lunar_c

Hey all,

I picked up this mid 80's Colnago steel frame with an odd assortment of French CX Universal brakes and levers, Shimano 105 FD, Light Action 8 speed shifters, and a 500EX rear derailleur, along with some Alex DA22 rims that were completely knackered.



Yes it's genuine, with clubs stamped into every lug, a proper serial number, internal brake routing, Colnago stamped drop outs, and correct pantographed chrome fork. It's obviously had a bad respray at some point but that will do okay for now until I can afford a proper professional spray job.







The good bits include a Campagnolo aero seat post, a good UN54 sealed bottom bracket, a Dura-Ace headset, and a Cinelli stem and bars. The rest I need to find.



I'd like to build this up with period correct Campagnolo group and nice wheels .. time to get researching, because I know very little about Campagnolo stuff. But since it's an Italian frame, I think it deserves an Italian groupo. Any advice on Campagnolo gear would be great!

sjacka

Fantastic looking frame.
For the campagnolo parts you should try to find a complete 80's bike with the older campagnolo parts. Here in the netherlands those bikes are easy to get for a few bucks. Don't know if biking was popular in australia in the 80's

miamijim

Correct me if I'm wrong but 'cromor' may transalte into 'mid-level'. If thats the case something like Chorus, Athena, 600 or 105 would be appropriate.

lunar_c

Yeah it's probably a Colnago Sprint, so Columbus Cromor instead instead of Columbus SLX. Still a damn nice frame.

Thanks for the tips on groups. 600 EX is one of my favourite groups and I had it on my blue bike, but I'm keen to go Campagnolo on this bike.

lunar_c

I took some proper pics today after I cut and polished the frame, polished the fork, and reassembled the frame with fresh bearings and grease. I also sprayed the insides of the tubes with silicone spray to prevent rust.
Here are the pics:

The fork came up well, it's almost blemish free.

The paint gleams .. I wonder if the major chips could be touched up?

The Cinelli bars and stem.

Underneath the bottom bracket. You can see the UN54 bottom bracket installed. The cut outs are pretty cool. Were these originally for cooling, or to allow access to the bearings with a grease gun? They sure let a lot of dirt in!

MPC Biker

the cutouts were designed to let any water drain out of the frame in an attempt to prevent rust, but you're right, they can collect dirt pretty quickly.

lunar_c

Yeah .. not so bad nowadays with sealed bottom brackets I suppose, but you don't see it any more I guess because the bottom bracket area on modern bikes is designed to be as stiff as possible.

Anyways .. still trying to figure out what group to go for.

lunar_c

I have decided upon 7 speed Dura Ace (7400 series) and I'm bidding on some brakes and shifters at the moment. If anyone has any 7400 bits for sale let me know .. I'm looking for 175mm cranks and front and rear derailleurs (front is a braze-on).

lunar_c

After really mulling things over, I've decided to run a modern groupset. It's going to cost me just as much to buy rough old bits to make a complete 7 speed groupset (either Dura Ace 7400 series, or old Campy) from eBay as it is to buy a new Campy Veloce or Shimano 105 groupset in 10 speed. I am keen on the Campagnolo Veloce groupset as it is available in a polished alloy finish which will look "right" on the frame. Thanks for the tip off, HappyHummber!
I ordered some alloy downtube cable adjusters today to suit, and I'll have to start selling off my retro spares to help fund a new groupset.

Picchio Special

I think that could be an early 90's frame in any case - if it's 80's, it's very late 80's.

Oh, and the Universal CX brakes are actually Italian.

Michael Angelo 

Great choice, that Veloce group set is going to look fantastic.

gomango

Here's a good price on the Veloce gruppo. $525 plus some shipping.

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/groups...conf_GS&bike=1

Veloce should work well on that frameset, although I must say I have been finding some very good deals on used 9 and 10 speed Campy gruppos as of late.

I don't know if you plan to use the bike for "spirited rides" with friends or training purposes, but the Veloce gruppo feels and performs quite nicely at that pricepoint.

Doesn't have the fine finishing of a Centaur or Athena gruppo, but it is several hundred dollars less, so you'll quickly get over that, I'm sure.

Should work for you.

lunar_c

Thanks, Veloce looks about right for me, and you've summed up my uses for the bike quite well. I like doing 40-50km rides with friends, who usually have modern bikes. I do love the old gear as well but just for convenience I am going to go with a modern group and wheels on this one.

I'd love some help identifying the year and model of this frame if anyone could help me.

I'd say it's a Super but perhaps early 90's. All the catalogues online are mid-late 1980's and none of the Super's or Sprint's have internal cable routing for the brake cable in the top tube. A super from the early 1990's perhaps?

MrEss

I'm loving the plan to build this up with Veloce. I agree that it's really pretty looking. Plus, a gorgeous "mid-level" group will be a perfect fit on a gorgeous "mid-level" frame.

Post pics when you're done, please!

lunar_c

Sure thing!

lunar_c

Got the cable adjusters on in readiness for the groupset ..

lunar_c

Got the wheels .. Campagnolo Khamsin. A gift from a friend, they look great on the bike!

AZORCH

It looks like a Super Sprint, possibly. If so, check your lugs carefully if you repaint. Mine are chrome.

lunar_c

Thanks. When it comes time to re-paint it (maybe next winter) I'll check it carefully.