Help me build up my italian steel road bike on a budget

[TurboJ]

Hello all! A beginning road biker greeting you from Finland!

I've only just got into road bikes after wishing to do so for a very long time.
I like vintage things and I'm also currently quite budget constrained, so I started out by
buying a semi-original vintage Miyata. Since then I've learned the frame size wasn't close
enough for me - luckily it ended up being very,very close for my wife!
It has been a steep learning curve, but now I'm finally getting there...

Anyway, what I have really always wanted, was a classic Italian lugged steel roadie.

So after fighting myself for a few days I took the plunge and ordered this:


(click for bigger)

..arriving in a couple of weeks, but I need a head start if I want to really ride it this summer.

It's a NOS Fausto Coppi from mid '90s and has the modern 100/130 hub spacing. Thron/Genius tubes and built by Masciaghi, Italy.
Sure, it's not exactly a Colnago Master, but I really like the style and from what I've gathered it should be a nice ride even if not the lightest steel frame in history. And I love the chrome details

Now I'm looking for some help - I need to build this up on a tight budget, and I don't know where the best deals are. Most ebay stuff seem to be quite expensive for what you get, and generally the used market is surprisingly sparse.
For what I know, it looks to be very difficult to keep the costs down while trying to maintain the vintage look on a bike...
I am also very much open to good offers, so feel free to PM me!

1. The first question would be appearance. Help me out please! I'm after classic looks and I'm wondering what colour scheme for the wheels, bars, saddle, etc. Perhaps polished stem/post/bar and red tape/saddle? Or white tape/saddle. With a silver groupset. Wheelset in silver or maybe with red rims and clear s/s spokes? Then perhaps tires with a red stripe (or even gumwalls?) And red cable covers all round. Give me your suggestions please - pictures are most velcome too!

2. I want a 9-speed or 10-speed Campagnolo groupset for this. Is there any way to do this on a budget? New Veloce is ~400 €, and that is too much for me right now. I'm mostly looking for a compact crankset with 175 cranks (maybe even 172.5). Might consider a 53/39 too if I got a wide spread cassette in the same deal.

3. Is there any way to find Campy-hubbed (9-10 sp) wheelsets with a true classic look for a good price? I mean a really good price, as in not much over 100€ for a set, tops. Also the wheels need to support my 92 kgs of body weight until I get some of that weight shaved off.
I would like the wheels to be strong and durable, the last word in lightness is not a requirement.

4. What about pedals? I would like clipless maybe - but the combined cost of pedals and shoes freaks me out. Would toe clips with straps be OK? Some say they can be a pain to disengage in a hurry. But I would like the look of them and the option of different shoes. Also, where could I get all these things for a good price? Not Chinese either, would prefer Italian..

I know this is a big list but hopefully you guys will be able to / want to help me out. This is my first bike build, and I need the help.
As a self-learned car mechanic I know my tools and stuff, but I don't seem to find the good deals on bike parts yet.

Thanks!!

 

[Midlife]

Hi

Welcome, sorry I can't be more helpful but I'm more 1970's. However it's white with chrome so it gets my vote

Best of luck

Shaun

 

[monty dog]

FWIW Those Coppi frames build by Masciaghi are a real, understated classic - they were built under the direction of Giovanni Pelizzoli, who founded Ciocc and built a lot of the top pro frames in the 1980s and 1990s that were painted-up as something else.

Keep it simple - black or white saddle and matching bar tape - San Marco Rolls or Regal saddle atop a polished alloy post would be perfect

If you want a classic look, go for polished alloy hubs and rims but you'll need to pay more for something relatively light and strong. Ambrosio Zenith hubs and Velo Orange rims with double-butted spokes would be plenty strong enough.

Pedals with toeclips and straps were pretty well obsolete by the 1990s - so unless you're planning on riding casual shoes, find a pair of clipless pedals and shoes that suits your budget.

 

[TurboJ]

Thanks for all the input people..

It seems indeed very difficult to find suitable parts on the cheap.
I want the 'classic look' and really like most parts on the bike to be Italian.

The very strange thing I really don't understand is HOW CAN old groupsets costs exactly the same as new ones?

I have been trying to find a decent Campagnolo gruppo for the bike, but the best deal I've found, is actually buing a new
2013 Veloce groupset from the UK. All the auctions I've seen end up going for exactly as much (or even more) as a new group.

Am I missing something here? How is it possible that used parts aren't any cheaper than new ones?

If you have a Campy groupset with Ergos, that you don't need - feel free to PM me...

 

[lewisfoto]

Turbo

Building a bike on a budget is always a challenge, ask anyone here about their project that just HAD to be done for under 500 euros, pounds, dollars. Basically you will have to either compromise quality, Campagnolo and cheap rarely go together, or wait and build the bike over time. Like most RBers I put bikes together piece by piece because I enjoy the process of buying and building bikes not because it is less expensive. (its like a virus) The best way to get a road bike (or any bike) on a budget is to buy a complete bike and not a frameset. That said I often buy "parts donor" bikes to get the group I want and then sell the frame off to defer the cost. This can work very well. I got the group for my Cinelli by buying a Windsor for $500 and then sold the frame for $300. So that is an idea


As far as old groups costing the same as new, big retailers, like Performance here in the States, sometimes get great deals from the manufacturers and then sell them at fire sale prices.

Steven

 

[lewisfoto]

Here is a perfect example of a parts donor bike (I realize that this is in the US and so won't work for you but there should be similar deals near you)

$650 buy it now, bet I cold get $350 for the frame and bingo $300 for everything you need to build your bike including the wheels, bars, stem, pedals, saddle etc


http://www.ebay.com/itm/59cm-Mondonico- ... 257e225410

 

[Deleted member 24574]

I have some brake levers you can have for free is you want,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400484940375? ... 1560.l2649

PM me you address if you want them ...

 

[TurboJ]

Thanks for all your help, guys!

Thank you Montello, those levers are really nice, but since I really want integrated shifters for this build, I don't really have use for those (very nice though).

I guess I'll just have to save up for a new groupset. Given the price is the same or lower than used sets on ebay, I guess that's the rational thing to do. The thing I just don't get, though, is how can the prices soar so much on ebay. Maybe I need to become an ebay dealer myself....

I have looked at donor bikes too, but so far not a suitable one has emerged locally (or near). I'm also a little apprehensice about being able to sell the frame afterwards - the market here is quite limited.

I'll see how this goes.

 

[Deleted member 24574]

Thanks for all your help, guys!

Thank you Montello, those levers are really nice, but since I really want integrated shifters for this build, I don't really have use for those (very nice though).

.

If anyone else wants them just pm me ... they are cluttering my desk now ...

 

[nathanm26]

That's a really nice looking frame!

Are the lugs polished? I would be keen to keep pretty close to how it is. If it was me I would paint the fork white, and polish the lug around the bottom bracket.

I understand what you are saying about the expense of vintage parts. I was very recently looking for internal cam skewers which I could get new for around £7, but some vintage sets were going for upwards of £30.

I guess a part is worth what people are willing to pay, and the older stuff is pretty desirable - especially for retro bikers! Road cycling as a sport is becoming much more popular so it's inevitable that there will also be more interest in vintage road bikes, and the cost of parts will increase along with that.

I just stuck a bunch of modern parts on my frame (wheels, seat, brakes, cranks etc). But I'm happy with it and it only cost me around £600 (cumulative value of the parts). This frame looks too nice to go modern though.

N