60cycle

have you had or heard of some outrageous deal on a bike or parts that seems legendary? i know not all of us do, but i had to share this one...


1974 colnago super. paint damaged. campy nr drivetrain and brakes. mavic gp4 with superbe hubs. cinelli bars, stem. 58cm. fit like a glove.


$200.00. this was in 1993. i couldn't believe it. i had gotten back into cycling after 5 years off by buying a mtn bike... i was thirsting for a road machine when i found this thing hanging up in the lbs. the former owner had brought it in for an overhaul and moved across the country. i paid for the work and got a bike.

i've since stripped the parts and stored the frame. i've been advised to send it back to colnago for the restoration... just don't have the $$$ right now.

55/Rad

Sounds like a great project and deal. Got any pictures?

55/Rad

60cycle

no pics, unfortunately. not the prettiest frame, but a beautiful ride.

cuda2k

Sounds like a good deal. Best deal I"ve heard of recently is TheCahill's $15 Centurian Frame/Fork with a 105 headset. It was an IronMan Expert, Tange #1 tubing. Light as a dang feather for a steel frame. He's got pics of it after he repainted and rebuilt it with a bunch of spare / ebay parts. Newest developments in his insane good luck and deal has been the Selle Italia SLR saddle, Sora brifters and triple front crank his neighbor gave him to to with the bike. We estimate it's around 21-22lbs and cost him around $120 so far. And a fair bit of that was paint!

bigbossman 

Carefull going down that road.....ask me how I know....

Actually, I'll save you the trouble and tell you right now. I picked up a 1974 Mondia Super at a thrift shop for $5.00 - that's right, $5.00 A nice Swiss racer made of 531 steel, all Campy and Suntour Superbe throughout. It was complete and rideable, but the paint and decals were shot. I rode it around for a while and discovered that I liked very much, but it was so ugly I was embarassed to ride it in public.

So, I stripped the frame and took it to a local frame builder of some reputation and had it painted and decaled. $425 later, it was complete and beautiful, but now the original wheels looked crappy on it. So, $200 more to re-lace the Campy hubs to new rims.

It looks unbelievably stunning, and rides like a dream. But my $5.00 "Deal of the Century" ended up costing me about $700 when you figure in new cables, bearings, tires, etc.

And here's the kicker - it is so pristine that I'm almost afraid to ride it! And when I do, I obsess over where I put it, what it touches, and how I handle it. I don't even want to put it on the car rack when I travel. I dread putting the first nick/scratch on it, and I know that it will happen sooner or later.

60cycle

beautiful bike...

i've considered how my behavior might be altered once i get the sparkly frame back... for a while i might just want to look at it. thanks for the warning, though...

tlupfer

full dura ace 9 group for a net of ~$0 (might have lost a few dollars in ebay sellers fees) after selling the frame and wheels.

bigbossman 

Thank you.

I did just that. When it came back from tha painters, I put the unassembled frame on the couch in my office and just stared at it for a week. I was afraid to touch it with tools, but at the same time I was just mesmerized looking at its' beauty.