Going retro... sort of.

[MJF]

No pics for a while yet... but after looking at the cost of buying a decent road bike and then having to upgrade wheels etc. I have switched to a cunning plan.

Digging through the shed uncovered the early 80's Bennet Super Sport that belonged to my father (he put maybe 50km's on it) and then became mine for a few years of university. Unfortunately, in the meantime, something got dropped on the frame, bending a seat stay & dropout, and leaving a dent in the top tube.

Frame is currently being repaired, re-spaced, updated for bidon mounts and powder coated, Shimano 105 group set (EBay) should be here in a few more days, wheels are on order.

[HappyHumber]

sounds nice, Michael.

Hope you'll have before & after pics?

Kym

[cray-]

Any idea what kind of reputation the Bennet's had/have? I'm pretty sure my old man has one out in the shed as well. Unfortunately that shed is in Victoria and I'm not [<===] so it'd have to have some serious street cred to warrant postage across the country for a freshen up. Good candidate for a fixed conversion perhaps?

[MJF]

Cheap & high-tensile, but a lugged frame and in my size. And a pretty bare frame as well, so a good starting point for mods as nothing needs removing. And I have the before photos, so now I have a good ISP again, I'll post them up when I have a second.

Bennett was owned by Hanimex and was the up-market end of the range. There's some info here. Certainly a cheap mass-produced frame, as the rear dropouts are just pressed steel. Weird part is that, in the last few weeks I've seen another couple (both large frames as well) around the shops being used as commuters.

[LuckyPierre]

I'm sure that you'll have fun with the Super Sport. From memory, there are / were some quite upmarket Bennets which were (I think) made in England. I remember half lusting after one in the early 80's because it was quite a bit better than my Apollo IV.

[kukamunga]

I had a nice looking metallic green Bennett 'mixte' style (or was it a ladies?) bike, which I can't remember whether I still have or whether it went at the recent swap meet (I'll have to check my mums' garage). Seemed to be mainly Japanese frame and components

[MJF]

The wheels turned up today. 32 spoke Deep-V's, with machined sidewalls this time, unlike the Deep-V's on the hybrid. But the front hub is very rough - might drop it back to the LBS tomorrow for a check up, as I suspect from the feel that it has insufficient/no grease in it. I rode today, so they stayed at work. And I just got an email from the EBay seller to say that the 105 group set had arrived at my mail box. Hmmm... if I take a backpack, can I fit it all in on my ride to work tomorrow?

Speaking of riding in - 8C for the ride in and 8C for the ride home... or -12 TD in Tuco-speak. The lack of sun for the ride home made it far worse - my toes were freezing.

[LuckyPierre]

A groupset isn't very big - take your backpack! You might have to ditch some packaging, but the actual components don't take up much room.
Velocity use pretty good hubs, so anew one shouldn't be rough. Don't even ride it take it back and get it sorted.

[MJF]

Groupset arrived in a largish box, but luckily fitted into my backpack. Looks good, except 'scratch on left STI shifter' turned out to be 'road rash from contact with ground'. There were lots of photos with the listing, but not of that side of the shifter for some reason.... Can't complain too much - came with all the documentation, barrel adjusters and a set of those frame protection stickers.

I'm driving tomorrow (left knee playing up again), so will bring all the bits home... after I get that wheel checked out.

[HappyHumber]

There were lots of photos with the listing, but not of that side of the shifter for some reason....

I'd personally knock the seller down at least a bit in the anonymous part of their feedback rating for that. For all the good it does, anyway...

I similarly sold a pair of black 105 brifters about 18 months ago to some guy in the US. Likewise, mine had a 'graze' from a small bingle. I described it and was sure to detail that amongst the photos. The seller was happy with his purchase....

[MJF]

Oh, I did - and I sent a message to say that, while it didn't concern me too much, it would certainly have been grounds for sending them back as 'item not as described'.

[MJF]

Front wheel is adjusted. Not enough grease in one cup and set up a bit tight.