Birmingham Wheels Frame - Reynolds bars

[snoopy72]

Martin those skinnies look fantastic on there !!!!!! even though i'm more partial to the slightly wider wheel 

Yeah, I think them being black really sets them off and visually bulks them up a bit. Love 'em! Pretty much as I found it and true to the original team bikes 

black makes you look skinnier and white bulks you up  ask any women, they'll tell you that

[dinglem]

Martin those skinnies look fantastic on there !!!!!! even though i'm more partial to the slightly wider wheel 

Yeah, I think them being black really sets them off and visually bulks them up a bit. Love 'em! Pretty much as I found it and true to the original team bikes 

black makes you look skinnier and white bulks you up  ask any women, they'll tell you that

Haha! Either way the black seems to work!

I've also managed to locate a pair of genuine black Hanabishi crank caps (over in Aus) so I'm patiently waiting for them to arrive too at the moment. A small detail but it has to be right!

[Andy68]

Looking awesome bud    

Who laced those wheels for ya, reckon they're done wrong!! 

[glenboy]

Crazy build total quality that the son lites on the skinnies look epic must be ghe best equipped birm wheels frame as clarkson would say "IN THE WORLD"

[dinglem]

Looking awesome bud    

Who laced those wheels for ya, reckon they're done wrong!! 

You are right, I should say a big thank you to Steve69 for lacing up the wheels for this - amazing job!!

[Andy68]

Don't big him up Mart'!!!!!!!   

We gonna see ya at MK buddy with a couple of nice things to show?   

[dinglem]

Don't big him up Mart'!!!!!!!   

We gonna see ya at MK buddy with a couple of nice things to show?   

Unfortunately not mate.... I am off to Tunisia on Thursday so will miss it  (Doubt the missus would fancy it on her own either...!)

I am hoping Steve will sort my next set of wheels for the NP build shortly - planning ahead already.

Being away for a while means i won't get to finish off the last few details on the WHEELS for a while too - just want to be able to ride it now!!

[Andy68]

OK bud, enjoy, sure we'll meet up soon. 

[monkian]

Looks nimble as hell
Easy to imagine some kid tearing around a track on that & those hubs are mental!!!
Great to see it realized exactly as you set out to achieve

One very minor thing, I'd say the Whale Tail looks surplus to requirements.
I'd maybe loose it and save even more weight!!

[dinglem]

Looks nimble as hell
Easy to imagine some kid tearing around a track on that & those hubs are mental!!!
Great to see it realized exactly as you set out to achieve

One very minor thing, I'd say the Whale Tail looks surplus to requirements.
I'd maybe loose it and save even more weight!!

Yes mate, it looks just as I pictured it....  I still can't get over how light it is!!

I was about to fit some dropout savers to protect the factory chrome but then stumbled across a pair of black Whale Tails which essentially do the same job but also serve a purpose (and look kinda funky in my eyes at least) so I went for them instead. I always liked the way they looked BITD too.

I'm really chuffed with how it has turned out!

[dinglem]

Well these just turned up in the post today.....

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Rare as hell black Hanabishi crank dust caps. One looks pretty good but the other one has lost some of the white letter detailing. I'll have a go at tidying them up and restoring them when i get home but they will go with the colour scheme of the bike and are the correct ones for the cranks 

I had a new set of shiny chrome-finish Sugino items fitted for the time being.

I'd been hoping that somebody out there had a set and eventually after much hunting somebody popped up on ozbmx and said he'd send me these for nothing so i could finish the build!   

Small detail, but i'm chuffed to have found these and hopefully they'll come up ok with a little tlc.

[dinglem]

Just found this awesome pic online and had to share 

Looks like it's one of the team special gold WHEELS frames on the right.

I'm just trying to find out who they all are at the minute. Anto But on the right though i think....


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[NORTY40]

Cool pic Mart 

[dinglem]

OK, today i stumbled across some Birmingham WHEELS research gold! The above pic that i posted earlier today was actually a still from the following video taken in 1983 at the Birmingham WHEELS track. I'll add this to the 'Video' section too now, but it sits pretty well at this point in this thread i think 

Sit back and enjoy fellas!!! 


http://player.bfi.org.uk/player/watch-bmx-here-and-now-1983-154320724/p5Y3Qzbjp6cy3w-kofQEl0Ej9WiBWTrg

[animal]

OK, today i stumbled across some Birmingham WHEELS research gold! The above pic that i posted earlier today was actually a still from the following video taken in 1983 at the Birmingham WHEELS track. I'll add this to the 'Video' section too now, but it sits pretty well at this point in this thread i think 

Sit back and enjoy fellas!!! 


http://player.bfi.org.uk/player/watch-bmx-here-and-now-1983-154320724/p5Y3Qzbjp6cy3w-kofQEl0Ej9WiBWTrg

Remember thrashin that track bitd  Thats brilliant 

[dinglem]

OK, today i stumbled across some Birmingham WHEELS research gold! The above pic that i posted earlier today was actually a still from the following video taken in 1983 at the Birmingham WHEELS track. I'll add this to the 'Video' section too now, but it sits pretty well at this point in this thread i think 

Sit back and enjoy fellas!!! 


http://player.bfi.org.uk/player/watch-bmx-here-and-now-1983-154320724/p5Y3Qzbjp6cy3w-kofQEl0Ej9WiBWTrg

Remember thrashin that track bitd  Thats brilliant 

Yup - me too! Proper chuffed to have unearthed that little piece of BW treasure     

[animal]

I spy Vector VC 8 bars and JMC bars there and I thing maybe their issue of GT bars 

[dinglem]

Speaking of bars…. another update, this time involving a last-minute change-out of one of the previously fitted components.

I only recently became aware that Birmingham WHEELS also manufactured their own bars, again using either Reynolds 500 or the more expensive 530 tubing. I discovered that there has been some debate previously as to whether the BW bars were brazed or not, and as such I put this question to the ex-Birmingham WHEELS rider Antony But who confirmed there were two batches of bars made. The first were brazed but the second batch was TIG welded, and they can be identified by the Reynolds decal (if still present) in the usual bar location, zero knurling and being of a very similar style to Star Bars.

I was aware that RAD’s resident WHEELS experts Steve (‘’animal’’) and Phil (‘’Sawzall’’) both claimed to have a set of Reynolds WHEELS bars so I quizzed them also, and I was quite surprised to be offered the pair that Steve owned as he was keen to see them going onto a WHEELS build. 

I have to say a very big thank you to Steve at this point - what a top bloke! He even went out of his way and dropped them round for me last night. I have sent pictures of the bars off to Anthony But who has identified them as WHEELS items so with positive feedback from him, as well as from Steve and Phil I am happy to consider them the real deal. 

So the GT bars will be coming off, the ODI Tec-7 grips will get swapped and these Reynolds bars will be going on, and should compliment the build perfectly 


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[bmxband1t77]

That's seriously a lovely build. I love the skinnies and hubs too. Bet it's gonna rip round any track. Funny how old Skool top tubes seem so short. There's no way I'd fit an original Ripper without knackering my knees! Have you ridden it yet?


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[Retrodan72]

Excellent Mart, I've been following this from the start, can't wait to see the finished build. 

[dinglem]

That's seriously a lovely build. I love the skinnies and hubs too. Bet it's gonna rip round any track. Funny how old Skool top tubes seem so short. There's no way I'd fit an original Ripper without knackering my knees! Have you ridden it yet?


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Thanks mate. It has turned out exactly as I pictured it in my mind when I started. It does look short - I haven't even sat on it yet, but then i'm not exactly the tallest either so i should hopefully be ok 

[dinglem]

Excellent Mart, I've been following this from the start, can't wait to see the finished build. 

Almost there now mate - it seems to have taken an age to gather the parts and build this up! These last few bits are proving a pain as I don't seem to be able to find the time to get it all together. I have a NOS Shimano freewheel now, and yesterday I found a left  NITB Tech-3 lever in black so i bought that for it too. I've had a black and silver Izumi for ages so that's ready to go, and the rear caliper, pads and early 80's black DC cable are also ready. Got everything except the time really 

[dinglem]

NOS left Tech-3 arrived yesterday, so that's the final piece of the puzzle sorted. New, still in the bag (came from Belgium in the end), and the inside of the body is date stamped 1184, which is good enough for me 

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I posted up a pair of Carlisle Aggressor tyres in the Tech section yesterday as i'm trying to find out more info on those; am wondering whether to switch them with the Panaracers?? They have an awesome tread pattern and are an ickle bit wider too, being 1 3/8 instead of 1 1/8''. Hmmm?? Anybody seen these before?


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[animal]

Fit the Aggressors bud . They look ace and diff 

[dinglem]

Fit the Aggressors bud . They look ace and diff 

Yeah - that's what i'm thinking too 

I'd just like to find out a little more about them first (dating more than anything else). I've posted them on here, OZBMX and on the Museum but zero replies on any so far