cyclophilia 

Green derailleur pulleys!

repechage

Unicanitor is my most used saddle.
favorite is the Sella Italia Superleggera but those are fragile.

Drillium Dude

I've looked closely at the detail pics, and can't see any issue with the paint which isn't well within expectations for a well-cared-for, 50-year-old bike. Is the paint really, really bad on the other side or something?

A full-Monty shot is a must to accurately make the call for anything beyond a good cleaning. Sounds like the parts will also clean up well since they were 'preserved' by the grime. Good deal - and great score!

Also, saw earlier you had a pair of Module Es laced to Campy hubs possibly earmarked for this build. Here's my '73 Super wearing a pair in its final form before being sold:



DD

63rickert

Module E was introduced in 1975. And was a terrible rim. A terrible rim based on a terrible idea. Colnago used Nisi rims when sold as a complete bike.

Early Phil hubs were terrible. Bearing shake from day one followed by rapid bearing failure. Bearing shake was noted in the original packaging box. No one knew how to replace bearings yet so wheels were unlaced, hubs mailed (by US Mail) to Phil, bearings replaced with new bearings that wouldn't work either, sent together with a "This time for sure!!" note from Phil. Lace the wheels back up and bearing failure repeated. The promo was relentless and had nothing to do with the product.

It is almost fifty years later and worst of era still has a loyal following. Sad that so many wonderful Colnagos were and continue to be burdened with this rubbish.

Anyone who actually rode the bikes rode Campy. Riding the bike never had any meaning to collectors.

We still have these bikes to play with because the large majority of them went to owners who did not ride. Go ahead and collect bikes for non-riders.

Goodbye.

Atlas Shrugged

I would dispute this point. We still have so many quality vintage bikes because there were tens of thousands produced, rarely got thrown out or disposed and technology progressed rapidly, making these bikes obsolete, any passionate cyclist moved on. Modern alloys, Carbon fibre, Indexed shifting, Brifters, Dual pivot brakes, 700C clinchers, and increasing gear counts with much greater range all came in quick succession resulting in these old bikes collecting dust in the back of the garage. Although a perfectly restored bike like the above is a nice wall hanger who is interested in riding a 5-speed straight block, toe clip bike anywhere other than around the block.

cudak888 

Sorry, no goodbyes are allowed until you explain to everyone else why the Module E was a terrible rim, and what terrible idea it was based on. Not everyone here is a savant. Out with it.

-Kurt

Mike_Kelly

If it is a 73 then it is a "holy grail" year. Don't cold set anything. It would be a shame to make it a Frankenbike. Clean it, ride it.

My 73

jeirvine 

Whatever you do, take and post lots of pics. I love love love that green paint. Here's my '73, since we're sharing.

Drillium Dude

Lots of words, zero context.

Unlike you, I can't speak for others - but I ride my bikes, hard, and the Es gave me no issues whatsoever. I'll take real world experience over vague, unsupported complaints every time.

DD

Robvolz 

I’m glad you got a good deal on it. I told him if he took an hour and cleaned/lubed it, his price would be better suited.

having looked it over, I think it’s in great shape for its age.

take a garage door pic of her once she is cleaned up please.

robert
also in portland.

merziac

Paging @tmnguuyen

73, "holy grail", yada, yada.

cudak888 

I pledge to hound 63rickert until he gives us a reason

-Kurt

kunsunoke 

Here's one - they aren't GP4s.

kunsunoke 

I'm not a big fan of clinchers, but I haven't heard anything particularly bad about Mavic Module Es in 36h flavor. The eyelets look pretty good. Seems like they would tension up okay. What was the terrible idea?

I'm genuinely curious, even though I normally glue mine on.

BFisher 

I don't need to wait for an explanation from 63Rickert.

I just asked my luthier.

Right after he showed me how to use a bench vise.

cudak888 

And a hammer.

xiaoman1 

VRJAKE,
Remember it's survived 50 years and I suspect that it will look much, much better after it is all cleaned up and you are able to see through all of the dirt and grime......when some of the gleam shows through this will often give one a much better perspective.
My advice for what it is worth is the following, clean, polish, lube, replace what needs replacing, and most importantly, Smile while riding.
Best, Ben
BTW, All good advice above.

squirtdad

Technical clarification: just to note there would be no need to do 135, 130 would cover modern gear. . If the OP want's to go that way

fender1

I guess if you have to explain a failed attempt at humor, it wasn't that funny to begin with!

merziac

Clean, scrub, polish, preserve and RIDE BABY RIDE!

Then see how it goes and if you cannot refrain from going down the garden path, yellow brick road, etc.

I have a very similar not Colnago but Colnago level to me that is a bit rougher, it will be a full on elbow grease, spit and polish to see how well it goes.

merziac

I would posit that the act and effort of cleaning and polishing adds significantly to the result, the better it goes the better it turns out for the effort, win, win.

repechage

must be thinking of the Volagi 135 rear disc brake wheel.... now sliding into torch work.

Volagi, there is a brand that vanished.
unfortunately one of the founders got quite hurt- very unsure of recovery

squirtdad

or if you guilty of being too literal (me)

sbarner 

That's a common trick so you don't lose the adjuster when the cable is out. I think whoever set it up didn't know what they were doing (the cable wire is a definite clue) and didn't realize the adjuster doesn't work that way. There is no functional difference between the Grand Sport and Record calipers, so I would be inclined to leave them on and swap the levers for Campy Grand Sport or Record. The bike cries out for a 3TTT Record stem and matching bars of a preferred bend, unless that is already a Cinelli stem. If so, get a suitable set of Cinelli bars. I would definitely leave the paint as is, after spending some time with light polishing compound and paste wax. Go through everything else thoroughly and, as Repechage suggested, build up a different set of wheels with Record hubs and rims of your choice. For me, that would be non-anodized sewup rims, but then I'm not normal.

sbarner 

And I would dispute your point. Lack of drivetrain wear indicates that many of these bikes did not become survivors because of obsolescence: they became survivors because they didn't get ridden. There were a lot of people who bought their way into the sport by splurging on a really nice bike, only to realize that riding is hard work and you have to invest in a lot of pain before it becomes fun. Technology hasn't changed that and it's still happening today. I have seen so many advertisements for vintage and modern bikes being sold by their original owners who claim that they loved riding it because it was so fantastic, but looking close you can see that they probably put no more than a couple hundred miles on the thing. I recall people showing up at a race with their shiny new superbike, only to be humiliated by some kid on a Crescent, and then pretty soon you wouldn't see him anymore. I can't even begin to count the number of customers I sold bikes to who were "passionate" as hell, yet two or three years later had moved on to some other sport.

Yes, modern bikes shift and stop better, but these classics were fantastic bikes when they were brand new and they never stopped being fantastic just because something better came along. Some of us never lost our passion, but will still prefer to pull a vintage bike out of the stable for a long ride on a nice day, just maybe not with a straight block.