fmw

Building and riding the Basso Gap
or Where can I get orange tires?

I had a real love affair with my Bianchi Veloce. It was very rideable, very reliable and very Italian. From the Italian made steel frame painted the traditional celeste color to the Vittoria tires, she was a fine example of the Italian bicycle making art. However, the Veloce really didn't fit me. It was too small. So after three years I decided to replace it and spend a couple of months looking for a suitable frame to give me some of that classic Italian steel ride and look. The search ended last month when I found a NOS (new old stock) Basso Gap steel road frame.

Basso has a long history of success in professional bicycle racing. It was a Gap like mine that won the 1972 World Championship. My frame arrived painted a silver gray color with bright orange trademark decals. So where was I going to find bright orange tires?



The frame is much younger than 1972, however. It is already set up with 130mm dropout spacing and a threadless steel fork. I don't know the model year but it isn't very old to be sure.

I knew before I started that the Gap would have to get Italian hardware and I decided to take the Campy Chorus gruppo from my yellow aluminum bike to festoon the steel Italian frame. Well, almost Chorus. The shifters, brakes, rear derailleur, headset and cassette are Chorus. The front derailleur, bottom bracket and crankset are Centaur. But all Campagnolo to be sure for my new Italian steed. I also decided to put the most comfortable saddle I own on it - A Selle Italia Grand Prix. The handlbar was in stock also - a Cinelli Solido and I added a new ITM Millenium stem to it. The wheels should also be Italian, I decided, so the Campagnolo Ventos from my aluminum bike also made the transition. So where would I find those orange tires?

Well, by a stroke of luck it seems Vredestein makes their popular Fortezza tires in orange and by an even greater stroke of luck I found a pair on Ebay. Aha! orange tires at last. The bike finally came together late one night last week. I made a couple of short test rides to see that everything was ship shape. Except for a minor saddle height adjustment, there was nothing more I needed to do.



So today I took her for a maiden voyage to a town about 15 miles from home. The 30 mile round trip should put her through her paces. The weather was favorable but windy so I headed into the wind so that I would enjoy a tailwind on the way home. The bike was absolutely silent. No clicks, no ticks, no rattles, no creaks. I could hear nothing over the steady pulse of the wind by my ears. The bike felt just like my Bianchi Veloce except that it fit me. She took the hills nicely and, despite her portly 20 lb. weight, she scampered up them without a whimper. I never could ride in the drops with the Bianchi because of the short frame but the larger Basso gave me more room and I rode most of the 15 miles into the wind while grasping the drops. A truly sweet ride. Pedalling around corners was smooth and precise. The bike's geometry seemed to lead the way. I just had to follow. A little wiggle of the handlebar told me the frame was stiffer than any other bike I own. But smooth stiffness to be sure.

There is a lot to be said for the light weight of carbon fiber frames and the light bikes made from them. The ride of this great frame, however, makes my 4 lb. lighter carbon bike seem primitive. Riding this frame is like riding a Mercedes Benz automobile. Strong, sure, smooth. A master of the road. Looking for a good build project? How about a classic steel framed Italian road bike. Ah! sweet pleasure that it is.

aluckyfiji

that is a very nice Basso, I which I knew more about my Basso and I which it looked half as nice as yours, but I love mine Basso also

SeqTarRou

WOW! Very nice. Makes me crave an Orange Julius.

fmw

Thanks, Lucky. How about an image of your Basso? Seq, I showed the finished product to my wife and asked her if Sunkist Special would be a good name for it. She said I should call it The Orange Pimpmobile. I think I like Orange Julius the best!

biker7

Beautiful write up Fred and Congrats on your new build....really a pretty bike and bet it is stunning in person. You have a lot of support on this board with those that like steel Italian bikes. A question...did you consider a CF fork at all for your build? Did your Bianchi Veloce have a CF fork like my '04 Veloce does? Curious if you feel any more road buzz with the steel fork?
Love to see bikes get built from scratch...a great part of the hobby IMHO...build 'em and ride 'em.
Great choice of components,
Cheers,
George

fmw

Thanks, George. I thought about a CF fork. When I took the frame in to the LBS for prep I talked to the owner a little about it. He said to try the steel fork before I did anything. Glad I did. It makes the bike incredibly quiet and smooth compared to a CF fork. Yes it's heavier but I have no regrets and have no plans to replace the fork. My Veloce was an '02 and it had a Bianchi CF fork with alloy steerer. It was great riding bike but I think the Basso is just a little quieter and smoother, probably because of the fork. The frames are similar as you know. I get no road buzz at all with the steel fork. I ride fairly rough country roads and the feedback from the bike was nothing but smoothness beyond even my carbon fiber framed ride. I really like this bike.

fmw

I should also mention how nicely the frame is made. The bottom bracket area is lugged but the rest of the frame is filet brazed. You might be able to see how smooth the joints are in images. Handmade European craftsmanship. Hard to beat.

LongLivePantani

I just registered, looked around and found your GAP.

Have seen some of those over the years.

You did a mighty fine build........... Enjoy

It is steel, so a friend for life.......

LLP

AtlAllez

" Oh god i think i've just ***"
-The wedding Date-

blandin

When I bought my '03 Basso frame I found a Basso dealer online with some nice things to say about the Gap:

Basso Gap at Yellow Jersey

Basso has made their most popular model, the Gap, for many years with exceptionally comfortable and solid geometry. We note with some sadness that this model is discontinued. This wonderful frameset was available in most sizes at just $ . It's a blend of Columbus and Deda Italian steel, carefully balanced for gauge in every size, that weighs just 4.4lbs frame and fork. The Gap is meticulously fillet-brazed and carefully finished to a sleek smooth joint at the head tube. Basso uses their precision cast real Italian SCM fork crown (not many bikes are built that nicely any more!)and their modern super stiff cast bottom bracket. Frame ends are Basso's own and again precision cast SCM. Full braze-ons and one of the most beautiful Italian finishes available round out the Basso Gap. Metallic Blue or Metallic Steel Grey, $ .

garysol1 

just two words.......Gorgeus

aluckyfiji

I have to get pictures of it here in the next day or two... i will let you know

fmw

Thanks for that. I guess mine is metallic steel gray. Take care.

55/Rad

Great write-up and a beautiful bike.

55/Rad

puddin' legs

Just a small correction, the Gap is named after Gap, France where Marino Basso won the world championship road race in 1972. The 3 Basso bros. started making frames in 1977.
Nice no nonsense frames that perform well. Enjoy!

biker7

Interesting. Guess it stands to reason since steel bikes ride as quietly as CF bikes that a steel fork would be as quiet as a CF fork....perhaps the only downside being weight which is virtually unimportant for the minute weight difference. Your comments really hit home about the merit of steel which has been discussed many times on this board. You compare your new Basso bike to your 4 lb lighter CF bike and you come away liking the steel bike much more inspite of a considerable weight difference which reinforces what some lose sight of...its about the quality of the overall bike including wheelset and gruppo and fit to the rider more than weight that matters. That has been my experience as well.
Enjoy it Fred and thanks for sharing your Italian art with us.
George

classic1

I recall reading a test on a Basso (may have been the Gap model) in an old Bicycle Guide magazine. The Basso had a BB way lower than normal. They raved about how the thing handled - low BB = low centre of gravity.

A few pro teams used Basso's in the late 80's and early 90's. Van der Velde won the Giro points jumper in 87 on real nice burgandy and blue one. I think Histor rode them for a year as well - might have been 1989.

fmw

Thanks for the correction. The information I had was from the Basso site. Apparently I didn't interpret it very well.

George, I got thinking about the weight issue in general. I did nothing at all to save weight on this bike. I already had the CF bottle cages and Speedplay pedals. The only parts I bought (other than the orange tires and bar tape) was a FD because it needs a braze on type and a bottom bracket because it is Italian thread. I bought the heavy Centaur/Veloce bb. The final weight is 20.0 lbs as you see it in the image, pedals and all. The Vento wheels are quite heavy and so is the fork. Reasonably light wheels and a CF fork would bring the bike down to 17.5 or 18 lbs. or so and that's really pretty light for any bike, let alone a steel framed one. The point is I like the bike just like it is and it outrides my others (all lighter) with ease. If I wanted to get weight sensitive about it I could pare off some weight. I'm not sure it matters. It might even hurt the bike's excellent rideability. I don't know. Taking a pound off the wheels would be easy and probably positive and I may do that one day. I think I'll leave the fork with the heavy steel steerer. I think it really adds to the bike's sureness of "foot" on the road. This bike is like a monorail when it takes a corner. The CF bike is a little "squirrelly" in comparison. I wish I could say I planned it that way but, perhaps, the Basso brothers did.

EURO

Most Italians seem to be riding alloy or CF bikes. Nothing Italian about steel, unless you mean '1970's Italian'.

fmw

No, just that that bike happened to be steel. I think it is fair to say that the Italian makers generally were good at making steel frames and they still are. There aren't many steel frames coming from Europe any longer except from Bianchi. Perhaps the steel frame is an anachronism but the many I have ridden have always been more comfortable and "surefooted" than bikes made from more modern materials. If steel finally dies as a bike frame material, at least I'll have one that I can enjoy.

Grasschopper

Actually Bianchi's steel frames aren't coming from Europe any more either. In good news though Colnago brought back the Master X-light for 2006...not sure if it is made in Italy or not though as they too were going to begin outsourcing to the far east.

EURO

FYI I do most of my miles on a steel bike. I just wanted to point out that the association of steel with Italy doesn't really hold. The US is the last bastion of the steel bike. Bianchi's steel bikes aren't available to buy in Europe.

biker7

Don't buy what you wrote Euro. In typical fashion you are speaking parochial to what you know and that is racing circles where weight is the highest priority. In Italy and including rich America, the vast majority of bicycles ridden are made out of steel. Just like America, Italy has access to bicycles manufactured all over the world. Economics dictates what most ride and the cheapest material and some would suggest the best cost/benefit material out there is still steel unless you are a racer.
George

cyclintom

I have a Basso Loto in my size and it's my favirite bike. It's a little heavier than some of my other bikes but the ride is so nearly perfect that I'm keeping it forever. I may be buried with it (not counting the last club ride).

I also have a 55 cm Gap that's for sale. Andy at Yellow Jersey tells me that it's a '98 and there's a picture over on the For Sale group.

I suspect your "old stock" is something like 2002 and hardly what I'd call "old".

You'll love your Basso a great deal better than the Bianchi. They seem to just ride perfectly.

EURO

biker7 - talking about road bikes only obviously. This is the road bike forum.