Hi, everyone! I'm currently riding 1989 Olmo Sanremo with Columbus Cromor tubes. I'm 188 cm tall, the bike is of proper size — 60 cm, stem though is on the longer side being 130 mm but I'm ok with such slightly elongated fit, especially when climbing. That thing is INCREDIBLE! I've never had such a wonderful machine. Every friggin' ride places happy smile on my face and I'm pretty grumpy ass, IYKWIM.
The question is: in search for my second bike I've stumbled upon 1994 Colnago Master Olympic frame for bargain price. Whether the frame is Olympic or X-light is questionable since Olympic has internal routing. Actual lot has two external cable hangers under the top tube seen in X-lights, but I don't care, to be honest. What stirs up a doubt is the size — 56 cm. Would that bike fit or not? Has anyone any experience in riding frames of unproper sizes? What's your takes on that matter?
Pros:
- Colnago (want!);
- Cheap.
Cons:
- Smaller size;
- Needs new paint job and possibly new chrome layer for heatube lugs and Precisa fork. Someone painted it badly with can spray, maybe one who didn't like hideous color scheme (agree on that).
Bottom line: I live in Kiev. Ebay shopping is PITA here because PayPal is illegal in the country (bummer!). We have fair amount of other vintage offers here to choose from but Colnagos are rare. For example, Olmos are MUCH more rare finds on Ebay and I've seen up to 8 different frames to appear on local salesboards throughout the year, one of which became mine. I've seen two steel Colnagos for sale in Ukraine, one shown in post and another one was Mexico in war torn condition. Other offers were either aluminum (not interested at all) or carbon fiber with outrageous price tag on them. So, what do you think?