Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - Restoring Cuevas

I made the mistake of having my late 1970s Cuevas road frame refurbished and then putting a modern drive train on it. The bike just does't have the feel I remember as a young rider (maybe it's my age). So I'm committed now to cleaning up the original Zeus parts. I have two sets from two Zeus-equipped bikes I had in my late teens and early 20s.

Questions: Where can I get chainrings that fit the crank bolt patters; are there any precautions when dealing with bearing races; and is this just a fool's errand? Any help/advice would be helpful, as I am new to finding old parts in a new world.

Sounds like a fun and straightforward project particularly since you have plenty of Zeus parts from 2 donor bikes. Assuming that this is an old school campy copy crank, you may well have 144 mm bolt pattern. But you have to measure it to be certain (or take it to a bike shop and have them sell you the right chain rings); here is an article, http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_bo-z.html#bcd. Same goes for the ball bearings; get one of these to measure the ball bearings and count them: http://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-Spoke-Bearing-Cotter/dp/B003H5UW3U.

Edit: make sure you take some before, during, and after pics and post them.

Photos please! A Cuevas is definitely on my list. I'm still kicking myself for not buying a nice Cuevas frame set that was on Ebay last year....

is this just a fool's errand?

I can't see how the modern components would be responsible for taking away the feel of the bike, unless they put some heavy junk wheelset on. After all, the frameset and geometry are unchanged. I've updated several older bikes to modern indexed shifting and I've always been happy with the results.

I have to admit that one time I had an old Stumpjumper setup as a single-speed (purchased as a basket case) then decided to break down and put gears back on it. Big mistake. It ruined the bike for me and I wished I would've left it alone. So maybe there is some truth to the "feel" of it.

Thanks for all your interest in my Cuevas and sorry it's taken me so long to get back. I had a project at work to tend to. Regarding new equipment on an old bike, maybe you're right Fastjake. Maybe I'm feeling nostalgic since I have so many spare Zeus parts. I'm in the process of fixing those up and restoring the Cuevas to what it was as best I can.

If I'e done it right, there should be a pic of my Cuevas.

I'm not usually a fan of mixing newer drivetrain stuff with friction shifters. I would put the Zeus stuff back on or go with matching STI shifters to go with the rest of the components. I think the wheels wouldn't stand out so much if they were all silver because they kind of stand out from the rest of the bike.

Are those Mavic CXP-22s? A relatively heavy rim at 510g. If you had super light tubulars on that bike at one time, that really could be responsible for the change in feel (also if you're using heavy tires.) IMHO, the brand of derailers you're using should have no effect on how the bike rides. Also IMO, the external bearing crank you put on is an improvement and probably lighter and stiffer than what was on there originally.

The wheelset is really my only concern.