Ian May cycles

[gareth01244]

I am the proud owner of another Ian May, my second. I picked it up last night and have spent this morning giving it a clean, The owner bought it as a frameset from Ian May cycles about 15 or so years ago and built it up himself. It looks like its had an easy life and been well treated. The bike has a Shimano 600 groupset with indexed rear mech and came with the Shimano 600 pedals complete with Christophe Leather toe straps. After a bit of a clean I replaced the bar tape with some that I had picked up in Halfords for £1 in the bargain bin, matches the bikes colour and I'm sure Ian May wouldn't have minded me using Boardman tape seeing as they are from the same neck of the woods. The wheels are Mavic MA2 with 105 and exage hubs and spin forever

 

[gareth01244]

 

[biggs682]

@gareth01244 looks bl@@dy good and makes me want to get mine out again

 

[gareth01244]

Thanks, it looks so different to my red one, the paint job and grey shimano 600 give it a more modern feel compared to the chrome and lug lining.
I still need to change the cables as they are a bit frayed and in the top two gears the chain seems to slip on every alternative pedal stroke, not sure whether it needs a new chain, any thoughts on what might be the cause?
doesn't do it when using easier gears

 

[biggs682]

@gareth01244 i would say either chain length and/or cassette and / or chain worn , worth taking a link or two out

 

[gareth01244]

Took your advice Martin, ended up taking six links out before it stopped skipping, also had to replace the rim tape after the front tyre went flat, it had gone brittle with age and was well past its best. Changed the tyres as well while I was at it for some Vittoria pro but they don't look as good as the gumwall ones so may look out for some, any suggestions other than the Michelin dynamics?

 

[biggs682]

@gareth01244 lad it was an easyish fix and it alwats surprises me how often we overlook rim tape

I had the same quandry re tyres on my red one , i tried the Classic's a while back and found them next to useless shame as they look good , i ended up usng some Vittorio Rallye tubs and boy what a difference they made pumped up to 130 psi

 

[biggs682]

Well my red Ian May is ready for some 2016 use, it's had a brief test ride Friday night and is now raring to go.

 

[gareth01244]

Finished a few jobs on my Ian May.
New stem fitted that has a twin bolt design so I can swap bars easily if needed. Put a deda 215 bar on that I had picked up a while ago and never used as well as new rim tape,inner tube tyres and San Marco rolls saddle

Biggest update was fitting a set of sti 8 speed shifters. I already had them and did advertise them but since no one bought them I thought I would try them on the 7 speed set up.
Works well and I think that they don't look to bad as the grey levers match the rest of the group set. I did consider a full 9 speed sora installation but it would be to much black on the bike and it would involve new wheels

 

[biggs682]

@gareth01244 still looks good and glad to hear you are still enjoying it , must admit i did wonder about doing a filtting a 2 x 10 speed 105 kit that i have lying round

 

[mikeymustard]

@gareth01244 still looks good and glad to hear you are still enjoying it , must admit i did wonder about doing a filtting a 2 x 10 speed 105 kit that i have lying round

I love the fact that you just have 10sp kit "just" lying around!

@gareth01244 that's a really nice looking bike - a near perfect sympathetic modernising.
What make is the bar tape? That's just the colour I've been looking for!

 

[gareth01244]

Is boardman bar tape, I picked up a few different colours when it was on clearance for £2. It was a happy coincidence that it matched the frame as I didn't have the bike then.

 

[mikeymustard]

... It was a happy coincidence that it matched the frame as I didn't have the bike then.

Yes it works really well. I bought a couple of different colours of the China special stuff on the bay for a quid, but the two different blues I got weren't quite right. It's not bad stuff actually, a little short so you have to watch your winding, and no sticky, but I don't think that's a problem, especially as I like to change it regularly!

 

[biggs682]

I love the fact that you just have 10sp kit "just" lying around!

its all about buying stuff at the right price when its offered , only issue is i have mislaid the crankset

 

[biggs682]

just got back from the longest ride to date in 3 years of ownership on the red Ian May only 30 miles but a great ride as always