I have warmed up to these bikes over the decades, maybe it was due to the personalities of the owners long ago?

I did make note at the time that the geometry of them was very similar to what Pinarello was doing during the same period.

Wow! I assumed that with the tight clearances a 23 would be the biggest tire. Good to hear that there is sufficient clearance for 25's or 28's. I have a set of Conti GP 4 season 25's that I was hoping to fit, so I feel better about not needing to get 23's for the initial build.
I owned a bike in the 80's (no name 531 frame) with a similar tight front clearance and recall buzzing my finger a couple of times when shifting. Ergo's will be a certainty on this build, since I'm going for a mix of classic style with new ergonomics.

I noticed in the Ebay pics that there is no chainstay bridge behind the BB, which seemed odd to me. I assume that's typical for this particular frame, but thought I'd check in with other owners here to see if that's consistently the case.

:lol:
Sort of like classic Porsche 911's? ;)

Yep. That's right: no chainstay bridge.

Mine came with a set of Quartz 23s with decent tread. I took them off and hung them in the closet. If you can use them, they are yours for shipping. FWIW, everytime I looked at it with 28s, I wondered how I got them on there.

I used to own a 912 ... it was a rustbucket but an oversized go-kart that ran like a sewing machine. I wasted so many Friday nights fixing it and busted my knuckles so many times on that thing. I took it down to EASY in Emeryville, and Jim looked at it in disgust (the golf clubs were in the back of his 356).

5 minutes of driving that 912 made it worth everything --- a smile from ear to ear. It was just ... so ... much ... FUN.

Cool, I assumed the lack of a chain stay bridge was OK for that frame.

912's were cool cars. Very C&V ;)

Same with mine - never noticed it didn't have one.:)

My Steelman doesn't have one either.

Don't think that toe overlap will be a huge issue. Minimal on mine, and I have size 12 feet. Running 700x23 Michelins and there's plenty of clearance. Wheelbase is 97 cm, which seems pretty short compared to other 57 cm frame. Handling is quick, but not twitchy. Very comfortable for longer rides and centuries.

That's just it --- quick but not twitchy. I get on it, and I'm like, "This cockpit is short," from the seat to the bars. After 5 miles I don't notice it, and I've never been uncomfortable at the end of 16 miles, my commute distance. The two centuries I've done on it have been comfortable.

The frameset arrived today, safe and sound. It is gorgeous!
I was a little disappointed to see that the TT is 58.5cm rather than the claimed 56, but I was already expecting that to be the case, quite frankly. I can still work with it - it's an inch that can easily be accommodated with stem and bar reach without messing up handling IMO.

So, now to plan the build.

The black chrome opens the possibilities, IMO - I could easily see going either way on components - black or alloy, but definitely Campagnolo. I'm still on the fence on the group and gearing - probably 10 speed, perhaps 11 if I can find a good enough deal. So I'm wide open, looking at 2000 era 10 speed groups all the way up to 2012 closeouts on Athena.

The rims/hubs will be black (DT Swiss 240/RR465) with regular stainless spokes and nipples.

The frame seems to be begging for a white saddle and bar tape.

Question - is Bikecad the best tool for me to play with mockups?
Second question - I've chosen to go modern with it. what would YOU do with the frame?

Pics to come. :)

Alrighty, here are a few quick shots of the frame. I had an old Gipiemme Sprint headset in good condition, so I installed it (50 loose ball bearings :eek:). I'll take it over to the local framebuilder next week so we can do the cold set and alignment.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=294300
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=294301
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=294302
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=294303

I would stick a Tiagra 3x10 speed groupset on it, but only because that is what's waiting in my cellar for my next build.

Seriously, anything is going to be great. My 'first amongst equals' preference would be an all-alloy Campagnolo groupset with a compact crank and some 40mm deep Shamals. That would be a looker.

Awesome frame set. The Designer is another bike on my short list.

I like your wheel plans. I've got a set of wheels with black rims/hubs, and silver spokes. It really opens the door aesthetically. I used silver components with a black seatpost, bar, and stem and it pulled together nicely. I've also got an all silver build, and my colnogo went together last night with all black parts. I will post pictures when I get to a faster Internet connection today. In the mean time I will ponder what wi would do with that frame.

I do know one thing, she is begging for a white saddle and tape.

I'd go somewhere b/w 9 and 11, depending on what your hubs on hand would take. The advantage of 11 over 9 isn't so great. For fun, I'd go black everywhere if you want white bartape and a white saddle. I'd probably check ribble for their campag 2012 groupset prices.

There are Ciocc 100 mm panto'ed stems in black that come up for about $50 every now and then with white letters. One of those'd look sharp. Also, check out a black set of Cinelli bars.

You could get carried away fast with this. The first thing I thought was, "Set a budget and stick to it." You're going to wind up with something that's sub 20lbs for sure. I think my Ciocc is 21 without trying.

Alright, here is some inspiration from my stable.

Silver components with black rims:
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...m/DSC01109.jpg

Black/silver mix:
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...x/100_1191.jpg

black (mostly):
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...D0E936090E.jpg


It's too bad you can no longer get the centaur group that had silver derailleurs with black parallelograms. It would have allowed for a nice balance.

it would be a gamble, but part of me want to see it with a black groupset, black bar/stem/post, and white housing, bar tape, and saddle.

Fortunately, I think that frame will good with a sorts of color/finish combinations. Personally, I'd probably do as TimmyT suggested and go with 10s Veloce or 11sp Athena depending on budget as I'd like to see silver components on it. I would choose some decent hubs and build my own wheels.

I vote used chorus 10 if you go silver or new centaur if you go black.

Great input, folks!
The frame does open many options. The black chrome could go either way, but as I look at it more, it seems to be calling for at least some black. The black headset seems to fit right in.

Colonel - my preference would be to build my own wheels, just because I love building wheels. However, I can't buy the components for anywhere close to the UBI wheel set price. DT 240 hubs with RR465 rims and 14g spokes all for $150 (the rims/hubs alone would be $500 or so retail). I had given thought to Campy hubs with Open Pro rims, but the DT deal is just too good to pass up.

Thirdgen - damn, those are some nice looking rides.

I'm leaning towards a black/silver mix, and REALLY like the look of that Colnago in particular.

Thanks. I've been through several frames and build combinations over the last 4 years or so but I think I finally landed a reasonable and well rounded stable that I am completely happy with.

If you really like the colnago, I would consider chorus 11 and zonda wheels. I would vote in favor :)

Thanks for the info. One of those black panto stems would be ideal. I have a NOS Italmanubri 110 chromoly stem sitting in the shop, but it may be too "bling" for the direction I'm going.
I'd forgotten about Ribble. I checked, and 2013 Centaur Black/red 10s would be $647. Not bad at all, really. I've heard nothing but good reviews about Centaur (powershift vs ultrashift notwithstanding), and feel it would be all I need.

I'm looking at the 3T smoked chrome bars as a bar option, and like their ergo bend and TDF bend.

Fun to go back and forth with gruppos.

Casey and I were talking recently about the Centaur black/red gruppo for an upcoming cyclocross build.

A friend is retiring his Ritchey Swiss Cross frameset which is as red as can be.

I have been looking closely at this Campy gruppo and may just go down the same road.

I want a long cage version of the Centaur rear derailleur with a compact crank.

I also want to keep the price down near $500.

You may not want the compact or the easy gearing, but the gruppo itself looks a great value if you go the black route...

We were just talking about that group :)

i think the red will match the ritchey but not the ciocc. I would look at just the standard black centaur group. The silver touches will match your spokes and chrome accents.

I like the smoked 3ttt bar idea. It is also pretty easy to pick up a nice smoked 3ttt stem. NOS examples seem prevalent. I think Planet X may even have them in stock if you don't want to use the bay. Deda also makes a smoked seatpost. I haven't matched the colors but I bet it is fairly close. A black stem and post would obviously work as well.

A plus of the black Centaur gruppo is price.

I have seen some incredible prices on the gruppo.

As for the black/red, I'll clarify that I was mainly thinking of the Ritchey.

Just to clarify, the Ritchey is a cross bike that I would use extensively off road.

I like it as it offers Campy value at a lower price point.

Ultimately though, if it winds your binder Canyoneagle, go for it.

I think you and Thirdgen are right about the black/red. I don't think it would be a good match for the Ciocc. So, either straight out black or alloy, but really leaning towards black. I think a black grouppo, with the shiny spokes, machined brake track, smoked post/stem/bars and white tape/saddle would be pretty spectacular.

I would assume that if going compact up front, I'd need the medium cage RD? It is not too clear to me where the limits lie (the Campy site is not very informative on the distinction). Like many here on C&V, I'm still coming from a mindset of "compact" being 53/39 (they used to call that ratio "compact"). So the new 50/34 setup is new to me.

I prefer a short cage for many reasons, but if it makes more sense to go with the medium, I'll do it. I'm thinking of compact up front and never more than 27-28 teeth out back, probably more like 25.

Ask Casey, I just ride 'em. :)

I need hill climbing gears for the cross bike though.

We'll be in and out of river valleys in southern Minnesota.

Many of these are beastly believe it or not.