Gios Megalite - finally has hand built wheels

Ben6899

I just landed this on eBay. Still deciding what direction to take with the build.

Phone pics... apologies!

ugo.santalucia

The headset looks late 80s to early 90s... so there's your direction...

inseine

I love Gios blue. Nice

cubedean

I'm looking forward to this build

Ben6899

cubedean wrote:

I'm looking forward to this build

Sorry it's taking a while. I'm doing it on a budget!

cubedean

Ben6899 wrote:

cubedean wrote:

I'm looking forward to this build

Sorry it's taking a while. I'm doing it on a budget!

Mine will be the same, these things do take time, especially because you always want it done now.

Ben6899

This is going really slowly (sorry, trying to buy a flat at the same time), but here are things as they stand. I'll finish it in January...

dov2711

Looking forward to another Gios build, it's the only bike I actually desire as much as I did when I was a kid. Saw this one on ebay and nearly got in on the bidding. Cracked fork on my Sempre pro put paid to that idea, good luck with the bike.

cubedean

Nice progress Ben. Sometimes the longer rebuilds or restorations take the better the end product is. I can't wait to see the route you take with it.

ugo.santalucia

Ben6899 wrote:

This is going really slowly (sorry, trying to buy a flat at the same time), but here are things as they stand. I'll finish it in January...

Really slowly indeed... there is probably 30 minutes worth of work so far...

Ben6899

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Really slowly indeed... there is probably 30 minutes worth of work so far...

Money is the issue; not time.

Ben6899

So now it just needs bar tape, saddle, pedals and tyres and then it's finished. The bar tape will go on last - as always - and the other items are Christmas presents.

I'm stunned - genuinely, I'm not one for exaggeration - how light it is. Okay it's still not a complete build, but still...

Ben6899

This is like presenting a dish in the Masterchef final. Hope you lot approve...

Finished:



(I have some Shimano closed-cam skewers - would they be better suited to the semi-horizontal dropouts?)

napoleond

It's not finished until you take a decent pic

Looks ace!

Gazzetta67

Needs some Vittoria/Veloflex Gumwall Tyres and a Turbo saddle ......proper looking bike tho.

johnnymcg259

Top drawer effort!

EKIMIKE

For me, the only missing ingedient is a set of predominantly silver wheels, which would set it off nicely. Gum-wall tyres optional IMO. Otherwise it looks spot-on. The mix of modern and old parts ensures that it's not achingly faux-retro.

Ben6899

EKIMIKE, I wholeheartedly agree. When I have some money saved, that (on some handbuilts) is where it's going.

cubedean

Love it Ben, looks great & the wheels really suit it.

RideOnTime

Like It...

Ben6899

cubedean wrote:

Love it Ben, looks great & the wheels really suit it.

Thanks Dean.

Ben6899

I took some better photos today.

Ber Nard

Very, very nice. That blue looks lovely in the sun.

the_fuggler

Fabulous!

LEY8R

Are you cultivating some dapper sideburns a la the 'Gipsy of Eekloo'?Although the lesser-known Van der Slagmollen brothers had a certain style of their own(who?).Looks lovely,by the way.

Ben6899

LEY8R wrote:

Are you cultivating some dapper sideburns a la the 'Gipsy of Eekloo'?Although the lesser-known Van der Slagmollen brothers had a certain style of their own(who?).Looks lovely,by the way.

They're already cultivated, but don't really stand out because of my beard! I do, however, own two Brooklyn caps.

Ben6899

I commissioned Doctor D to build me some wheels for it...









Ambrosio Excellight SSC rims 32 rear, 28 front
Ambrosio hubs with Japanese bearings
Sapim Laser spokes in the front, Sapim Race spokes in the rear

I use this bike for day trips and overnighters, hence the Carradice saddle bag which, on this particular occasion, just had my trainers and some sandwiches in!

PhilPub

Excellent choice on the Excellight! I've got a little over 2,000 miles in mine (on Novatec hubs which I think are the same as Ambrosio, different branding) and they're smooth as anything, including braking.

Ben6899

I took a recent photo on Saturday...

Gios by Ben H, on Flickr

wotnoshoeseh

Looks superb. Congrats on the build.

Ben6899

wotnoshoeseh wrote:

Looks superb. Congrats on the build.

Thank you.