14max

Well, as with most things, I couldn't leave well enough alone. I bought a Waterford on eBay with Dura Ace 9 speed drivetrain for the paltry sum of $500. It showed up looking worn but not battered so I decided to do a bit of cleaning and upgrading.

The first items to go were the Campy Chorus ProFit pedals. They were sold and replaced with Look Keo Classic pedals. The next items to be improved were the wheels. They were Mavic Reflex tubular rims mated to DT Hugi hubs. The hubs are neat so I kept those and sent them off to Mike Garcia for a rebuild. I then thought a bit more about the fit of the bars and stem so I pulled the 42cm Cinelli Eubios bars and 100mm Control Tech stem for a Ritchey Pro bar/stem combo that fit better. I continued on this path replacing the Syncros seatpost with a Ritchey (to match the bar/stem) and the Selle San Marco Integra saddle with a San Marco Rolls. The final items that are sold/replaced is the Suntour Superbe Pro brakeset. I replaced it with a Cane Creek SCR-5 brakeset which will improve stopping immensely.

I'm now considering, in the off season, sending the frameset to Waterford for inspection and a new coat of paint. All in all, I'll be able to recoup a lot of what I spent on this bike (except for paint) from parts sold on the 'Bay. So far, this has been a great project and below is the "Before" shot of the bike...

55/Rad

That's my kind of build! Very nice.

55/Rad

14max

Thanks, Rad. I'm keeping it simple for now. I do like the look of the DA drivetrain and overall I can forsee that this bike will almost be as light as my Litespeed. With the new paint later this year it'll look even better...

tropacanita

I like, I like very much!

14max

Thank you, T. The excellent thing about the frameset (including the fit) is that it is unique. The tubing is Reynolds 753 throughout the frame and it has Henry James lugs and dropouts. The fork is Reynolds 531 straight blade with Henry James lugs and dropouts. It's also 1" threadless which means the modern cockpit is easy. The overall weight is excellent and is lighter than the 59cm Serotta I sold a couple of months ago.

Strong Bad

A beauty, and a bargain. Nice bike.

HAMMER MAN

Great choice! I still believe my Waterford is one of the finest riding bikes/purchases I have made in the 30+ yrears of riding .

14max

Thanks, SB. A bargain to be sure. I haven't figured out the total cost minus the bits and pieces I've sold yet but I'm pretty sure it'll even out to $500. Adding in the cost of paint and my Waterford will wind up costing sub $900...

14max

HM - I agree. This bike has a nicer ride than the Serotta I owned and it's almost as light as the Litespeed I sold earlier in the year.

acorn_user

Nice bike. Were the Superbe pro brakes really that bad though? They are exceptionally pretty. A guy round here has the similar Royal Compe brakes. Gorgeous!

Patriot

Oh yeah!!!

I love those straight blade steel forks. What a good looking machine.

Just build away!!

14max

The older Superbe Pro/Sprint brakes were always a bit squishy. They certainly don't have the same stopping power that the newer brake calipers do...

gfrance

Beautiful. I just find it so cool when people build or find great, high performing bikes at ridiculously cheap prices. I"m in the middle of one myself.....shhhh

14max

Dave at Waterford stated that the fork was definitely different for the time period. Not only is it straight blade but it' threadless. Both were something that Waterford was not typically doing at the time that the frame was built (1996)...

14max

Yeah, I'm not sure if the seller even knew what the value was on the bike. The frameset, DA drivetrain, and DT Hugi hubs are well worth more than what I paid for it...

kevinmcdade

Very nice looking bike! I love that fork!!! I wish I could be so lucky to find such a bike. Everything I find in that price range needs a bunch of work. I'll have to keep a closer eye on Ebay. Enjoy!!!

Are you going to switch to STI shifters on it or keep the DT shifters?

HAMMER MAN

mine was built in 1999 with the 853 lugged 2200 series.
I just bought a serotta cda, nice riding bike rode the serotta in the ms150 last week-end, next year I will use my waterford though still my preference

You will enjoy the bike immensley it is all performance

old and new

NICE JOB !! The Suberbe could be consired less "powerfull", folkes have said older Campy vs Shimano were more suited for finesse rather than like an on-off switch(DuraAce). I certainly understand why you chose to replace the brakes. Function in your case ought to trump style. DO consider the value of the Suntours as I'm sure you have. Very valuable to some enthusiasts and getting harder to find.

cuda2k

So where's the "after" photo!

Beautiful frame, I'm a sucker for the traditional curved forks, but the straight blade is growing on me. You got a heck of a deal, but trust me, sending a bike off the paint is never the 'end' of the road. But I'm sure you've learned that by now.

14max

I was thinking of switching to STI but I really don't mind the DT shifters. My first road bikes were DT and I'm certainly familiar with the shifting motion. I have considered putting bar end shifters on as well but I'm not sure if they'll look right on the bike.

14max

Absolutely. While I have no further need for the Suntours, other enthusiasts are definitely interested in them...

14max

The "After" photo will come in the next few weeks. I'm still collecting parts, getting the wheels built, and selling off the parts I'm not gonna use. I'd expect late May to be the time of the unveiling...

14max

I did a bit of work on the bike today. Unfortunately, I had to stick with the Syncros seatpost due to the odd size (27.4mm). I thought the Ritchey Pro would work but it slips when the seat binder is tightened down. Below is an updated pic...

terbennett

Nice ride!!! Wish I could find a Waterford used. Those bikes have a very devoted following. Aren't they the group that designed and built the world class Paramounts of yesterday? I used to race on a Paramount. Incredible bikes by any measure.

14max

Yep, that's the same group. I've had a couple of Paramounts (1992 and 1986) and a Schwinn Circuit (1986) and I have always wanted a Waterford. I'm looking forward to the wheels being returned so I can get out on this thing and ride...