WalksOn2Wheels

And put celeste bar tape on my celeste Bianchi with a black saddle.

That is, unless somebody here knows where to get celeste colored leather to recover a Selle San Marco Concor saddle. Ideas?

due ruote 

When I re-covered my Concor, I went to a good uphostery shop. They went in the back room, came back and handed me enough really nice leather to cover about 6 saddles, and didn't want anything for it. Of course, I just wanted black. But that's what I'd try. If you go to an upholsterer in Milan you might have better luck finding the cool colors.

vincev

did you go to the Bianchi website? I bought a Celeste seat there a few years ago.

rothenfield1

Too much celeste distracts from the over-all bike IMHO. I’ve played around with trying different color combinations to embellish a celeste frame, and I think in the end black bar tape and saddle works for me for an everyday bike.

unterhausen

there is never anything wrong with a black saddle

WalksOn2Wheels

Vincev, I guess I'm on sort of a budget. That and I like the concor saddle a lot, so I'm trying to stick with it.

And rothenfield, thanks for posting those examples. makes me feel better about what I'll end up doing. The Concor saddle actually has some embellishments on it (red and white Selle San Marco embroidery), and might help distract from the black. It won't be an every day bike and I wanted to give it some extra pop.

thirdgenbird

despite what the rules say, ive been matching the saddle, hoods, and cable housing and then picking a different color that complements the frame for bar tape. i think it is a good look.

from traditional:


to a little more unique:

mapleleafs-13 

Like Jello, there's always room for C-E-L-E-S-T-E, the more the better, i might put some nice celeste sidewalls on my baby one day:





I sold this one a couple months ago, i was rather disappointed that i didn't have a matching celeste saddle at the time, but i ended up just finding one recently cause the current owner requested me to keep an eye out for one. gonna get it to him soon to complete the bike, here's some pics, would have looked so much more amazing with the celeste saddle. I usually go by my rule of the bar tape has to match the saddle, it's nicer symmetry that way, btw i used Cinelli Celeste bar tape on this one, on my personal ride it's celeste fizik tape:

thirdgenbird

typically i m not a fan of over celeste (and i own a celeste bianchi) but mapleleaf pull it off so well. i built mine with a black saddle, tabe, hoods, tires and housing. in my defense it is a cross bike that sees off road use though.

DMNHCAGrandPrix

Here is a black saddle/black tape version of a celeste Super Leggera.


Many more Bianchi saddle and tape color combinations to browse here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...Bianchi-thread

WalksOn2Wheels

What? How did I not know about the Bianchi thread? I friggin' LOVE my SLX Bianchi. I've got a wish list out to complete part of a Campy group I started, so maybe after Christmas I will have it all done. I'll have to add it to that one and the brifter thread.

Thridgenbird, I think you're on to something. Those combos do look really good. And with the availability of so many different colored hoods now, you can't go wrong!

Mapleleaf, I've got the cinelli cork on the way because it was cheap through work. How does the fizik compare? I imagine it's easier to keep clean than the cork.

mapleleafs-13 

The fizik stuff is easy to keep clean like you say, i like the look cause it's perforated. The Cinelli felt pretty good, i only used it for a couple test rides to make sure everything was in order before i sold it to my "client". But it was very comfy, plus it has cinelli symbols all over it, so incase you're a brand ***** like me (only when it comes to vintage bikes, i couldn't care about anything else) it adds a nice touch.

So i guess it's up to you, fizik is perforated and more leathery feel, cinelli = cork feel. I believe the cinelli tape was a darker shade of celeste than the fizik one as well.


if i were to give you some advice, when you wrap the bars then distance the overlap a bit, don't wrap it too close to each other, the cinelli tape isn't super long, and i wasn't even wrapping big drop bars. So take your time and wrap accordingly, i think this is a problem with all the cinelli's cork tapes, they all seem to be cut shorter than normal stuff you buy, i guess they're trying to save money!

thirdgenbird

thanks! i like ti buck the trend a little.

my tommasini has bike ribbon brand bar tape. it has a slick surface to it that cleans up very very easy. it had quite a few "ungloved" miles at the time of that picture.

due ruote 

I just wrapped some bars with black Fizik, and used an underlayment of blue Benotto to match the bike. It's a pretty subtle effect but I think it's kind of cool, and the Benotto adds hardly any thickness or cushion. I think the celeste Fizik over blue would look pretty awesome on one of these Bianchis, but I don't own one to try it, unfortunately.

jbkirby

Leave my relative's pictures out of this!!

RobbieTunes

I guess I didn't get the Cardinal's memo. I suppose if Fizik made a Vitesse in celeste, she'd want one.
In fact, I just mounted some of the Vittorias with the thin celeste strip between the sidewall and tread, need to update the pics.

chi-james

self-inflicted torment over bike aesthetics are silly, but if it matters that much https://busymanbicycles.blogspot.com/ does pretty amazing work.

USAZorro

If you want a celeste saddle, try getting in touch with Citoyen du Monde. He has contacts most of the rest of us can only dream of.

WalksOn2Wheels

Ok, so I'd like a celeste saddle, but don't exactly have the available funds to make one happen. I actually saw a celeste saddle on ebay with a BIN of 60 bucks. It looked pretty close to the Concor... I'll probably just roll with what I have. Maybe spring for a saddle when it comes time to get a final set of wheels as well. Just complete the whole package at once.

rothenfield1

I guess this is as good of a place as any to post my mini-rant about aesthetics versus function. The biggest thing that drove me away from this site for a while was this my seemingly endless and pricy pursuit of a quasi-period correct bike both cosmetically and mechanically. Some of the bikes I’ve seen on these threads really blow my mind in their beauty and mechanical precision. However, I really appreciate, these days, a bike that has been thoughtfully pieced together with economy in mind. So what if you used a Tange Levin headset over the Campy Record that would have matched the build, for example.

I realize that this may be hierarchy to some, and I’m not trying to offend anyone, but paying $60 for a saddle just because it is the last piece of the puzzle to complete the perfect picture of a bike versus whether or not that same saddle fits your rear end, is the kind of thing that I’m referring to. I’m not saying that that is what the PM is doing; it is something that I have been guilty of in the past and have decided that if the bike works well as a bike, that is good enough for me to appreciate.

I apologize in advance for this.

mapleleafs-13 

lol, i've paid 90 dollars for the white perforated san marco rolls to finish a "look" for me on my pinarello, which was actually a pretty decent price, they're about 130 in stores here:



And you don't even want to know what i paid for a part on my next build, but sometimes you just have to have that part.

i don't really understand why you'd be driven away cause someone wants a period correct bike and is willing to pay for it. For me i look at it like this. A person will have what they want in mind, then they will try to buy and peice everything together to make it match that image they had. For me it's like an advanced jigsaw puzzle. Sometimes i'll start with a full bike and be like, "hmmm that's not the way i envisione it, it's got way more potential", and i'll change the parts to make everything match to what i envisioned for the bike in my head. Or i could start with a frame and go full c-record of Dura Ace or whatever group and wheelsets it may be.

For me when i get all the parts i wanted and peice it together the way i envisioned in my head it's 100 times for satisfying than settling for second best. The builds may take a little bit of time to peice together cause i'm just looking for all the right matching parts but i'm way more satified in the end, maybe it's cause i'm a perfectionist kinda.

There's something super satifying about finding that exact part you need, like that pinarello pentographed 3ttt stem i was looking for, or that shamal wheelset, or for Drillium Dude, i know he's looking for a pentographed Olympia Stem, maybe it's the catch and kill mentality cause we're naturally hunters.

One of the most satisfying things about a build is taking a step back and looking at it and know "This is exactly what i wanted!" then getting on it and riding it for the first time on the maiden voyage. The last thing i was to do on that maiden voyage is to look down at it and say "hmm i wish i really did get that campy headset" or "I wish I got that other crankset".

I find that some of the nicest things on bikes is detail, anything from matching grouppos, bar tape, colors, to even subtle details like the bennoto tape under perforated wraps.

Don't get me wrong though, when i see another member's bike that isn't quite all matching or high end or so, i can still appreciate the overall beauty of the bike. All the bikes in my collection so far are pretty high end, but i still appreciate the Raleigh Super courses with suntour, peugeot UO8's with simplex, mixte's and other bicycles alot as well.

USAZorro

Substance over style?

I do hear you. That said, style has it's place.

thirdgenbird

for me it was a NOS 28h silver record 10spd rear hub. those of you that are familiar with the part will know that the seller didnt give it away.

due ruote 

Geez, you're not kidding. I wonder what he charges for a Concor recover like this. More than I'd want to pay, I'm certain of that.

shopgirl

I can appreciate this sentiment. I'm not the sort of person who can really afford to spend a lot of money on high-end NOS bikes and parts, as much as I would like to (and despite the fact that I occasionally do it anyway). That being said, I want to say that I also appreciate other bike nuts who can do so, and who then post pictures on here. While I may not be able to afford it myself, I still greatly appreciate the visual impact of an awesome vintage or custom bike.
By the way, I know I haven't posted in a while, but in case anyone remembers and is wondering, yes I finally finished my mixte build from a few months back! I still need to take some good pictures and figure out how to resize them (got a new computer, but no longer have Photoshop).