buldogge

Personally, price against quality, I would use Al Wanta...less money...less wait...top quality stuff.

Can't go wrong with Joe Bell of course...but...the price and wait are hard to swallow.

My 2c.

gomango

As long as Chris Kvale will still take an order, I wouldn't ship one of my framesets anywhere.

His shop is under ten minutes from our house.

I've seen Wanta's work though, and it is very nice.

Gotta like his prices as well.

RobbieTunes

There's a guy here with an EM, says he has about 100,000 miles on it. It has no more than 5 square cm of paint left, and scraps of decals here and there. No rust whatsoever. He rolls up at the start of a charity ride, and people move away from him. Maybe they think he's homeless and just stole the bike, I don't know. When I saw him, my first thought was "Vonnegut."

The drivetrain, according to the owner, has been overhauled or replaced several times (NR/SR). The bike looks like hell, but makes not a sound, and when you see him on it, you don't doubt the miles. I swear he could make a sandwich while riding and shifting and braking, and never look away from the bread. I rode with him for a while on a rolling course, and his anticipation was so prescient that I copied him after a while. The guy never seemed to look at the course ahead, never looked at his bike, just talked and spun and simply moved across the planet. When I first approached him to ask about his EM, he smiled, looked at my bike, and said, " ah, Ironman" and stuck out his hand.

When I think about scratches and paint, I think about his EM and realize that a scratch is really no big deal. Still, the AR part of me will fix it.

Ecrevisse

Yes a paint job by Joe Bell ain't cheap and the wait was 4 months. I was inspired to get the bike by Aaron's thread of two Sachs. His looked so good that I had to get this one repainted since the decals were brittle and pealing off and there was the usual scratches. I noticed the Campagnolo Rally rear derailleur on his and a 1975. I'll ask about that privately.

While I try not to scratch my bikes, stuff happens. I have two other bikes with Joe Bell paint jobs, a 1998 Rivendell and a 1996 RS. I did notice that Joe Bell's Imron paint job holds up better than OEM European paint jobs. That said, I like the yellow paint job on the De Rosa Titano, I hope you keep it that way.

eippo1

Beautiful bike. I love the yellow.

KonAaron Snake 

Thanks for the kind words all! This is my first yellow keeper, which is strange because yellow is my second favorite color for frames. At the same time, I think a Gewiss livery Titanio from 94' would be pretty special too.

Tires are being replaced...I don't want to get used to these.

Cage arrived...it's a lovely cage of steel, not ti. Seller was honest, apologized and refunded money and I need to revisit the issue. I do have some of those silly Campay aero cages around...maybe I'll sell one, or both, to fund the ti cage.

gomango

Yep, a titanium bicycle needs a titanium cage.

It keeps order in the world when you execute the plan that way.

FWIW I am down to four Campy Biodinamica water bottles and cages, but none in boxes.

I love the looks of these, but let's face it, water bottles are a throw away (recycle) for me anyway.

You can only use them just so long before the plastic starts breaking down.

Sell 'em Aaron while folks will pay "silly" prices.

You should be able to get $75+ for them, maybe more if they are in nice condition.

Check out this offer:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Campagnolo-B...38763988561980

As for the tires, you have been happy with the Continental 4000s tubs, so I would just order some, remove the Tufos promptly, stretch and glue up the Continentals and call her a day.

I would also have a chat with the shop that recommended the Tufos about your issue. My main shop would likely refund the purchase price to me w/o asking for it.

I drive an awful lot of business their way.

KonAaron Snake 

Nahhhhh....shop had nothing to do with buying them, they just glued what I gave them. I didn't understand what i was buying= my fault. Those bottles are good for taking photos and that's about it.

photogravity

This think that turned out really nice Aaron... De Rosa bikes are quite fetching atmo and the yellow is very yummy on that bike. BTW, in case you don't know, I purchased my first Italian bicycle yesterday. It has Campagnolo on it too, believe it or not! Southpawboston has already seen it and can vouch for the veracity of what I'm telling you.

KonAaron Snake 

Photos or it didn't happen.

photogravity

Indeed. Soon. I rolled in about 3 AM and am slow getting into gear this morning. I really need to start moving because the Westminster swap is Sunday and I need to gather some stuff together that I'll be unloading, freewheels, derailleurs, DT shifters, etc.

RobbieTunes

I knew it would happen once we got our hooks in......

photogravity

Very soon Robbie... I took the pictures and will be uploading them to flickr after I get some pictures of my recently acquired 1951 Lenton Tourist.

KonAaron Snake 

Well...the titanium cage I'd bought from ebay turned out to be steel. GERRRR. Seller refunded money, it was an honest mistake. I broke down:

photogravity

Neato... I love the colour of titanium! Against the yellow really makes a nice combination atmo.

KonAaron Snake 

The photos didn't come out well...it was pretty dark. I'll try and redo them tomorrow.

JesusBananas

Just wait until this gets relisted: https://www.ebay.com/itm/220948884600

KonAaron Snake 

I think that bike is ridiculous actually.

gomango

A rethink would be in order.

At least for me.

I like to ride my bikes, and that one would need to have a gruppo removed.

...and sold promptly.

I have a perfectly nice Chorus 10 speed gruppo waiting here for something just like that frameset.

KonAaron Snake 

+1...sell the gruppo, or put it on some thing appropriate. Stick your favorite ergo on the Titanio and have at it.

gomango

ps Love your Titanio Aaron.

The update is noted.

Man, would I love to ride your Titanio!

KonAaron Snake 

I'm sure you know this...but you're always welcome to ANY of my bikes and in our home.

Ecrevisse

Did ya get a titanium cage replacement yet?

KonAaron Snake 

I went with a King...it's on the bike in the photo above, but the photo stunk.

gomango

I saw that bad boy.

Looks great.

I have a couple on order, along with the stainless I have on a couple bikes.

Arundels and Nittos are on the same level though.

Just choose your favorite.

Hopefully I'll find a plug for your Grammo on Sunday at our Velodrome swap in Blaine.

...and one of these days we'll be calling you from the airport in Philadelphia Aaron.

We'll give you at least a half hour warning.