Il Progetto, Phase 1
Like a kid at Christmas, that’s how I felt today. There was the opening of some cool presents, one old, some new, all awesome. The Bosomworth finally turned up, and the Chorus gruppo was awaiting it eagerly, like baubles waiting to be added to the old tree every year. I spent the afternoon stripping, cleaning, lubing and polishing. The bike that is. Here’s a bit of a rundown on the progress so far.
She looked a bit sad out of the box, but showed plenty of potential. The paint job is a bit cooler than it looked from the original photo on the interwebs. Without even assembling it as was, I started ripping bits off in a frenzy.
The chrome on the drive side chainstay was a bit worse for wear, but Marjolein came up with a clever solution; use the old chrome bar tape sitting in the drawer to cover it up. I glued on a strip, bound it with 3M, and will unwrap it in a few days.
The rear rim is a Campy Omega, laced to a 105 hub. The front is a Mavic 190FB. They will both be replaced by a set of Chorus hubs which I scored for $60, laced to Open Pros which are damaged. I’ll probably replace them with new OPs, or possibly Stans tubeless rims with the decals removed for stealth (and to keep the weight down.)
The bars are Cinelli Giros, but unfortunately too narrow and scratched up to use. Rachel spotted a set of wider, classic bend alloys in the box of bits under the bench, and they got the nod. A cool looking but heavy 3T stem was replaced with the ITM I bought last week.
I gave the bottom bracket a quick facing before installing the external bearing cups. Well, I got Nath to do it as my heavy-handed mechanical skills lack, well, skill.
Sweet Tange TR dropouts hold the carbon goodness.
Next up I removed the Shimano 600 headset and replaced it with an old Campy unit that Rachel had spotted on her flatmate’s discarded frame. (That’s it in the background, an old Reynolds 531 tubed Hill – from memory – with a fused in Campy seatpost.) Score!
And so ends Phase 1. Wheels are the next step, then cabling and taping. The saddle and post from my Tricross you see here will be replaced too. In the guise above, it weighed 8.2kg (18lb). With a light wheelset, I’m hoping it stays around that or just under. Stay tuned.
Give the frame two or three heavy coats of car wax bro! Will pay off in the long run…
…oh, and meant to say it LOOKS GROUSE!
@Oli Brooke-White
Cheers Oli, will give it a slap. Getting some new decals organised too, the other side of the frame is missing one. Would love to get it repainted and the lugs, stays and fork chromed…
Silver seatpost to match the silver stem – got to make sure the carpet matches the drapes.
If ever a paint job said “Peacock” this is it. looking forward to seeing the finished machine.
If you’re going to clamp the frame like that it’s best to wrap it with a plastic bag to protect the paint. The rubber clamps can still do damage. Otherwise I would just use aluminum seatpost while its in the stand. Save the carbon until its ready to ride.
You’re inspiring me bro. Of my four steeds, I’d like to replace the frame on one and have been day dreaming of lugged steel for quite some time. Ideally I’ll come across something vintage and will know when the frame and time is right as it’ll speak to me (same way I acquire dogs). Eagerly awaiting Phase 2
Dude, that is a real beauty. Wow, I can’t believe how much difference a judicious application of The Rules to that bike turned it from a mule into a stallion.
Before:
After:
I agree with @Rusty Tool Shed on the ti seatpost. Also I am just in love with the traditional bend bar (I may yet ditch the K-Wing and go traditional) and that fork. Mamma mia!!!
There is a certain irony in the before photo, in that the rule-breaking non-level seat is at the same angle as the rule-breaking frame pump.
@Gillis
I actually had the old seatpost in the frame and clamped it with that when I was working on the bike. As you can see from the photo, the headset press is just sitting there too. The carbon post is out of another bike, and will be replaced with something else, maybe carbon, maybe silver…
Cool project – it’s shaping up pretty nice.
Makes me consider dusting off my ’91 Bridgestone RB-1 and upgrading with Ultegra or something else modern. My old RB-1 fits and rides great.
Keep the pictures coming on your project – fun stuff.
Nice looking! I have a dream to ride L’Eroica in 2013 to commemorate the big 5-0, building up a classic steed will be part of the fun.
@Brett
Campy chorus seatpost – polished silver, a carbon post would be all sorts of wrong. And you’re not going to need a long seatpost, given how long that set up looks, and how, well, inflexible (?) you may be…
18lbs…holey shiet. That is amazing for a steel frame. I was assuming you would repaint it but all clean it looks great(if not a little wacky, color-wise). A monster waxing will really help. It will be a fun experience to ride it after riding a carbon bike, it won’t go uphill as fast but who cares, it looks great. Ahhh, you’ve got the 11th gear to help. It’s a great blend of old school and new. Good on ya.
Cables, chain, pedals, bar tape, and cages will surely bump this into the expected 21.5-22 lb. range for a bike that size.
@michael
Yep, you’re probably right, but I’m just gonna have to remember Eddy and RDV, and give it The V when I ride it.
Ordered up some rims today, not the lightest out there, but got the awesome factor under control: Ambrosio Excellence. With the old school silver/gold lettering. Oh yeah. Also some Elite cages.
My chrome bar tape/chainstay protector job came up mint.
Wow, very nice! I have an old Peugeot I can’t seem to bring myself to get rid of, even though it has some mechanical issues will cost a bit to fix because of the parts it needs. Someday I’ll fix it, I keep telling myself. Seeing this bike you’re putting together makes me really want to do something with it again.
@mcsqueak
Do it! You won’t be disappointed.
That is a sweet looking bike, the chainstay cleanup op is mint!
@Brett
Yeah, I really should… it’s not the lightest bike, just picking it up I’d put it in the 25-30 lb range, so part of my hesitation is spending money to build up yet another heavy bike. I already have a 34 lb(!) Schwinn from the early 80s that’s running pretty well.
18 lbs for your ride is awesome. Even if it gains a few lbs from the new wheels, etc. it’ll still be a great ride.
@Brett
I can not believe how well that chainstay turned out. Well done! You’ll have to go into some more detail on how that was accomplished. It looked to me like you would need to rechrome or put a monster chainstay protector on there. Well done. Really looking forward to the next posting on this so we can monitor progress!
What a cool project!
Phase 2 is in the books. Not wanting to rain on the Worlds parade, I’ve put up a post over at my personal blog. Head on over and check it out, the old girl is getting close to completion.
Picked up a Serotta Colorado AL this morning for a rain/winter build. Certainly not a top shelf Serotta but hand built in USA (by Kinesis in Colorado) and the price was right so I figure I have a nice bike for rain/weather I don’t have to worry about having spent an arm and a leg for. Build will be Ultegra 6600 10sp, Bonti XXX lite rims, Deda or Ritchey bar/stem. May swap out fork at some point for straight blade carbone.
@michael
My 1992 Rourke is 19.5lbs inc Ultegra 10sp, RS80’s, pedals and cages according to my scales. Sorry to be smug, but I love it so much I have eschewed carbon.
@Brett
Not sure what you did there with the chrome, can you explain it in more detail? Is that the chrome tape we are seeing? Sorry for being thick!
@Andrew D
yep, chrome bar tape, glued on and wrapped in electrical tape until set, then unwrapped. It’s still on there…