I have never ridden an original Capri, given that I bought the frame and built it up with my own parts, including new Mavic Open Pros laced to Nuovo Record hubs. My Capri actually feels very lively, possibly due in part to the replacement fork, and as I said is rather fun to ride. It was certainly fun to build!

In my experience building up cheap ol’ bike frames, it’s not the frames that hold them back. It’s wheels and tires, and it helps if the gearing is a bit lower because the bikes seem to ride best at a slightly slower speed than bikes with high quality steel frames.