Classic & Vintage - Full disclosure: Itemized cost of my latest C&V project, 1978 Gazelle AA

Building a vintage bike part by part when living rurally, far from Craigslist deals and garage sale finds, is not only time consuming but on the spendy side. It's also addictive, stimulating and fun!

I knew exactly what I wanted and how I needed the bike to perform, but I also had to use as much from my existing inventory as I could to keep the cost reasonable. The end result is a franken-bike, without a common thread in the choices of components, but overall the performance, feel and comfort are completely dialed in first try.

This happens rarely but here it did: I put it together in an evening, hopped on it the next morning for my 30 mile round trip commute and felt like I could do the PBP without changing a thing. No saddle tweaking, no fussing with bar height and angle, didn't even have to adjust the derailleur stops. And the frame really fits and feel right. Which is good, because it is far from a show piece. Time has not been gentle to the cosmetics of this Gazelle, but, as mentioned, it's to continue life as a working bike, doing the miles.

Here we go:

Frame: 1978 Gazelle Champion Mondial AA-Frame with updated ROTO BB shell and 'chrome under paint' fork ends. Acquired through a friend in the Netherlands, $130 delivered.

1/4 can of Frame Saver: $3

Hubs: 1973 Campagnolo Record high flange, flat skewer, 36 hole, mint condition. The real stuff. Nothing moves me more than high flange hubs. From the Bike Stand, purchased a year ago for $89

Spokes/nipples: Wheelsmith butted and Wheelsmith brass nipples. Hunted the 'net for best price but still had to pay $65 total.

Rims: Mavic Open Pro in silver anodizing $135,

Wheels are expensive! And then add the tires for the full effect. Here I cheaped out and got Performance Bike Special '2 for $20' Michelin. Tubes from the LBS: A steep $12. And finally two rolls of that French Velox rim tape $8

Headset: Velo Orange basic model. Inexpensive, light, reliable and good looking. A modern classic. New $20

Bottom bracket: Token 68 x 111 sealed unit, new $38

Crankset: Campy Centaur square taper 53-39, new BIN on Ebay $40

Pedals: Look old style boat anchors. From a fair and even C&V swap, $10

Derailleurs: Mavic SSC. These are cool. I use to have a set when they first came out in 1982, but I couldn't find those first gen units without the black parts. They are exceedingly rare, but IMO far more reliable. Well, these are good too and I scored a mint set on Ebay with a lowball snipe of $54. They usually go for far more, but it was in the middle of winter on a week day morning.

Freewheel: Shimano HG. Nothing special. Lost track of its origins. Let's say $10

Shifters: Suntour Barcons, NOS. Ebay from France, BIN at $35, and low shipping. Reasonable, actually, since well used sets often fetch this much. Came with cables too! But not the bare steel housings.

Downtube cable stops: Shimano, LBS, $8. A good deal actually, compared to the web.

Chain: Donor bike, $10

Brake Calipers: Campagnolo Script logo Record, the rear with drop bolt (which is almost essential for this frame). Bought them in an East Hollywood parking lot from a pair of shady hipsters for $20, but lacking the barrel adjusters. After lots of patience and vigilance I assembled 2 sets from Ebay for an additional $20, yet I still didn't have the rubber O-rings, so Home Depot took 50 cents of my bike budget for those.

Levers: Campy Victory. To my untrained scrutiny these are similar to Super Record, except for using the more attractive shield logo and having a slightly different hole pattern. Anyway, with supple hoods, a splurge on Ebay for $53

Brake cables and casings: Nobody locally sells blue so I hunted down the cheapest BIN with free shipping I could find on Ebay, $6

Stem: Cinelli 1A. Traded something I forgot to another C&V'er for this classic piece of componentry. Estimated value at $15

Bars: Cinelli in my favorite size and bend. Traded another wider bar to BBM for these. $20

Tape: Tressostar from VO, $7

Seatpost: The only freebie on the bike. A generous gift from Poprad, this Gipiemme post.

Seat bolt: Campagnolo. Don't remember where it came from, but these little deals are dear. Let's say a low $12

Saddle: Ideale 45, Ebay auction $28. Hated it initially. Although clearly a well used saddle it was, and still is bone hard and stiff, but suddenly a few hundred miles ago it turned amazingly comfy.

Bottle holder: Alloy, LBS, $5

So this all ad up to $873.50. A scratched up old bike with some outdated components and a few newer bits, all for close to nine hundred. Figure in all the Ebay and vendor shipping and let just say $1000!!!

There's no way this could ever resell for that much. Heck, on Ebay there's scores of Masi and Pinarello and Paramounts with premium NR/SR pieces for just a bit more. Or sometimes less.

On the other hand I feel certain that I couldn't walk into a bike store with that amount of cash and find anything I would rather have.

http://www.fivenineclimber.com/images/cinelli/gazelle_pages/my_dutch/aa_vredestein/fullview.jpg

http://www.fivenineclimber.com/images/cinelli/gazelle_pages/my_dutch/aa_vredestein/frontfull.jpg

http://www.fivenineclimber.com/images/cinelli/gazelle_pages/my_dutch/aa_vredestein/frontview.jpg

http://www.fivenineclimber.com/images/cinelli/gazelle_pages/my_dutch/aa_vredestein/barcon.jpg

http://www.fivenineclimber.com/images/cinelli/gazelle_pages/my_dutch/aa_vredestein/crank.jpg

http://www.fivenineclimber.com/images/cinelli/gazelle_pages/my_dutch/aa_vredestein/lever.jpg

http://www.fivenineclimber.com/images/cinelli/gazelle_pages/my_dutch/aa_vredestein/saddle_handlebar.jpg

http://www.fivenineclimber.com/images/cinelli/gazelle_pages/my_dutch/aa_vredestein/rd.jpg

[QUOTE=jan nikolajsen;9212129]
On the other hand I feel certain that I couldn't walk into a bike store with that amount of cash and find anything I would rather have.[/IMG]

+1

Thanks for the detail, Jan.

Having seen you in action, I can also add that the bike comes with a pretty fine engine as well...

You wrapped the bars from top-down! Very nice indeed! And the rest of the bike! Bella!

I've definitely been there more than once. It isn't cheap piecing a bike together to your specs, but at least you end up with exactly what you want (well, sometimes)!

By the way, frankenbike or not, that's a fine looking build.

You wrapped the bars from top-down!

Yes, on this forum I dare not show anything else. Dobbins wrap at levers too. Thanks for the praise!!

Yes, on this forum I dare not show anything else. Dobbins wrap at levers too. Thanks for the praise!!

Did you wrap the bars like that and then realize the bar-con cables should run under the wrap, or as Pee Wee sez, "I meant to that"?

Not being critical, just never seen them set up like that.

Doesn't everyone wrap from the centre of the handlebars to the bottom of the drops? You can tuck any excess tape into the bars that way....I also recall someone here saying that this was Merckx' way of wrapping his bars too.

Nice Gazelle.

Looks great! I love the blue. This thread got me curious about how much I spent for my Peugeot and I think it was time to come to grips on what I spent... Uhmm lets just say it wasn't pretty and after making a list I immediately ate the evidence to prevent my girlfriend from finding out. HAH!

Doesn't everyone wrap from the centre of the handlebars to the bottom of the drops? You can tuck any excess tape into the bars that way....I also recall someone here saying that this was Merckx' way of wrapping his bars too.

Nice Gazelle.

That would be the common way to wrap cloth tape in the day, but with bar-end shifters that is not possible as the cable housing should run under the wrap (unless done like the OP here).

If you look at racing photos from the 60's and early 70's, bikes with bar-end shifters are wrapped end in and taped at the bar-clamp.

A sano way of doing it is to wrap bar-clamp down to the brake lever clamp and bar-end in to the brake lever clamp, hiding the joint under the brake lever body. You can punch a little hole in the tape to fit over the brake clamp post and it will never come loose or be seen.

Jan, nice looking ride. Thanks for the credit for the seatpost, it looks very nice on there>

Doesn't everyone wrap from the centre of the handlebars to the bottom of the drops?

Ever try it with cork tape? It starts ripping after one ride.

Beautiful bike!

I love the way a properly wrapped set of bars looks.

I have seen this referred to as "Merckx" style on multiple occasions.

Very, very nice, Jan. What are your freewheel gears for those North Cascade roads?

That would be the common way to wrap cloth tape in the day, but with bar-end shifters that is not possible as the cable housing should run under the wrap (unless done like the OP here).

Sorry to keep on with the hijacking of the the thread and the OP's beautiful gazelle :)

Bontrager tape, wrapped top down, with cable under the tape, and bar end shifters. See pic of my Nishiki Here (http://jt.f0e.net/bike/np2.JPG) and Here (http://jt.f0e.net/bike/np3.JPG)

It's completely possible, and not that difficult. The trick is to tape the housing to the bar, leaving about 1/8" overhang from the end of the bar. Then wrap bar as normal from the top, and when you get to the end, press in the shifter boss in halfway (just to keep the tape from unraveling), then run the cable through the shifter, boss, and housing, but leave the shifter hanging. Once the cable is run you can push the shifter boss all the way in and mount the shifter. You should end up with a perfectly snug housing to shifter joint, and the bar wrap will be securely held by the shifter boss. Could easily do it with a full length housing under the tape too.

love it. great job!

Precisely why 'bikes pay for bikes' in the 33647.

But, its is a very nice build.

I also recall someone here saying that this was Merckx' way of wrapping his bars too.

Eddy had someone to newly wrap his bars for every race, and as often as he wanted during training. Having the edges of the tape wrapped against hand-slide is probably the best way to do it, grip-wise; but it sucks when you'd like the tape to last as long as possible, looking as good as possible. À chacun son goût.

Lovely Gazelle, Jan.

Gosh, bar-taping must be up there with fixie conversions and Campy vs Shimano as top contentious issues. I guess I started the debacle myself. Sorry for that.

Anyway, I did not cover the cables because I want to change shifters w/o rewrapping. A big blue rubber band like the ones around bundles of broccoli will hold the cables on, as soon as I go grocery shopping again.

And for Scott: The freewheel is 14-28, very much the limit of the Mavic derailer.

Outstanding !

Saddle: Ideale 45, Ebay auction $28. Hated it initially. Although clearly a well used saddle it was, and still is bone hard and stiff, but suddenly a few hundred miles ago it turned amazingly comfy.


That was a pretty good deal compared to the current going rate for these. It certainly looks like a great saddle.

Stunning!!!!!

That is a very nice looking bike Jan, nice write up too. Those Mavic derailleurs are super cool!

Nice bike! A thousand bucks sounds kind of expensive, but when you really add up everything, these projects always seem to end up costing more than originally planned. When I started doing my restorations last year, I told myself I'd be honest and count all the costs (Ebay shipping, replacing swapped out parts, etc.). I've already got over $500 in a Motobecane Grand Jubile, and that's not even counting the frame that I started with. Or the $500 I have spent on an Atala Record, when I already had basically all the parts. On the other hand, this way you get exactly what you want, and I think for most of us that's pretty important.

Nice bike! A thousand bucks sounds kind of expensive, but when you really add up everything, these projects always seem to end up costing more than originally planned... On the other hand, this way you get exactly what you want, and I think for most of us that's pretty important.

Not just that, but it's also the just the joy of tinkering and getting our hands dirty. A huge attraction of vintage bikes for me is the fact that work needs to be done, and through that work, you grow more intimate with the bike.

I've been constantly looking at the Motobecane Le Champion on Chicago Craigslist (http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/1250889163.html), which is very decently priced, considering repaint and components on it, but I could never buy it because it's almost like buying new bike. Completely illogical, I know.

Oh and jan, I can't count the number of times I've visited this page. Gazelles are definitely on the top of my dream list.

Doesn't everyone wrap from the centre of the handlebars to the bottom of the drops? You can tuck any excess tape into the bars that way....I also recall someone here saying that this was Merckx' way of wrapping his bars too.

Nice Gazelle.

I wrap bottom-up. It's not an issue with me, but I like finishing at the top.
I don't tuck in any excess at the bar ends, and I want the overlapping edges downward, since I ride the drops.