It’s that time of year in the professional
cycling calendar when teams hit the cobbles and the punchy climbs of the one-day
Classics that cross the roads of the European Low Countries. It’s not a total
coincidence then that a couple of my recent projects spark thoughts of the
heroes I watched and read about, like Belgians Johan Museeuw and Claude Criquielion,
as well as Dutchman Adrie van der Poel and Steven Rooks.
I was having trouble finding a
reasonably-priced braze-on front derailleur to match up with the Centaur group
on the Colnago Dream bicycle. After an exchange of messages with owner Frank,
we decided to go with a “close enough” recent model and finish up this project.
I think some of the warmer weather had him understandably a bit impatient to
hit the roads with his wonderful new ride.
The paint scheme on this Colnago replicates
the colors of the Dutch Rabobank pro team of that time, and Frank supplied
plenty of orange accessories to compliment the look of the bike.
Ridley is probably not a name among bicycle
builders that would be too familiar in American households, and because the
Belgian brand has only been around since 1997, they certainly don’t have the
reputation of companies such as Bianchi or Pinarello. However, Ridley is the
market leader in its home country, which is no small feat in such a
cycling-rich nation, and for the last few years they have been the supplier to the
Lotto-Soudal pro team, whose sprinter Andrei Greipel won four stages in last
season’s Tour de France!
The bold Lion of Flanders graphic on this
2011 Icarus SLS “Flandrien” frameset drew my eye, and I immediately had visions
of dressing the bike up in the black, yellow and red colors of the Belgian
flag. I generally try to slow down the building
side of my business and take my time putting together projects as the weather
warms, mostly because I tend to have more repair customers during this time of
year, but also because I like to devote more time to getting out on the road
myself. However, collecting the necessary parts has gone surprisingly quickly
for this bicycle, and if it wasn’t for a bunch of other commitments and repair
work on my schedule, I could actually put it all together within the week!
The Icarus SLS is essentially a workman’s
version of the top-shelf Ridley Excalibur, with the same racing geometry. The
benefit is not having to mortgage your home in order to buy the Icarus, and its
durable 7005-series aluminum tubing will withstand the elements and trips in
the trunk of your car while still looking great and performing reliably for
years. Just be careful not to scratch up that fantastic silver lion!
I looked online for the original specs as a
starting point for possible parts with which to build my version of the Icarus.
My frameset came with the original seatpost from Ridley’s in-house 4ZA (Forza)
Stratos brand, and I found the rest of the “peripherals”, such as the stem,
bars, and saddle, to be attractive, sensibly priced and worthy of some good
reviews. Unfortunately the heart of the bike had been either Shimano Tiagra or
SRAM Apex, both incredibly average component groups.
The 4ZA parts I found online matched up well
with the look of the “Flandrien”, however, I decided an upgrade to an Ultegra
group would be a wise investment, not only for the value of the bike, but for
the level of performance it would provide to any prospective buyer. A nice set
became available from an eBay-er in Lithuania, and it arrived in the mail
yesterday.
I’m well on
my way to a new “For Sale” item - that is, whenever I actually get around to building
it.
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