Wordbiker

A friend gifted me with a bare Tommasini frame of unknown vintage. It's my size, but I don't have a lot of vintage parts to hang on it...nor the money or inclination to do so.





It may horrify some in this subforum to hear that I lent it to my Dad for an experiment: He stripped the paint off the front end as a test for clear powdercoating his classic Stumpjumper frame. I have to admit, I love the bare steel look and was considering finishing the stripping job and clearcoating to show off the beautiful brazing work...and getting rid of the rust and scratches that have ruined the paintjob.

My quandary is what to do with it. Do I join the hipsters and make a funky fixie? I can see spending the dough for some cool drop bars and I can dig through the bins at the shop for some parts to hang on it.

Do I sell it to someone wanting to restore it? Restore it myself? I already have a functional road bike and don't see taking on another complete bike...unless it's something different.

What would you do?

John E

If it were mine, I would preserve what is left of the paint job; it is in better shape than Capo #2. Do you even want a fixed gear bike? (Bias alert: single speed / fixed gear is decidedly not my thing.) Go ahead and experiment, but don't do anything irreversible, such as amputating the derailleur hanger or the shift lever bosses.

What is the vintage of your current "functional road bike"? It might be fun to have one traditional and one modern groupo at your disposal.

T-Mar

I'd build it up and ride it for a while before you made any decisions. Maybe you'll like this better than your current road bike. As John says, don't do anything irreversible. At least that way, should you decide to sell it, you are not limiting your market. A lot of forummemebrs would love a Tommasini.

Wordbiker

Well, my current ride is an early 90's Trek 2300. It's been upgraded to 10-speed Ultegra (double up front) with cowhorn bars and D-A barend shifters. Although I have dreams of upgrading the frame to something lighter and newer...it suits my needs for now.

If I had a more recent pic, you'd see that the paint is pretty much a lost cause. The headtube, toptube and downtube have not only lost the paint, but have been clear powdercoated. I'm also considering cost here. Finishing the powdercoat would cost me about $100, paint much, much more.

I'm not a huge fixie fan either. Singlespeed would be useful to me, as would a classic Campagnolo groupo. I already have performance covered with the Trek. The only real issue is how proud some folks are of those old Campy parts. I doubt I can afford to build it up "just to see if I like it".

I guess I'm just looking for a direction to go here that doesn't involve copious amounts of cash, yet will still yeild a nice bike out of the project.

tarwheel 

Personally, I would have it repainted and treated with frame saver while it is unassembled. Repainting will not decrease the value if it is done well, and the current paint job is not great. You need to address the rust issues before it gets worse. Replacement decals are easy to come by. I wouldn't remove any of the braze-ons unless you are a confirmed fixe freak and don't care about the collectability value of the frame. If I had the frame, after repainting and treating, I would probably build it up semi-retro with downtube Dura-Ace shifters and 9-speed Ultegra parts, which are still easy to find and relatively inexpensive. If you are Campy freak, then shop around for downtube Campy stuff, but I've got no qualms putting Shimano on an Italian frame.

Wordbiker

I agree. No matter what I wouldn't remove the braze-ons. If I go for the clearcoat, any removed braze-ons would show. The rust really seems to be only on the surface, and I will zap it with some J P Weigle's, but I'd rather wait to do that after powdercoat so it doesn't bake off (if I go that route).

Somehow, slapping Shimano on this bike seems a crime. I'm not a Campy freak, just respectful of our cycling heritage and appreciative of good, solid parts.

Any idea what it'd cost for a resto paintjob? I hear Dr. Deltron's work is well respected.

bigbossman 

I vote repaint/redecal, and build out with Campy 10 speed (veloce or Centaur). You'll never ride anything else......

A good one color wet paint job will be at least $350. More for pinstriping, or repainting the pantographing.

Good thing it's not a 56cm, I'd be tempted to try and buy it off of you.

Wordbiker

No, I measured it a while ago and I'm pretty sure it's on the tall side of fitting me, like a 62C or so. My Trek is a 58C and it fits me great. I have long legs and a short torso for my height (6'-4").

Thanks for all the input so far. You've got me intrigued now, so I'll head over to my Dad's place and pick it up tonight. Expect some pictures of the damage/sweet-looking stripped paint.

bigbossman 

Tommasini's, in general, have a reputation for riding really well. And they have a following. If it doesn't fit you, someone else will find it desireable.

Wordbiker

OK, snagged the frame and it is a 62C center to top. Should fit me fine...once I can find a fork for it.



The powdercoat test yellowed the white paint, but it sure made the raw steel look nice.



I'm going to dig around at the shop tomorrow and see what parts I can come up with.

The only project idea I've had is a bit irreverent. If I'm going through the trouble to have it custom painted, I may as well have some custom decals made up for it...just to mess with people.

"Fettucini Al Dente" in nice flowing script would fit my sense of humor.

el twe

Either restore it with a re-do of the old paint, or leave it as is. This is sort of painful...

Wordbiker

Leave it as is? It looks like it's been through a house fire.


How is this painful? No matter what the bike needed some attention. If I left it in a rusty state it'd only get worse. I'm just still undecided on where to go from here. I'll be heading to Veloswap in October. I may find some parts there that'll decide it for me.

Now the true definition of painful would be telling you I was making a tallbike out of this and a Colnago.

The thing is...I could. I have zero invested in this frame so far, which is why I'm even considering building it up.

el twe

Obviously the bike is still a Tommasini and will still ride like a fine Italian steelie, but it's lost quite a bit with the paint. I feel like it would be better to leave it as-is (it is a clear powdercoat, yes?) than to scribble pasta all over it. But, this is coming from someone whose friend rides (and crashes) a Super Prestige on a daily basis. I'm a little biased towards the awesome Tommasini paint.

redneckwes

Full on, balls out resto as far as the paint goes, back to factory, make it right and perfect again.

Components, start surfing e-bay/ swapping and trading for whatever Campy/Italian gear looks good to you.

You have the big $$ in the frame...don't dishonor it with a goofball paint job.

My personal view, YMMV ect........

Wordbiker

OK, so is that another vote for restoration?

I'll admit, that's what I'd really like to do, but I'll have to see if I can scrape together some "worthy" parts to slap on there before going for broke. It'd almost be easier to do what bigbossman suggested and build it up with modern Campy 10-speed rather than sourcing vintage components. Neither one is cheap though, and I'd like to get a 29er MTB built up too.

cudak888 

Strip/repaint entirely

OR

Primer bare metal, eBay it to someone who can appreciate it a little bit more then you.

As a matter of fact, you should have done this before you f*cked the original paint up in the first place. There are folks out there who'd love to get their hands on something this nice for a decent bit of their pocket change, let alone for NADA (you say it was gifted).

My advice? Get yourself a Free Spirit to screw with the next time. Won't cost you anything in parts to keep running - when something goes wrong with it, you can send it to your father to be another powdercoat testbed, and buy another one to wreck for yourself.

-Kurt

yellowjeep

wow geeze, i dont think I've ever read anything from cuda that sounded that pissed off.

To the OP. I too think the bear metal looks pretty sweet, you wouldn't break my heart if you left it that way. then build it with all mod. Campy stuff, all in black and mod. wheels.

OTOH, It would also be very cool to do a complete resto and use all period campy stuff.

Really do what ever the **** you want with it, its your bike and you will love how it rides no matter how you build it. Dont let anybody talk you in to doing something that you dont want to do just because they are being bikesnobretrogrouches.

el twe

You could go with a modern 10-speed drive train, that would be more than fine (no carbon, please). It's really just a shame to see you "experiment" with powdercoating techniques on a frame with this kind of reputation.

Wordbiker

Calm yourself Kurt. It's just a bike frame, really.

As a matter of fact, I did the bike a favor by bringing it indoors. Yeah, the last owner had it laying in his yard through several Colorado winters. He stripped off all the parts and bought a Scattante to replace it. No accounting for taste, I suppose.

In case you didn't catch it, I came to this forum to ask people whose opinions I respect what I should do with the bike. OK, so I'm not a card-carrying member of the OCD club, nor does my road cycling "heritage" go back for decades. I raced mountain bikes for years, now I'm a pro mechanic and just getting back into riding road bikes purely to identify with my customers and to be familiar with the equipment. Seems plenty of people like it, so I thought I'd give it a try, but if I have to ride with uptight folks like you that can't appreciate the fact that some people might not take things as seriously as you...hell, that tallbike project is looking better and better. At least alt bikers know how to have fun. Kurt, you're not selling me on vintage and classics very well.

EDIT: Thanks yellowjeep. I was just trying to open up a conversation for some suggestions, but as I stated, I pretty much have to let the fates decide what will become of this classic frame that has seen abuse before I ever touched it. If I can score some parts (and scrounge up more to sell) then I'd love to own a fully restored (read: Painted with accurate decals) period bike...it may just have to wait.

BTW, I do not see any harm in the powdercoating that was done. If I do decide to repaint the bike, all the paint and powder will be stripped off anyway. If anything I have prevented further rusting while I build up parts and funds.

wethepeople

I'm completely on Cudaks side on this, that was a disgrace to do that to a Tommasini. I would love one if it were my size.

bigbossman 

I think that's the nut, right there. Tommasini's are pretty special, regardless of what you have into it. As received (even with bad paint and rust problems), it would have fetched a pretty good buck as Tommasini frames are desirable and have a following.

As it sits now, that intrinsic value is greatly diminished. I guess what folks are distressed about is that, of all the possible frames in the world to chose, you picked a pretty special one to go all Frankenstein on.

Sorta like doing a rattle-can job on a 308 Dino.

Were it mine, I'd either do a full resto with original decals and a modern drivetrain, or move it along. If you goof it up with powder coat and odd-ball decals, it will be almost worthless. Much better to do that with a decent Japanese frame from the mid 80's - they are a dime a dozen, well made, and in fact I'll happily trade you a 62cm Centurion frame for it right now.

Antipodes

Yeah, I agree it was a disgrace, but in the end, it's his bike...

Wordbiker

OK, now there's an answer I can understand.

Granted, I knew the Tommasini was a good brand, but I hardly think pulling it out of a friend's yard with the intent to do something with it is a "disgrace". As I said, there was no harm done to the frame (just the paint), the grinder is locked up tight, and all silly ideas other than restoring this to its former glory are all put away. Mmmkay? Can everyone chill now?

Sorry Bossman, I'll have to pass on your trade offer, but I do appreciate that it implies the frame has value. I'll be looking into the modern Campy drivetrain...especially since I have yet to ride a bike with them.

I honestly hope I didn't offend anyone's sensibilities here. The main reason I wanted to clearcoat the bare frame was that I appreciated the detailing and craftsmanship put into frames like this. There is a trend with hotrods where the bodywork is left clearcoated with the specific intent of not hiding any flaws. Only a master metalworker can do that and not expose fillers and flaws. I guess that thinking does not translate well to the vintage cycling realm.

bigbossman 

S'ok - thought you might pass. . Frankly, your frame is too big for me, and I need another project like I need a hole in the head. FWIW, do a forum search on "Palo Alto" and check out the bike I built. It was a vintage Italian steel frame that I put 10 speed Campy on. Cost me less than $1000 to do, but my paint was good from the start.

I love my vintage stuff, but honestly - once you try moden 10sp Campy, you'll never go back.

Wordbiker

After converting my Trek to 10-speed Ultegra, my mind was blown at how smooth the shifts were.



It's better than that?