So, given the news that my old Tommasini will not be coming home, after all, I decided to move forward on satiating my desire to have a road bike in my stable once again.
I've been poring over CL search engines and Ebay for the past 3-4 weeks just to see what is out there in my desired size (61-62 ST and 55-56 TT). A few possibilities have popped up, but have been priced too high for my intentions and budget.
Thanks to a head's up from BF member Highgear, I bid (and won) on a decent Ciocc "Designer '84" frame set in SLX and, more importantly, my size. 61 ST c-c and 56 TT c-c. Just about perfect.
And so begins my road bike project. The frame is in used but good condition. I plan to keep it as is - just clean it up, protect it/touch it up, and build it.
My goal is to have a solid bike for my frequent road rides to come, perhaps for commuting when I'm in the mood for fast -n- light. So, I do not plan to do a "restoration" or period correct build. If this were a pre-1980 Pelizzoli era frame, then it would be different. I'm thinking 9 or 10 speed Campy. The smoked chrome is nice because I think I can go either way - polished alloy or black - and it would still look nice.
I lack the tools to re-space the frame, and am not in the mood to risk messing it up, so I've contacted a local frame builder so I can work with him to re-space and verify alignment throughout. I needed an excuse to meet him, any way.
So, here are the Ebay pics. I'll snap some more when it arrives, and will be contemplating build options in the mean time. More to come.
