+1 Outstanding job on your Bianchi, Trueno92! Numerous custom touches that worked great as a whole.

Why the Pinarello stem?

So, after losing a fight with a curb and ending up with this:


I went on the hunt for a replacement frame. Unfortunately in the PNW in the middle of summer, finding a lugged steel frame my size is difficult, and the best I could come up with was this:


A trip to the powder-coater, and some hunting on CL later it was on the right track:


Deciding to go for a more classic look, I ditched the bullhorns and tracked down some Nitto Randonee bars:



Getting closer... but now the carbon cranks looked weird, so I manged to track down a set of Campy Chorus cranks for a song:

(crappy iPhone camera shot, but it's the only one I've got)

That's the most recent pic I have. Currently the bike is set up as a single speed using a 10 speed/freehub wheelset with a single speed kit that I crammed between the chain-stays. If I like it enough I'll build up a nice set of wheels with a rear flip/flop and the correct hub-spacing, if not she'll just go back to being a neat vintage geared bike.

edit: Forgot to mention in case anyone was wondering, the original bike (wrecked) was (as near as I can tell) an '84 Trek 460, it had already been painted purple by the time I got it. The replacement bike is a 1986 (?) Schwinn Super Sport.

Thanks for the compliments. Its been an ongoing off-season first road build and I think its actually completely done now... well.. until something else..



Great question! and how did u see that with the pics i posted?!?!



I was looking for a 100mm stem for the entire summer not wanting to spring for something new.. turns out I was just on the toronto craigslist and this popped up for $20. I walked 2 blocks from the office with cash in hand and it was mine. They are holding Nitto's Noodle bars.



I also got the seatpost. I posted it on C&V before purchasing, asking because it was cut short about an inch. I was using a 26.8mm post and was offered a straight trade for this being 27.2 but cut just a bit short. The length worked out for my fit, confirmed safe with the helpful guys/gals here on C&V and no more shimming!

Here are some other macros.. From everything I have learned here, this bianchi fits into the the Campione D'Italia geometry, but was outfitted with Shimano 105 making it a Brava as a finished product. The frame had low mileage, was in fantastic condition, but after looking at some examples posted in this subforum, its not ornate enough to deserve a full gruppo, so this is my utilitarian race-capable bike, on a budget..



Shamals hpw-16, laced to shimano 600 tri-colour hubs, got them like this; I look at it as rebuild-able, serviceable loose ball hubs with a wide choice of cassette options



American Classic 10sp Shimano -> Campy converter cassette; obtained from a previous wheelset purchase.




Still using the original 105 calipers.. they center properly, and I heard this is rare. Excuse the dirt, just had a good run with the fantastic spring weather.

No offense but I really liked the original paint job with the decals. Now it looks like any other generic red bike... Besides pink is pimp.

Trueno92, as beautiful as your Bianchi is, your cassette is just begging for some simple green. My clean-bike OCD is kicking in.

1963 Raleigh Sports Deluxe

Before:


After (and for sale very shortly):


1949 Columbia Sports Tourist I still need to find an appropriate seat.

Before:


After:

88/89 Merckx Professional

Before:



After:



I would rather have kept the 1R panto stem but it was about 2cm too long.

Jake

You do good work!

General: I'm really enjoying the Raleigh & roadster style restores of late.

I would have considered keeping the original paint, but the pic doesn't show how beat the finish really was and I figured with the powder-coat it'll stay looking good for a long time.

I looked around for some decals similar to the originals, but didn't have any luck. I'm just happy the head-badge was in good shape.

Picked up this rather nice UE19 mixte a few years ago when a certain lady said she had always waned a mixte frame...



Today... and still a work in progress but close to being done.

Have converted the wheels to 700c, changed a UG 6 speed into an HG 7 speed, swapped in a vintage Ideale model 92 and a vintage French rack, and made the bike a much more comfortable upright as the porteur bars were far too low and forward for her.

Will run the bike as 1 by 7 with that XT deraileur and shifter so it can be indexed and am looking for the right single crank to finish things off.

Will lengthen my housings and install some new levers tomorrow...

Ooohh nice Peugeot ^^!!!

Thanks for the kind words Doohickie The Raleigh really does look super, but I think the camera is making the Columbia look nicer than she is

I got a old Troxel seat for it today. $5 and looking/feeling a lot better.

This 1987 Centurion Ironman was one of the worst rusted and corroded bike I bought from CL. All the bearings were rusted fast and nothing would move. 90% of the paint came off with my fingernail. I love Centurions so here is what I did to it. It is now almost Identical to Bob Rolls 1987 7/11 team bike. It even has the airfoil spokes.
Ed

Two dead guys walk into a bar.....

I have been wanting to show a few before and after shots of some of the machine's I've built. Some you may have seen before some not. Let me know what you think, if not for C&V I would most likely lost interest.
The first is a man's Liberty 3 speed that I found in the trash the way you see it in the first pic.
This took me a lot longer then the norm as I had to hand polish everything that is chrome and alloy,I chemically striped the rust first. It has a Shimano 333 rear hub and I had a few new cable shifter assy's hanging around so I decided to change the cable color from white to black along with new grips and a vintage bell. I had the Persons seat laying around and thought it would look good on there it is denim and it had a pin hole on it so I made a iron on patch shaped like a Liberty torch and put that on. I put new tires and tubes along with some vintage Cats Eye reflectors on the wheels. I installed a new rack that I had and had to customize the brackets to attach it to the rear. I think the bike came out very nice it rides smooth and shifts good and the German made duel pivot brakes work pretty good.
Before.


After.


The second bike is a 60's Columbia tandem that I got from the family of the orig owner along with two Concord Pacer s/s bicycles that have sat in a barn for almost 40yrs. You can see by the pics that I did a lot to it. I wasn't comfortable on it and sold it to a life guard who just loves it and rides it to work every sunny day.
Before.

After.

This 1988 Mongoose Alta I picked up for $2 at a auction and the only parts I didn't change is the stem and the Dia compe canti brakes. I built this up with a customer in mind that wanted more of a comfort bike then a mountain bike. I installed a set of Araya wheels with a 7 speed cassette to replace the 6 speed freewheel hub rims. I installed a Shimano sealed BB with a Suntour triple crankset . I replaced both front and back derailures with a nice set of Shimano sis units from the parts bin along with a better set of Shimano 7 speed grip shifters. I might put a rack on it still and if it wasn't to small I would keep it for myself.
Before.

After.

This Schwinn Suburban had a lot of rust and needed to be torn down,cleaned and polished and all new cables,tires and brakes installed. I just wish the paint wasn't so bad because most of the chrome really cleaned up nice with the chain guard being the worst.

Before.


After.

This Concord Pacer S/S is one I decided to keep and I have the matching woman's mixte that is going to get the same exact build except different tires that the wife wants. I got these from the son of the Orig owner and they have sat in a barn for almost 37yrs. I don't ever think I will be done with it as I have changed it around twice since I started it last year but this is how it stands today. I think I cut the weight in half or better and it is really nimble on the road. The only orig parts are the brakes,levers,grips and stem everything else has been changed.
Before.




After.

"Before and after" on a 1989 Trek 1000 (amazing how much a terrible saddle can de-value a bike in some folks' eyes) :



A 1991 Bridgestone MB-4:




A 1997 Trek UAV 2 (Carbon fiber 700c hybrid) Note the seller has wrong size wheel installed :




The most difficult task on the UAV was removing those horrendous Industrial-size and strength reflective stickers that were plastered all over both sides. They wouldn't peel off, and had to be shaved off with a razor blade, 1/8 of an inch at a time--Ugh!

Have I got a before/after for you guys.

Here's the CCM I restored for my girlfriend as I received it:

And here is is, circa two days ago.


I'll try and get a better photo of its current state if you guys are interested.

I held my breath hoping that you didn't Drew it. The bike looks GREAT.

champion city, I like that color! Does it have a name?

A few months ago, someone gave me an old Astra Mixte with curved stays. It's a total wreck, and it's not a very nice bike in the first place, but I have a dream of painting it and outfitting it with all new components. It will be pretty, if nothing else.

I just discovered this cool thread.

Here is my first contribution. It is a 1990 Dahon Mariner Classic that I added an English flair to with a complete strip down and repaint.

Here is a Madwagon cruiser I flipped last year. I gave it a little rat rod feel.

Hey noglider, truth be told it's just 'emerald green' straight from a krylon spray can. I may be looking to repaint this summer, as it chips quite easily, and the stem still needs to be unstuck - which might cause some damage.

Not a chance... I happen to agree on the looks, but I am bias. It rides great too!

Jake