Anyone have experience of Reynolds 753 tubing

ms34

Looking to get a steel frame bike the last while and seen this is on adverts.

Reading reviews online of 753 says its not produced anymore but people seem to think it is high quality but prone to denting easy.

Does anyone have any experience of it?

Argos Road Bike Reynolds 753 Shimano 105 For Sale in Tallaght, Dublin from tjc28 (adverts.ie)

magicbastarder

it's been around decades, nowt wrong with it i suspect! (not that i've ever owned a bike with 753)

does the top tube of that bike slope slightly forward?

hesker

753 is very decent tubing and Argos are a respected UK builder.

It is very thin walled and requires specialist approach to building, silver soldering etc.

You cannot spread the stays on 753 tubing so I would be wary of what looks to be a 10 speed cassette on it. Find out when it was built and don’t take sellers word for it. I’d be contacting Argos if they’re still in business

Edit: looks like they are

https://argoscycles.com/

ednwireland

argos made low profile tt frames as well

Squidgy Black

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121177536#Comment_121177536

Judging by the cranks I’d say it’s likely 10 speed 105.

It’s a lovely frame, but the group set is a bit dated for the price, and the geometry also looks fairly agressive, with tight tyre clearances

magicbastarder

Judging by the cranks I’d say it’s likely 10 speed 105.

nope, that's the 5800 crankset:

https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=129067

the 5700 crankset is very different.

https://www.mantel.com/ie/shimano-105-5700-crankset-10s

8valve

753 was the flagship tube-set from Reynolds, back in the glory days of steel.

Reserved only for pros and deep pockets!

Specially heat-treated for stiffness with ultimate lightness, for steel.

Because it needed special care when brazing, only Reynolds approved framebuilders could buy it and use it! They were sent a set of 753 to build and if Reynolds approved their work after it was built, they could buy it to build frames for customers.

Tubing walls at their thinnest point are somewhere around 0.4/0.5mm in the mid-section....so you don't want to bang it off the lawnmower or the rake in the shed, as it will dent easily.

I had one briefly a couple of years back and it was a beauty, built by Raleigh's SBDU lightweight unit.

Weepsie

http://bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.com/2016/11/classic-tubes-reynolds-753.html?m=1

plenty about it here.

2011abc

Strange (if thats not too harsh a term) looking bike .That 753 sticker is ancient from late 70s/early 80s .Very unlikely to be original .It would have only been around a few years and seems out of place on a 'neo retro' build .Top tube looks sloping forward alright .Rear drop out has exceptionally narrow flat sections Ive never seen before ,853 will trump 753 in every respect and youd pick one up cheaper Id say but the gear is pretty good on this bike .Youd want to be knocking a bit off price Id say personally .

There were variations of 753 certainly R and T for road and track .Its rather heavy compared with carbon .Id heed the comment above about spreading rear stays with larger block than designed for .

Surely has been resprayed at some stage if Reynolds sticker not original ...This needs to be 'mated' with a more modern frame with classic early 80s Campag!

To his credit the seller has 380 positive feedback .

To answer your question I had a 753T track bike which I hated .It was heavier than my TCR Composite road bike at the time and a 753R lopro which served me VERY well.I have an 853 road bike now having come from a low to medium end aluminium with carbon fork and love it .

magicbastarder

yeah, that struck me that the ad is vague about the source of the frame; it states 'argos road bike' but built by the cycle clinic. built with a new/NOS/reconditioned frame?

it doesn't look like an off the peg frame on first glance, i.e. not a 'generic' frame, so was it actually their generic frame or a custom build? as WB alluded to - the clearance between the rear tyre and seat tube seems close to non-existent.

paddydriver

My Rebel Freestyler BMX was Reynolds 531 back in the 80s.. My pride and joy.

ms34

thanks for the replies folks. I keep going back to look at it online so I suppose the best thing is to go look at it in the flesh. I'll report back once I have.

2011abc

A bit of research leads me to believe as this is lugless it may be built in the last 15 years or so and is prob not a restored old 1970s/early 80s bike .There seems to be a shortage of Reynolds 753 stickers as Ive seen several resprays /newish builds online with these 'old style' decals .Original lugless 753 were supposed to be for smooth time trial riders only but I guess the 21st century stuff is prob more solid .A 753 should have a very delicate 0.4mm steel tube 'ping' when tapped with back of finger nails .Id say ride it and see if you like it at that money .

tjc28

Ah, this is weird. I didn't expect to see my bike being discussed on boards.

To answer some of the things discussed.

I bought the frame from the UK (Ebay) with my covid savings, I always wanted a Reynolds 753 (I only ride steel). The rear spacing is 130 so good for an 11 speed set up. The Cycle Clinic put the groupset on as even though I have decent knowledge I wanted this up and running without me having to fiddle around for ages. Yes, clearances are tight. Not sure I've ever had a bike with them as tight but no problems with it when I'm using it. It's a lovely ride, it's crazy how light it is. Someone spoke about how 853 is better and I would agree, that's why I'm keeping my two 853 and my 708 bikes and moving this one on. Also, I've no space now my kids bikes are getting bigger. It's be a total waste to put it in the attic with my three 531 frames 😁 Price wise, I didn't know how to price it. It cost me quite a bit more but I know you never get back what you put in. Looking at what else is on adverts I think what I'm offering is good value relative to what else is there. Obviously, it's adverts though so its priced with negotiation in mind.

OP, feel free to message me here to arrange a viewing if you are still interested or just bid €1 on the ad.

hesker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121248801#Comment_121248801

Thanks for joining in. Great to have another steel lover on here. Any info on the build. Curious to know was it built at 130. The dropouts do look quite modern

ms34

OP here,

I went out to see this bike during the week. It's absolutely lovely. I didn't buy it though, it felt a bit small for me on the top tube. I'm 5'8 and a half but with short legs and long torso. The seller is a good guy and knows his bikes. He lives near a cycle track and invited me to take the bike down there for a proper run on it and he came along on his own bike. I'd of bought it had it fitted better. The search continues....

Just to say the seller was quite open on price if anyone is looking.