I owned an Opera bike before and regretted selling it. I did some big endurance events on it and it always felt fast and composed. I like Opera bikes because they don't say Pinarello on them (and thus dodge more recent city banker/Team Sky associations), but still have that magnificent pedigree.
I always liked the look of the early 2000s Operas. A friend in my cycling club had a Palladio (ti/carbon) when it came out and i thought it was one of the nicest looking bikes i've ever seen... but well beyond my budget then.
Anyway, recently i've been bashing around on a disc-braked carbon road bike and whilst it's fast and functional i do miss the zing of earlier rim-braked bikes.
So... When i saw an ebay listing for a Leonardo a few weeks ago i decided to bid. The seller didn't list any dimensions so i asked them to measure up. While he was very helpful I wasn't totally confident in the measurements i got back - didn't quite tally with the geometry charts i could find, but i figured it seemed about my size.
Anyway i took a punt and won the auction for £327.56. I finally got to collect it from Cheshire (from East Sussex!) last week. I was totally amazed by the condition of it - almost new.
I'm not a fan of Shimano, so i have sold the 10 speed Ultegra and the Dura Ace wheels, which has pretty much covered the cost of my purchase.
I set about stripping the bike down and setting it up Sram red/force/rival 1x11, Campag super record brakes, some nice modern Mavic Open pro ust wheels i built, and a selection of Thomson and Easton kit i had to hand. It's looking much more my cup of tea and, i think, still in sympathy with its 2003 vintage. Just waiting on a chainring to arrive.
Can't wait to take it for a spin - if it ever stops raining.
Rich
I always liked the look of the early 2000s Operas. A friend in my cycling club had a Palladio (ti/carbon) when it came out and i thought it was one of the nicest looking bikes i've ever seen... but well beyond my budget then.
Anyway, recently i've been bashing around on a disc-braked carbon road bike and whilst it's fast and functional i do miss the zing of earlier rim-braked bikes.
So... When i saw an ebay listing for a Leonardo a few weeks ago i decided to bid. The seller didn't list any dimensions so i asked them to measure up. While he was very helpful I wasn't totally confident in the measurements i got back - didn't quite tally with the geometry charts i could find, but i figured it seemed about my size.
Anyway i took a punt and won the auction for £327.56. I finally got to collect it from Cheshire (from East Sussex!) last week. I was totally amazed by the condition of it - almost new.
I'm not a fan of Shimano, so i have sold the 10 speed Ultegra and the Dura Ace wheels, which has pretty much covered the cost of my purchase.
I set about stripping the bike down and setting it up Sram red/force/rival 1x11, Campag super record brakes, some nice modern Mavic Open pro ust wheels i built, and a selection of Thomson and Easton kit i had to hand. It's looking much more my cup of tea and, i think, still in sympathy with its 2003 vintage. Just waiting on a chainring to arrive.
Can't wait to take it for a spin - if it ever stops raining.
Rich
I was fully expecting to see some Campagnolo bits! And then I looked at the components and saw Sram. I my face was like this: 
