MZilliox

Hello,
I need help with some slight touch ups on a minty fresh (garaged for the last 13 years after moving away from Portland) 56cm 1999 Serotta Rapid Tour with really low miles. Full ultegra 3x9 group (6500s). Open Pros. Cool post, Ugly saddle, decent bars, ugly salsa stem, and a broken right sti shifter that is currently being used as a break w/ a bar end shifter so i can shift.


I am a long time rider, but very new to caring about specs, as I could never afford more than the next craisglist special. Times have changed, things have changed, needs have changed. I'm 35 and relatively fit, but a casual and commute type rider. I am looking forward to longer rides (centuries and light tours) and carrying my fishing gear to the river on my bike as well as commuting. But I still like to just open it up and sprint for 5-8 miles sometimes. So it had to be a do it all sort of bike. I got lucky in the used market locally. I went way under budget on this bike so i have a bit of spare change to make some upgrades. I'll be honest about my motivations for the upgrades, they are mainly about making the bike more comfy for casual and longer rides, but I also really want a nice looking bike, given the Base I have to work with. This bike deserves a bit of bling because it is easily the best fitting bike i have peddled so far, i simply fell in love from the first rotation...


So what would you change to make this thing ride sweeter and look swell? My thoughts so far from talking to a bike friend and online research...
Was thinking of going to bar ends to replace the broken sti.

I like the look of Velo Orange Road Pedals a lot. any feedback? better choice in similar style? I want to ride flats, don't want to bother with clips, but these VO pedals can take that diagonal strap if i ever want to add it. Cheaper option is MKS touring.

Brooks saddle. What else would fit? B17 or Team Pro? Other? Some random dutch or french saddle I never heard about? I have a small, bony, and narrow seating area and I want it to be comfy on long rides but be okay when i sometimes use the drops and push it... I'm thinking the reddish dark brown with matching color bar tape. will look dead sexy with the dark metallic blue paint and silver decals. the standard brown is classy, but i see it too much, and its too close to my wife's Peugeot.

Nitto noodle bars (lots of positions to choose from for ride comfort in all situations). lower priority because I actually kinda like these 3ttt bars that it came with, they aren't too bad for comfort so far.

I really dislike the look of the salsa stem. I don't like the decal or the black color for this bike. also i think its 120mm and maybe i would prefer 110, I'm not very long in the torso... Nitto stem to match bars? orig style 3ttt? cinelli? other?? I'd like the option of a slightly higher and less aggressive bar position but not overly high.

Tires? Any 28mm faves? Doesn't need to be super puncture resist, paved roads here are pretty good, and so are the gravels. Looking for nice ride quality, good durability, not too heavy, and pretty on the bike. Lots of threads out there hashing it, seems like find a deal on one of the nicer pairs and ride em. But maybe someone had a strong feeling here? I'd love to have a sexy looking tire too.

Eventual wheel upgrade? No ideas here, no experience on higher end wheels.

To keep things a bit inline and reasonable, I have about $750-900 left in the budget before racks/bags/lights. Those will come later when we commit to a tour.

I may splurge if i fall in love with some obscure part i have never heard of that one of you mention, as this is (probably) gonna be my main bike for the next 10 years and I can.

Happy to answer any questions that may help, I'm new to being a bike specs dork, you will have to forgive my level of ignorance, but I am learning.

PS, I have never ridden a Campy bike, but I think Italian race bikes are damn sexy with Campy. Whats standard commuter/touring level Campy? Chorus? Do they have a triple or compact double? just in case a dreamy set comes up?

Thanks so much, I really have very little experience with all these things and I live in a small town where the bike shop doesn't stock anything along these lines.

MZilliox

Did I post this in the wrong forum or something?

TiHabanero

Ditch the stem, drifters and saddle. Go with the NITTO of choice that puts the body in a good spot, Brooks Pro, and bar end shifters that work, even if the index stops working.

Chrome Molly

Was a little long to get through, but I think I follow what you're after. With $900 to spend, what I'd do is go to ribble and order a silver campy veloce compact group with a 13-29 cassette. The open pros should be just fine as is with a campy freehub. You'll have enough left for the other special bits you want for it (saddle, stem, bars). As for 28c tires, my current fave is the continental 4000 s2 in the black chili compound. Super low rolling resistance but pretty they are not.

Best of luck with it

ncrnelson

I think you're thinking about it too much. Replace the shifters, I'd go with new brifters personally rather than bar ends, but to each their own. Why not just upgrade to 10 speed if you're willing to spend money. However I've got to imagine eBay had plenty of options in 9 speed between older 105, Ultegra, and Dura-Ace in decent condition. Upgrading is a rabbit hole that sucks up money and time spent reading meaningless reviews and opinions enter cautiously.

Saddle choice is too subjective, I've got a B-17 that I like, it's relatively wide and flat. Some people hate them though. Choose comfort before looks.

For the small bits and aesthetic things just watch eBay for deals, no need to rush.

It sounds like you want to make this some sort of do-all bike, that works for some, but I don't think this is the bike. Short term, use it and love it, but for running errands, going fishing, puttering around the neighborhood it probably won't be practical. Pick up an old rigid mountain bike to make into your around town bike, then you're free to pamper your finely appointed road bike that you've hand selected each upgraded part.

John E

I'll second that.

sloar 

+1 on chrome mollys suggestion on the silver Veloce group from ribblecycles. I have used them on 3 builds and love the group, especially for the money. I just built this with wheels and the Veloce group from ribble all for around $550...
[h=2][/h]

ncrnelson

That sounds like a great deal, but the group alone is about $460 converted to US dollars, unless you got it on sale. Still a fine price, glad I have no projects beckoning me.

gomango

Ribble has sales constantly.

I like the Veloce suggestion and I would also consider a new 105 groupset from Ribble as well.

I rode a Bianchi Zolder with one tonight and it was very nice.

sloar 

I think I paid around $350 shipped for the Veloce.

bikemig 

This is a fine bike with a lot of fine parts and I'd sink as little money into this bike as possible while getting it to look good and work good. Bar end shifters work great. You can pick them up from a UK seller for less than you can in the states, try chain reaction. For tires, continental gatorskins are very good. They don't cost a bomb and handle well.

Contact points (saddle and pedals) are a matter of personal preference. I wouldn't move too quickly on a leather saddle. Some love them and some hate them but you won't know which camp you are in until you've bought one and they're not cheap. If you want a vintage looking saddle, both selle italia turbos and san marcos rolls would look sharp on that bike. Chain reaction has good prices on these as well.

Tough to beat a nitto stem. Both universal cycles and Bens have good selection here.

For pedals, the the humongous VO pedals will look a bit funky but if you like them, buy them. There's a lot to be said for quality platform pedals since you can wear any shoe you want with them.

Other than that, I'd overhaul, replace the consumables and ride the bike.

Don't fall for upgraditis, . Ride the bike; then you'll know whether you want to replace anything major or not.

MZilliox

Thanks guys and gals. Sorry for the long note, I know I'm overthinking it, thats the whole point of these websites. I got a new bike and I'm excited to kit it out a bit for a change, instead of being the cheapskate i usually am. I think I'm gonna stick with this drivetrain for a bit and get the bar end shifters. Thanks for the confirmation on Nitto stem and bars, I rode a pair of the bars for a minute yesterday and they are comfy. I checked ribble and they are out of the Veloce and the Athena it says.

And You may be right about a second bike, but I only paid 500 for this one, so I don't need to baby the thing too much. I had a budget of 1250 -1500 for a do it all that will mainly commute to town 10-14 miles and go for 20-40 mile rides but be capable of the possible short tour on the coast or into the winelands kinda thing. I don't like mountain bikes, plus those get stolen in these parts.

I like this website, honest straight shooters.

MZilliox

Thanks so much for the helpful info. I am thinking along your lines in general, and especially after a couple sleeps and a couple longer rides. In terms of pedals, Any nice platforms you would recommend instead of VO?? not seen em in person, so no real way to see just how big they are.
Not falling for upgraditis so much as wanting to make this bike a bit more me, just not sure what the options are for that. But we are getting there with everyones help for sure.

bikemig 

The VO touring pedals would look fine; I was thinking of the grand cru sabot. Since you want to ride with street shoes and you want to ride fast sometimes as well, you should take a look at the Shimano A530 which have a platform on one side and are clipless on the other.

Soody

Nice bike.

A 3/9 ultegra group is good kit. I'd keep it.

I'd replace the levers with 9 speed shimano stis or go shimergo. Campy 11 shifters will index fine with a shimano 9 speed drivetrain.

I really really like Open Pave 28s or Strada Bianca Open 30mm. I probably wouldn't tour on them though because they flat too often.

If your wheels are good nic, keep em. Either you'd replace them with something significantly quicker (and weaker) or something significantly stronger (and slower).

Ride the stem/ bars for at least a month to get an idea of what you want to change to + get some advice on reach. There's nothing worse than making an aesthetic call on a fit component and then having to change it up again later because it still doesn't fit right.

+1 to a nitto stem though, they're the best available. Cinelli 1A are nice but they're too short and they have a more primitive clamp. Get a Technomic if you want a 10/10 comfy old man fit. My 44cm noodles are great bars too.

For bling get some silver bottle cages, fizik tape, shiny nitto racks & a shiny seatpost.

If you're being misled and you really have a repressed desire to go fast, just get some 23/25mm racing slicks and clipless pedals, then ignore the thousands you could have spent on building a heavier shinier bike with 'utility'

MZilliox

Great post Soody, especially like the last line. I mainly ride longer (10-30mi) rides with my wife, so I'm not that into speed, just enjoyment. The bike is certainly fast enough as it is. I just like to sprint to the corner store 3 miles away when we need something, and I like that this bike can do it! I'm putting the bike through its paces now. Been riding every day, sometimes twice, from 6 to 30 miles so far. favorite thing about the bike is the ride and handling. I can;t wait for new seat, Pedals and tires to see what she really has.
The salsa stem on there puts the bars a bit further forward than I like and doesn't have the stem length to bring the bars up where I'd like them. I moved my seat forward a touch to compensate, but its not quite right. I had my eyes on the Nitto technomic (gorgeous with nice long stem and lots of options for fitting) and LBS says they can get it for me to check out as well. I like the silver bottle cages idea. have been looking into rear racks, Nitto, Tubus, Pletcher Clem from Rivendell. Trying to be realistic about how much gear I may or may never carry. Was thinking of getting a pair of panniers that one could be used as a saddle/trunk on its own as well. any experiences here?

this may seem a bit lame to some of you, but its sort of a thing for me. I am really into vintage fly fishing gear. I fish (yes, i use the hell out of it) an old Hardy reel from the 1920s thats been catching salmon since then. lots of guys would collect that reel, put it on a wall, never use it. but I figure it was made to catch salmon, thats what it wants to do, thats what it should do, and it does it just as well if not better than new reels with alloys and drags... I feel the same about this bike. I want it to do its job in maximum style, but also maximum function. I'd love to carry my favorite rod and reel to my favorite spot on my favorite bike. Life's too short to get a beater mountain bike and ride that to your favorite spots. Plus my favorite spot is 9 miles away on the highway, thats a long ride on a mountain bike.

Lastly, Our goal is to one day tour around NZ. I have fished all around NZ, but it would be amazing to do on a bike.

Again, sorry about my long winded rants, but I thank you guys for helping me make choices on this bike. I have nobody else to talk to this stuff about on a reg basis. In Portland every third person was into bikes, down here its only something rich people do on weekends with uniforms.

MZilliox

A bit nervous to go shimergo, will talk to local LBS and see what they know about it. I have been searching this morning for builds with Campy 11spd shifters with 9speed ultegra. anyone have the specs for that shimergo? I'd really like to take something accurate that has worked to show my mechanic. he wants to go bar ends, but i like the comfort of brifters and would not mind keeping them.

MZilliox

Whats the story on breaks? If i go with bar ends, Ill need break levers and maybe i can upgrade the brakes. maybe something allowing me to fit 32mm tires?

Whats the story with vintage suntour superbes? worth the price? they are sexy as sin.

BluesDaddy

I personally love those Salsa stems... looks like one of the original cromoly, welded by hand by hipsters in Petaluma, CA. I'd gladly take it off your hands.

MZilliox

great, happen to have a silvery quill stem to trade? was probably going to go with nitto technomic for height reasons. For that matter A seatpost, pedals, or brake levers would be good in trade too.

Not so familiar with brakes, are the ultegras i have worthy or should i upgrade for larger loads?

thanks all

Matt

Velocivixen

I have Velo Orange Touring Pedals on my Cross Check and they ride well - even in the rain. MKS Lambda pedals are very slick in the rain so sold mine.

Brooks B17 - can't go wrong - of course, unless it doesn't fit you well, but seems to fit a lot of body types.

Panaracer Pasela tires - tan wall & lots of sizes.

Nitto Technomics are great, but really long. How long is that head tube? I've bought them wanting higher bars, only to find, that, even when all the way down, they're too high. Do some measuring before you buy. The Nitto Delixe (Ben's Cycle online) is a little shorter, but still tall.

BluesDaddy

I wish I had something nice to trade. My parts bin is not really up to the level you want for your bike.

Pompiere

I just put a Technomic on my Miyata, and yes, it looks funny sticking way up there, but it sure is comfy. The drops are a couple inches below the seat, and the tops are a couple inches above. I hadn't been able to use the drops for more than a short distance before, now they are more comfortable than the hoods.

MZilliox

little update here:
I pulled the trigger on a few decent buys
Brooks team pro in maroon with a nitto s65 seat post on it. both nearly new
VO road pedals w sealed bearings
46cm nitto noodles nearly new (say that 5 times fast)


I like the idea of the technomic deluxe that was suggested, also anyone have any experience with the lugged nitto stems? pricey but sexy. hows the length and rise?

what are folks using for mirrors?

MZilliox

any experiences or thoughts on the Nitto R-15 vs R-26 vs 32R medium racks?

My first thought was go minmal with the R-15 but it was pointed out that maybe they are a bit short and no hookup for pannier at the bottom. the r-26 looks to me to be both minimal and practical and is the way i am now leaning, i do think its a sexy rack. the 32R is a more full touring rack, but not as beefy as their full pannier racks. I'd love to see pics people have of them in use. or comments on experiences. thanks so much