I found this on eBay, unbuilt, NOS. The frame is Reynolds 853, TIG welded, and painted House of Color “Kandy Tangerine.”
Croll frames have been on my wish list for many years now, but seldom are they my size. When this came up in my saved search, I jumped on it. On Instagram, Erik Noren of Peacock Groove confirmed he built this frame under Walter Croll circa 1996-1997. I met Erik many years ago at NAHBS, and I always loved his work, so it’s extra cool for me to have this frame with a connection to two builders whom I respect.
For many years, I had the idea of building up a cross frame just to get around town; I have plenty of road bikes and fixed gears that are fantastic bikes, but aren’t ideal for the awesome number of old rail trails that surround my house. Built up with a SRAM Force group except for the cranks, some Mavic Cosmics with white Panaracer cross tires I found on closeout, and some odd 90s Cinelli stuff I had in the parts bin. Quill pedals with toeclips because I prefer riding in my street shoes (at least Grant Petersen understands me.)
At the end of the day, this Croll build finally fills that void in my stable. The next step is to find a front rack that I can mount to the fork; the crown is threaded on the back of the crown, so that limits my options, or at least from what is stocked at my LBS. (Ideas welcome, open to custom options)
1 Comment
As I posted on /r/Bikeporn :
I found this on eBay, unbuilt, NOS. The frame is Reynolds 853, TIG welded, and painted House of Color “Kandy Tangerine.”
Croll frames have been on my wish list for many years now, but seldom are they my size. When this came up in my saved search, I jumped on it. On Instagram, Erik Noren of Peacock Groove confirmed he built this frame under Walter Croll circa 1996-1997. I met Erik many years ago at NAHBS, and I always loved his work, so it’s extra cool for me to have this frame with a connection to two builders whom I respect.
For many years, I had the idea of building up a cross frame just to get around town; I have plenty of road bikes and fixed gears that are fantastic bikes, but aren’t ideal for the awesome number of old rail trails that surround my house. Built up with a SRAM Force group except for the cranks, some Mavic Cosmics with white Panaracer cross tires I found on closeout, and some odd 90s Cinelli stuff I had in the parts bin. Quill pedals with toeclips because I prefer riding in my street shoes (at least Grant Petersen understands me.)
At the end of the day, this Croll build finally fills that void in my stable. The next step is to find a front rack that I can mount to the fork; the crown is threaded on the back of the crown, so that limits my options, or at least from what is stocked at my LBS. (Ideas welcome, open to custom options)