Over thanksgiving, Grady gave me the opritunity to work on his recently aquiered super prestige. It really worked out for both of us as he has been busy and I have been hungry for a build but can't justify adding to my modist fleet.

The original plan was to do a cleanup/restore while swapping some of the incorrect bits but Grady gave me a fairly long leash. So long in fact that it only took me a few hours to completely redirect this build, and one of his other. More on that later

Here is how the bike looked after I got it i my basement:









Under all of the dirt and overspray, the bike appears like it has fairly low miles. Check out the hoods and brake surface:

It looks like someone rode it through fresh oil!

subbed. I'm interested because I will likely be doing a similar project in a week or so. Tommasini content here as well.

Along with the bike, Grady provided me with a proper cinelli bar/stem combo to replace the pictured stuff.

The new stem didn't have a perfect finish, but we both agreed that it would suffice. This all changed on inspection of the seatpost however. After removing some adhesive residue and rub marks on the seatpost, it became apparent that it at one time had been polished by a previous owner.

I didn't feel right assembling a bike with a polished seatpost and a stem with a marred milky finish, so on Saturday I got my khatfull on:





Neither look perfect, but they look better than when I started and match one another.

The frame now sits polished, waxed, and partially assembled waiting for a "different" groupset

Subbing in on this one.

+1

It's already coming out great!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need input


I guess I should take this time to explain my philosophy/style.

-clean but don't fully restore frames such as a tommasini.
I don't feel right taking a paint brush to paint jobs like this. The paint has a protective layer of chrome underneath and it's patina is part of its pedigree.

-components should look their A game, even if it requires a full refinish. Unless you are sitting on something historical, I think you should always try to bolt clean and well finished parts to a frame. Even if it means removing an anodized coating or getting out the paint.

-there is no harm in mixing component groups or eras if done thoughtfully. It can be fun finding parts from different groups and eras that look right and work well together.

Oooh, this is gonna be good.

i appreciate the subscriptions, hopefully I didn't build the anticipation too much

Appreciate the offer

I agree with your points. The paint will not be touched, you can trust me on that one. I've done a fair bit of de rusting the chromed areas and I'm going to give it a good coat of wax before I start building it up. The reason I hadn't started it yet was because I didn't have the proper fork for it. The previous owner had a vitus aluminum one on, oh well. Agree on the parts mixing too. Probably not going full campy on this one, however much it deserves it. And I probably will not have the components all cleaned up like I'd like at first(aesthetically ), since I am pretty anxious to put some miles on it. But they will be mechanically sound. The PO used to race this one so it had/has an interesting mix of stuff.

+1

Subbed as well - I like watching an Ergo bike (particularly when the frameset is Italian) go together just as much as I liked doing my own. The frame looks fantastic - and you did an outstanding job on the polishing of the post and stem

DD

Subbed on this one for sure.

Heh, wait a minute, that's my baby.

Hold onto your hats for this one, as Casey has so many fresh ideas.

As if he didn't have enough to do cleaning her up, some idiot with a Wagner power painter got out of control w/o fully covering the bike.

No, I wasn't painting the Tommasini!

Irio already took good care of the splatter paint option back in 1990 or so.

As for the Tommasini, this will all be worth Casey's efforts.

This Super Prestige is one of the nicest riding Italian racers I have ever ridden.

I'll continue to acquire parts for Casey at his beckon call.

He'll be setting many of the design parameters for the build, with some fun surprises for everyone.

For my part, I'll be building a set of tubular wheels.

Right now, it looks like nos Campy Victory Strada 36 hole rims with gray Centaur hubs.

I'm not telling how many speeds yet. Hint hint.

Casey can when he is ready.

Can't wait to watch Casey do her proud.

One more thing, thanks Casey!

Blame Irio or his painter.

The splatter paint will look fun and funky when she's all dolled up.

Those look fantastic young man.

Well done!

I'm tracking this thread to.

Look's like this Tommasini is going to get the treatment a bike of this pedigree deserves. I can't wait to see the finished product! Now listen, this gomango character is a pretty decent guy, and he's the best friend I have in Minnesota, so make sure you do the right thing by him, OK?

Have no fear Jim, we have one of the resident forum pros on Campy/Ergos on the case!

Thanks for the support though.

Have fun with the thread guys.

Casey and I are certainly enjoying the process.

Splatter paint was my first thought until I saw the fork and chain ring... they look splattered too. But I do like splatter, especially on white.

Just making sure my friend!

I'm kind of jealous though. There seem to be a great group of C&V'ers and alot of talent in your neck of the woods. I tell you, If your summers lasted more than 3 weeks, I might think about moving there!

Lots of talent, no doubt.

Heck, with the warming trend/drought we've been suffering through, the foot of new snow today feels pretty darn good.

Oh my.

You could probably say ditto for the PNW - on all accounts

DD

Oh wow... subscribed!

This thread is relevant to my interests.

What are you talking about... we had 4 weeks of summer this year!

Well it didn't take long for this thread to pick up speed.

grady is lucky this frame is a touch too small for me or I would be finding a way to keep it on my side of the state line. This build has me so excited it has made me really reconsider my current stable. I may have to trade out my only non steel bike for a more traditional race frame.