I bought this second-hand in 1989. It was basically a collection of somebody's leftover parts, some of them not great. However, at the time, money was very tight and it seemed a reasonable alternative to a new equivalent which I could not have afforded back then.
There was a mish-mash of parts on it - Dura-Ace brakes, Simplex rear mech, Shimano 105 front, Shimano 600 headset, Ernesto Colnago chainset (of which more later), Sugino BB, Campag hubs with Wolber Aspin rims, a Campag seat post and a white Selle Italia Turbo saddle.
The forks were not original and I replaced them with a chrome fork rather than trying to match the paint colour. The Dura-Ace lever and hoods were quite ropey as I recall so I replaced them with a pair of (then) more modern aero levers.
The Colnago chainset broke the right crank some time after I bought it and I replaced it with a Gipiemme item, being the only one I could find with a PCD that accepted teh Colnago chainrings.
I never did use it that much and it spent its time hanging in the garage and in the garden shed. However, in 2011 when work-induced travel pitched me up in the UK, I started riding it again and even turned out for the Great Yarmouth 10-mile TT (my first one in more than 30 years) in August 2011. I'm sure it was the only bike there with tubs and down-tube shifters...!
However, since then it has been carted about in the back of the camper and seems to have deteriorated more than somewhat.
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa...
These pictures were taken today (April 5th, 2014) and I need to figure out what to do next with it. The frame number indicates a build date of August 1984.
Should I re-paint it or should I try to recover the paintwork as far as it can be done in the circumstances? Any tips welcome.
Also, before I do anything with it, I really ought to try to find an original fork, miracle though that might be.
Great Yarmouth 10-mile TT August 26th, 2011
There was a mish-mash of parts on it - Dura-Ace brakes, Simplex rear mech, Shimano 105 front, Shimano 600 headset, Ernesto Colnago chainset (of which more later), Sugino BB, Campag hubs with Wolber Aspin rims, a Campag seat post and a white Selle Italia Turbo saddle.
The forks were not original and I replaced them with a chrome fork rather than trying to match the paint colour. The Dura-Ace lever and hoods were quite ropey as I recall so I replaced them with a pair of (then) more modern aero levers.
The Colnago chainset broke the right crank some time after I bought it and I replaced it with a Gipiemme item, being the only one I could find with a PCD that accepted teh Colnago chainrings.
I never did use it that much and it spent its time hanging in the garage and in the garden shed. However, in 2011 when work-induced travel pitched me up in the UK, I started riding it again and even turned out for the Great Yarmouth 10-mile TT (my first one in more than 30 years) in August 2011. I'm sure it was the only bike there with tubs and down-tube shifters...!
However, since then it has been carted about in the back of the camper and seems to have deteriorated more than somewhat.
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa...
These pictures were taken today (April 5th, 2014) and I need to figure out what to do next with it. The frame number indicates a build date of August 1984.
Should I re-paint it or should I try to recover the paintwork as far as it can be done in the circumstances? Any tips welcome.
Also, before I do anything with it, I really ought to try to find an original fork, miracle though that might be.
Great Yarmouth 10-mile TT August 26th, 2011
