This build is inspired by the very recent receipt of the solid beginnings of a Racing T triple setup from @Frogbutter via the C&V sales !

I have been thinking of which way to go with this thing appearance wise

Mr Frogbutter's Racing T crankset is a beaut! -- i need to hit the rings with a bit of Simple Green, but the arms show the fruitful results of a "heels out" riding style ! (hardly any perceptible wear to the anodizing, that is )

-- I'm pumped due to having an Italian BB set to lead this thing off ! --- I have ebay feelers out for a RDR and some other bits n pieces --- finding cheap Campy 9 speed wheels is a pain though

This thread is to start a poll on what to do with this frameset ------ i am building up another cruiser --- the geometry duplicates a DeBErnardi i have shared with the board recently, also a Veloce triple, -- so i am not gaining anything except for giving another Italian beauty a renewed lease on life

But i thought i'd set up a poll on this one and i am likely to follow the poll's wishes

If you look at the photos - you see this 1990 frame (i am assuming since it has a 1989 championship decal of some sort) has its share of road rash on the chainstay area , some touched up areas on the top tube that dont quite match and some yellowing around the headtube area from age

My poll will be this -- given the presentation of the pics below


1) -- build it up as is with Campy Racing T -- let it ride

2) --- have it professionally touched up -- Velocals doesnt make this pattern of decals so its impossible to do "numbers matching" restore on the cheap-- but seems like an easy touch up job


3) -- or........ having it painted pink (Giro style) by a local who paints a lot of stuff for local area framebuilders and does good work --- with older decals that are more readily available -- Its a Professional model, but tubing is CroMor (which i like for stiffness personally, but understandably is not one of the higher priced frames)

This machine no matter what is likely to remain in personal inventory long after the cost of whatever restoration method chosen is forgotten


Just curious what you guys' would do ------- I do want a pink bike - but i'm sorta' leaning towars option 2 on a nice sand down and touch up of the nasty areas on this one --- tough to put a clean Campy chainset on a shabby looking frame


HEres the pics

Frameset


The parts that are jumpstarting this small (but hopefully fun) journey


poor touchup on the top tube and the 1989 decal


ugly drive side chainstay

If it were me I'd clean up/prep the chainstay and then put a piece of sticky-backed aluminum tape down after you cut it to size. That would take care of the worst bit. At that point, build it up and ride; that nice Campy crank would look perfectly at home then.

Later on, you can do a resto if you still feel like it.

DD

I'm with Jeff on the approach. Build and ride, then decide (BRTD?).

+ 1. The bike is in generally too good a shape to mess with other than the chain stay and that can be fixed.

Slap a chainstay protector on and touch up any areas that need loving. Build it, ride it and give it more chips and scratches.

Unless it is your grail bike, in which common sense does not apply, do as recommended above.

Chainstay protector and go.

Paint it the way you want, make it yours. Otherwise it's just a used bike frame.

This is good advice - and the absolutely most rational advice --- but once its built, -- it's built for the foreseeable future --- i wouldnt break it down again to re-restore it or anything


And then -- Vettracer had to throw this one out there ---- he's also correct. I was about to start prepping the bottom bracket shell and facing the head tube and start bolting things on, --- but i will hold off until i have all the pieces in place
Finding a decent used wheelset or set of hubs at a price i am willing to pay is a mild roadblock --- Looking for Athena level hubs from the 9/10 speed era , buuuuut --- looking for the sculpted, traditional looking hubs rather than the newish looking hubs that look like little soda cans with spoke flanges around the perimeter--- prices on e-bay for Chorus and Record hubsets from this era are almost rivalling the cost of a new set of Record hubs ---
Wanting to lace up a decent set of traditional box profile tubulars

I suppose i could build it up quickly with some spares i have laying around just to take it for a ride or 2 and evaluate whether i like the frame enough to mess with or not. -- I am just assuming it will be the same ride as a DeBErnardi i just built as the measurements are almost identical and it is a similar level of mid-range steel ---- but who knows - maybe not

Too bad you're sticking with 9/10. I have a spare 8-speed wheelset with Campy hubs and 90s Mavic MA3s (or something similar - maybe Open 4CDs - the labels are gone) with the machined sidewalls. I've got them listed locally on CL for $125 which seems pretty cheap.

DD

Yeah, it seems like people can't give those 8 speed campy wheelsets away, though.

That's good, though! Since you use the "rational," there is no rational point to spending money restoring a frame you haven't ridden. What if you don't like it?

That said, we cannot always be rational. It may be that you'll never like it until it has nice shiny paint on it. If that's the case... I respect that, but I don't know why you're asking the question.

That is a good price --- i do have a couple of Campy 8 speed wheelsets also ---- I spent a bit of time trying to cross reference whether any of the 9/10 freehub bodies would bolt on and it seems to be a puzzle on what would interchange with what, --- so i just figured i would update the fleet since my old 8 speed bikes are long gone but i have started building up a small accumulation of 9 speed stuff
---- I have a few orphan wheelsets laying around -- perhaps if i was better at getting rid of stuff, - it would offset the cost of just paying up and buying what i want


LOL -- i think the only "Rational" bike in my collection is my late model Cannondale --- it'll get me from point A to point B in a rapid fashion with no fuss and no muss --- With a sensible, reliable and boring late model Shimano parts kit and an equally bland flat black paint scheme

These vintage rides are all about the love of the game! They've got style --- and when i opened the mailer box with the Campy crankset in it -- i let out a bit of a wolf whistle -- Its all so much fun

so i thought -- its not a Colnago Mexico or anything -- why not paint it in the Giro paint scheme i had in mind?

-- But yes --- it needs a "quickie build" -- maybe even with some japanese parts to test it out - who knows , the fork offset could be all wrong for me or any number of other things -- and it would be a shame to throw $400 worth of paint at something thats not fun to ride

I'm betting it will ride just fine though