Nice!
That saddle bag is a bit awkward though.

Those saddles are beauties.

BTW Stick around, you are an interesting read.

Great work on the anniversary Paramount and I have to say you are a real tease about revealing what you are up to! The FedEx story is so classic! I have a few of my own I could share, but there is no need to derail your fun experience!

As best I remember from reading C&V for almost 10 years, this is the first time I remember anyone here on C&V buying and building up the gold plated fork Paramount. Do you plan on riding it, much, or will it be mostly a show piece? I imagine the gold on the fork and the finish on the gold bits as fragile, but I could easily be wrong, and they might be just as durable as standard chrome and anodizing. I'd love to hear more about how these finishes endure over time.

Speaking of endure over time, is this your first experience with colored Brooks? If so, be prepared for them to change in appearance.

I have two, the B17 in British Racing Green and the limited edition Team Professional in Blue. Both have darkened to the point that when they are by themselves, I have a hard time distinguishing them from a black Brooks. This was not the case when they were new. I do suffer from color deficit in my vision (not full blown color blindness), so this contributes to my perception. I'm guessing your red Swift will look more dark brown in a few years. But that's a guess. I have no idea how the white will hold up. Do you have white shorts to wear when you ride it?

Looking forward to more pictures of the completed Paramount!

time proved to be a charm on the 92 build. Last pic, I left the old school ( skool) spoke protector on, kinda classy I think, not sure though, maybe just pleasant memories of youth.. Thanks 1st two pics, Chain is off, don't like opening closing things, but couldn't have it swinging around causing havoc. Anyone looking to buy an spindle? You know all the articles on measuring spindles Bottom bracket lengths, etc etc are really very accurate and helpful, actually informative, but with bottom brackets, cranks used not used, worn, Cinelli or other, there are so many variables that it becomes a exercise in trail and error. We use to turn the chainring bolts inverted sometimes to get clearance the same way you invert a seat post clamp to lower it for a vertically challenged person, but, it is not a hard fast set in stone application. 110mm should have worked, 113mm should have been excessive, but 116 was perfect??? Don't know why VARIABLE/DYNAMIC HAPPENED, just did.

Fantastic picture!

Non fixie thank you. Wife taught me to always say thank you to a compliment. That is her stupid carbon new fangled D/A bike on the bottom of the heirachy rack where it belongs, Alberto would be proud to be on the top. I haven't rode it in literally 20 plus years, the tires are no more than HD tissues. I always am tempted to order a cheap pair of Tubulars for a quick around the block, but somehow never get around to it. Sometimes memories are better than actuality. I know my Schwinn Stingray seat got harder and smaller than I remember it over the last 40 years, ( What else could the explanation be? !! )

handlebars. Not really just easier to wheel around with these. also a nice pic of the carrera podium, $600 I think it is still in the for sale marketplace here

You're welcome. @MrsKatiesmalls: you did well.

w dot Raydobbins dot com trying to learn from him. trying to not be redundant but these new Ti spindle pedals came today, and the shifters I bought off the bay were nice, but the hardware could have best served a crooked left bicycle training wheel. Sorted that out today. Now for the 92 I picked up a 13 19 Dura ace Freewheel, will post pics in a few, just can't decide right now if I want to keep that old school 13x24 and spoke protector. Don't know why I like it, just do. Last items I am waiting for, wires, tape bars stem. Then this expensive nonsense will be over. thank you to everyone who had a kind word to say. Is that a spot on the new tiles. Damn OCD, now I have to clean the whole house LOL. I am just real surprised there weren't many who mentioned those wheels. The thought Bernard could have ridden them or at least were on top of the team car is amazing to me. The car was sold to someone after the team disbanded, and they found four sets of these in the back. Who knows, maybe maybe not. But there are a lot of things suggesting to their heritage, I have 3 other sets of Mavic SSC but none with these markings. Nice to think about anyway. NIKE shirt, worn during Israeli tank Military exercise a few moths ago, still sandy, and smelled like the Gaza strip, donated itself to wrapping around the front brake Caliper arm so as not to scratch frame. Poor shirt, went to a good cause, as in the military in Israel say, don't worry America " we have your back" After a week in a tank not sure anyone would want to be behind me.. next pics will be of finished 2 Paramounts. Thanks for allowing me this fun. And to model Katie Smalls AKA sexy, yes I am bringing you another bone, no it is not too big, yes it is soft.

I am neurotic enough yet. I actually forgot what i came in to type but, hopefully this pic will suffice. Got these in the mail today, going to polish them up and try to recoup some money. OH NOW I REMEMBER. on the 50th, I removed all the set screw springs on the Campy derailleurs, which allowed me to tighten down clamp, further without crushing the springs, the set screws. It is permanently entombed in one gear. NO SCRATCHES, no chance for shifting. no chance of chain ever getting to intimately know the rear triangle frame.. When my son or Grand son sell it for $25, they will be searching the BAY, that with an E in front, for derailleur set screw springs. Screw them LOL

Well, this sure ended up being quite a neat surprise. The frame looks NOS, gold plated fork perfect - love the mix of black-anodized Campy and gold-anodized Universals. This is going to be on sexy ride when completed!

Keep up the great work and the updates with pictures; we want to drool, too

DD

Drillium D, thank you, having a lot of fun, learning a lot of patience. Go slow, then go slower. Those scratches do not come out of paint as the late night info commercials suggest. Working in a LBS most of my life from HONESTLY 10 yrs old on ( really making a nuisance of myself Not working ) but always having availability to a multitude of endless drawers parts replacement stuff, doing this at home w/o those resources is frustrating, but I am learning, LIFE IS VERY VERY GOOD. DO NOT TAKE THIS STUFF SERIOUSLY TO THE POINT OF NON-ENJOYMENT.

This is an enjoyable thread!

Trying to read between the lines: You worked in an LBS while in the Israeli Army as a tank commander? Now that's some cool bi-vocational work!

And you mentioned in post #31 you were a "NYC cop." More intrigue and another hint.

Now I'm also guessing you were in the CIA or Mossad, because all the embellishments to the story are just meant as a distraction to mask the truth. This is all code language for some secret covert operation among certain C&V operatives who are convincing people to ditch their classics your way, and then going out and buying the latest CF 11 speed Electronic ride.

I use a Click-Stand with my tandems. Very nice product.

This is a fun thread, to say the least. It reminds me of a very entertaining thread that Narhay posted back in December 2012.

Black generic hoods on the brakes. The campy originals were blowing in the wind. The pedals hopefully will be here shortly. Mentioned elsewhere here my dilemma with them. Any thoughts? This is the 92 even though my trick photography, could never repeat, makes the fork look gold. The wheels were donated from the 1975 Fuji I had for sale here, the bike sold yesterday. They were Shimano hubs laced up to Chrome dbl butted spokes magic 700s. the builder not me did a very nice job. As nice as any I could have done myself. I let the Silver polish sit on the rim in the last pic for a few minutes, wow what a difference it made after I worked it in

The bars/tape/cables. It was done rushing late at night. All a bad combo. Much nicer I think now. Still waiting for pedals. On another note, the BB on the Masi, and most Italian makers of the era, why run the cables directly against the metal frame. Its almost like the cable is a blunt dull saw blade and eventually going to cut through the metal, forget about rubbing off the paint. I guess I am trying to suggest, on a $2000 bike back then, it just seems like a ridiculous cost saving technique. But maybe, plastics and other guides we have now weren't available. However, Campy had their down tube derailleur guide forever. Just a thought, it doesn't matter now, I don't really use the Masi, but may throw some cheap Tubulars on and ride the neighborhood. A few hours later the rest of the build for the anniversary came WOOHOO, Going to finish tonight slowly. Should look better than untaped bars in Picture!!

In regard to shift cable guides.
The Campagnolo chromed steel versions were probably the best of the type for traditional cables.
When the builders began brazing them on to the top of the bottom bracket shell, I wondered about raw cables against paint.
Grease helped both types and the braze on system worked well enough, it flexed less, so shifting was a bit more precise, index precision was not yet on the menu.
The under the bottom bracket routing was the follow on, things were tolerable just prior with the painted braze on guides, so things just evolved. Soon thereafter or concurrent was the beginning of lined cable housing.
A few builders adopted the idea of using a section of cable housing lining as a friction reducer.
I think it was just attributable to what was felt as necessary.
As index shifting caught on, snap-on or bolt-on under the bottom bracket cable guides of low friction materials became the standard.
So, think about the timeframe and what was considered necessary.
The under the bottom bracket guides I find no better than the clamp on, both designs present regions that need to be cleaned often due to their location on a bike without fenders.

I have used Teflon impregnated cables on bikes with under the bracket painted cable troughs to good effect, not period, but cables are a semi consumable and not of period concern to me.

Rear Cable just a little too long, will fix slowly. Repechage, you hit it right on the head, just looking back as a novice to this stuff it seems crude, but, there are so many dynamics, time, cost efficiency, technology, I guess we are fortunate to be where we are, and will probably look back at today, and remember how crude it was, thank you for the reply SUNDAY, the Golden Arches

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