thirdgenbird

get those decals off and repost! you wont regret it.

what would the "customer" price be?

rsacilotto

My 1981 TREK 614 with ergo bars, Ultegra shifters, Dura Ace drivetrain, Mavic Cosmic Elites. Rides like a dream.[/QUOTE]

Sweet!!!

Colorblindbass

Ill check our price list tomorrow at work.

eerriicc

love this - I am going to copy your stem/handlebar/shifters setup!

dpdemos

Nice Masi. I like the black and yellow color scheme.

RobbieTunes

Ditto on the color scheme, and I like the yellow accents on the wheels, also. They tie in the yellow on the crankset.

fiataccompli

sorry to interrupt the thread, but is that a Vitus frame? 7 speed STI? I'm asking because I just put together the test build of my own Vitus...and, ironically I suppose, may have to use a similar stem to the one you were commenting on since the Cinelli stem seems to be a mm larger diameter than the Salsa bar I was gonna use (which is OK...that frees up the Cinelli stem to use with the Cinelli bar on my Grandis when it's time for new bar tape on that one...)

Rocket-Sauce 

Looks like a beauty, but we NEED a bigger picture.

max5480

Man, some great looking bike here.
I have a question. Why is everyone using STI shifters? I'm building up a 2x10 on an old frame right now and was wondering if old friction shifters are compatible with a modern 10 speed derailleur? Thanks

RobbieTunes

Yes, many friction shifters will pull the cable enough to make a modern 10-sp RD move the required distance in/out across a 10-sp cog.

As you imagine, the distance between cogs is smaller than you may be used to, and the chain is narrower.
This results in very small movements, comparatively, for each shift.

If you live in an area where the terrain requires constant shifting, you may well tire of nearly always having your hands on the shifters, because you will likely shift a lot more than you would, say, on a 6sp or 7sp rig.

The Dura Ace 7800 series downtube shifters are fairly reasonable, and add a measure of "click and go" ease to running 10-sp setups without the expense of STI shifters, while also retaining the classic, elegant look that many prefer. They are also much lighter, and allow you to retain your current brake lever setup (i.e. you leave the handlebars alone). Easy to set up, adjust, and easy to shift. However, you will still be shifting a lot and you need a deft hand on the shifter (as with the friction) to avoid shifting 2-3 cogs at a time. The nice thing is that you can shift 2-3 cogs at a time if you want to.

I have run 6-sp Shimano 600EX shifters on a 9-sp rear cassette, friction mode, with no problem. I did have to tweak my motion to avoid overshifting.
I also have used 10-sp Shimano Dura Ace 7800 downtube indexed shifters, with no problem. I got a little tired of the constant shifting, and it was more of me not being patient enough to get used to that cassette with that bike, when the STI's are pretty much no-brain shifting.

I'm actually once again thinking of using some 8sp or 9sp DT shifters on a new project.

Puget Pounder

Because STI on steel gives functionality with the craftsmanship with older bikes. This is the consensus with this thread, so try not to bring up the whole STI vs DT blah blah here. We will gladly argue elsewhere

Friction on 10 feels really good to me. I prefer 9 so everything lasts longer. You need a really light touch, but the possibility for chain clatter is less since the spacing is so tight.

max5480

Thanks for the info, RobbieTunes.
I think STIs are sweet on steel bikes, I just don't have the money for STI shifters and was thinking about getting a new wheelset with 10 speed cassette and new derailleur before I got the shifters. Peace

RobbieTunes

Sounds like a plan. We're here to help.

himespau 

the nice thing is friction shifting allows you to go through intermediates like that rather than buying the whole group at once (assuming you have friction-able dt shifters right now).

tinkerbike

I recently converted this mid '80s Davidson Impulse to Ultegra 6600SL. I'm totally pleased with this bike, it's far better than it was with the original Campagnolo Victory group and the SunTour Sprint that came after that.

There's really something special about these hot-rodded vintage steel frames: all the modern drive-train and braking parts on a smooth and responsive frame.

Scooper

Beautiful. Very nice job with the upgrade.

...and congratulations on your first post after being a member for four years!

RobbieTunes

Nicely put. Nice bike, good balanced look.

Don't tell anyone what we do here....then they'll all want to play.

Puget Pounder

+Davidson Impulse

ColonelJLloyd 

Sharp build, tinkerbike!

Force 

That Davidson is very tastefully done.

dwellman

I just restarted my c'dale transmognification. . . got a slight raise a couple months ago and can finally finish getting the parts I want (sort of). Starting from the bare frame

Left to get:
fork, bar, stem, seatpost, saddle, bb, brakes.

Andycapp

Got a great deal on a pair of tri-color bifters and derailleurs. So, I get to join the "retro-roadie" club! First thing I did was to shift the rear with too much slack on the cable resulting in the lever getting bound up beyond use! Thanks to a thread in the mechanics section, I gained the confidence to take it (all the way!) apart. After about three hours and a "custom" tool I got it back together and it works great. It shifts OK for now. But, I'm running a 7-speed freewheel, so and upgrade to an 8-speed cassette will be a huge improvement. Question- Is the "wing" thingy on the right side cable stop for trimming the FD? Why would it install on the right? This required crossing the cables in front of the head tube and then re-crossing in the down tube. Or do I have it backward?

tinkerbike

Thanks, and gee, has it been four years? ;-) Actually I forgot that I had registered, and I rediscovered this site over the weekend when I was researching something. Which, I hope to be posting in this thread at some point in the near future...

This thread is full of win. So many good ideas, and inspirations to try other custom builds. I just love this stuff!

Thanks guys, I'm very happy with this bike. I rode it again yesterday, and I think I may like it even better than my modern carbon, aluminum, and titanium bikes. I'm enjoying it least as much, anyway. And I know it's uniquely mine. That's worth something all by itself.

I've been doing 650B conversions for a few years, and this is a different yet similar kind of thing. I might try a combination - a hot rodded, 650B converted vintage steel bike. Now, that could be very interesting... Maybe I'll do one this Winter. I have a couple of other projects in the works ahead of that.

thirdgenbird

i think shimano intended that you use the "wing" for quick adjustments of the rear derailleur. it may work with the 7 or 8spd setups but in my opinion it is too "corse" to adjust a modern drivetrain.

regardless, you did the right thing by double crossing the cable. it makes for much cleaner cable routing (and wont wear the paint off your headtube)

RobbieTunes

I'm not in the double crossing camp, but I understand why it's done. I found it on two Bianchi Trofeos, both bought with less than 100 miles on them, so I have to think it was OEM. On both, with 12 years or so of storage, the downtube was worn where the cable crossed (back).

That being said, I'm glad you're getting it done, and attacking an STI is a major endeavor. Congratulations.