1990(?) F Moser Leader AX

[jonnyboy666]

i had always wanted a Moser, when i started riding a lot of road miles when i was about 18 a friend had just bought a Leader AX frame in the Gianni Bugno limited pink/blue/white edition as he ha won the Giro on it, they were previously green/blue/white. i always liked that frame.

so recently my much loved 1996 Orange D2 frame cracked, i was gutted as it's such a nice frame and looks awesome, this left me with a dilemma as to what to do with all the bits from it. like a lot of you i have several bikes so i decided to do a bit of playing around with parts, i'd recently also sold my 2008 Condor road bike which was running 10 speed record so the 10 speed record went on my fausto coppi galaxy as they are correct era, this left me with a mostly 9 speed record groupset.

so then i went hunting for a frame, at that point it was more lets see what's out there, i was open to pretty much anything Italian.

and then Ebay came up trumps with this 1990 F Moser Leader AX for £250, i didn't think that price was too bad, when i recieved the frame i t was pretty battered and it was not the paint job i actually wanted but i bought it knowing i was gonna get it repainted so here's what i got.

 

[jonnyboy666]

now there are some details that are different on this model than the one my friend owns, i think his is 1991, the fork is completely different and i think his whole frame is mitred and brazed as opposed to lugged in places like mine is. but if you look closely in the above pic in it's original paint there is a sticker on the top of the seatstay which read "world champion 1990 gianni bugno"

once i had the frame i had to get it painted, but also there was some damage to the top of the seat tube, those that know these frames know that they use a specific campagnolo quill style seatpost, but as the frame was damaged there i asked rourke cycles to repair the frame and fit a clamp before painting it.

these are the pics i sent to Rourkes painter Blue Whippet paint for reference, in them you can see some of the differences between my above frame and the model my friend has.

 

[jonnyboy666]

so eventually the frame comes back, now the frame is not perfect original style, but i don't have an issue with that, what the guys did was i think slightly better, the pink on the original frame is really bright but is a matt finish, also the blue is a slight metallic, on my frame Blue Whippet paint did a slightly deeper blue and the whole frame is gloss lacquered, this i prefer to the original, and you'd have to be as sad as me to know the difference.

while the frame was away i was getting some parts ready, i cleaned up all the 9 speed record parts i had, got a new BB and headset, got some Deda bars and stem and tape, and a nice old school Rolls saddle and some retro looking Vittoria tyres. i used a pair of wheels i had since the late 90's, record rear hub, nuke proof titanium front on ano blue (but muted) mavic open pro rims.

once i had bits i gradually built it at the shop, loads of people were asking about just because of the paint.

 

[foz]

Brilliant! Turned out spot on. One of my all time favourite paint designs. 90's steel frames with 10 speed campag make a great combination

 

[Midlife]

Smart . Has it Oria tubing with sort of "flats" running the length of the tube? the frame I have in the garage has and is in your original colours but with all chrome forks.

 

[jonnyboy666]

yes it is Oria tubing, and does have those "flats", essentially i have a 1990 in 1991 colours!

 

[jonnyboy666]

oh and obvs i realise the campagnolo stuff is a little late for this frame, but i like 9speed record as it's still all polished, no carbon, has ergolevers and feels nicer to use than the 8speed stuff, also, the brakes work better than the earlier single pivot or delta brakes.

 

[nicktait1]

oh and obvs i realise the campagnolo stuff is a little late for this frame, but i like 9speed record as it's still all polished, no carbon, has ergolevers and feels nicer to use than the 8speed stuff, also, the brakes work better than the earlier single pivot or delta brakes.

That looks really good

 

[Nob]

That’s a nice looking paint job

 

[cloonaghpat]

The original green was the Gatorade scheme from 91
The pink was 1990 when Bugno won Milan San Remo the Giro start to finish
And Wincanton Classic
Stunning bike well done