aluminium EXT, 6061 T6, leatherlook BBB handgrips (have OURY’s as well)
Brake (Front wheel only) – Diamondback Sweeper 2 finger BMX alloy brake lever, Dual lever action brake caliper, steel braided cable sheath.
A set of gold FUBAR double stap toe clips and FUBAR double leather toe straps are being delivered soon.
Can’t wait to build my next one!
Submitted by Gary
7 Comments Received
January 11th, 2012 @5:15 pm
Didn’t you say this is supposed to be retro? I don’t think so.
January 12th, 2012 @3:48 am
i don’t get the DEUS reference either. Nice bike thou..!
January 12th, 2012 @4:58 am
I doesn’t really matter to me what we call it. Make it a retro update then. Old frame with new look. All that matters to me is keeping an old frame on the road, whatever the form.
Deus in Sydney do some really nice stuff.
Check out their gallery at http://www.deus.com.au/gallery/bicycles/
January 12th, 2012 @7:26 am
Retro? Maybe in twenty years. Look up the meaning, not sure what you mean. Nice for what it is ,what material is the frame?
January 12th, 2012 @8:55 am
Geez…don’t we all take ourselves a little bit seriously over the use of the ‘retro’ word? I obviously means more to some in other parts of the world. I understand where you’re coming from, but where I come from the term can and often is used to describe something that is just ‘old’ – even when it’s something old mixed with something new. I guess we Aussies are too laid back sometimes.
Educate me though – Would my 1920s, Carbine track bike, with original hand pinstriping, Mansfield saddle, gallows seatpost, Major Taylor stem, Oppy bars, wood rims, BOA pedals, fluted magistroni’s and inch pitch gearing count as retro – or is that just plain antique?
Sloman, I believe the frame is plain old steel (It’s not heavy but doesn’t feel light enough for cro-mo).
January 14th, 2012 @1:46 pm
Lambert, read the website’s mission statement. To paraphrase, we are self-proclaimed experts, which would make us at least a little serious. If you had a classic muscle car and built it up with chrome 22s, a fluorescent paint job, and a giant carbon wing wouldn’t make it retro. That said, the only thing “retro” about this is your frame and possibly your faux leather grips. For a true retro look you’d want silver box rims, silver crank, black/white wall/cream tires, mks pedals/Christophe clips/leather straps, leather saddle. And that’s just off the top of my head. Similarly, if you built a hipster tarck bike and called it a true track bike, we would give you crap for that. I would have done this build much differently, but that’s me. As is I would get a proper gold Sugino crank, black tires, black retro saddle (Turbo-ish), and black grips because your faux leather grips don’t go with anything on this build. Ride on!!
January 15th, 2012 @12:28 pm
In retrospect, this is more retroperitoneal to a retro-rocket than it is retro, retrosexuals.
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