I acquired this frame and fork last year.  It’s a Reynolds 531 fully chromed frame with a Reynolds 531 chrome fork built by the Meral bicycle shop located in Paris, France.  The shop was a small one, employing about 15 workers at its height, located just off the Champs  Elysees.  It was designed to be a sport touring bicycle with 700c wheels, but I am going to convert it to 650B.  Here goes…

I decided to sand down a Nitto Stem because I couldn’t find a tall enough French stem (thank you, Sheldon Brown), and I am trying out a Cardiff saddle – similar to a Brooks…but different.  It has longer seat rails for more adjustment fore and aft and I like the looks.  I am using aluminum fenders and T.A. cranks, and I found a custom Meral rack that I will mount to Mafac Raid brakes (needed for the longer reach).  This is a preliminary look at how it will appear when built: