markwebb

I bought several bikes this winter on eBay. I only kept one - this Independent Fabrication steel Crown Jewel.

I named it The Creamsicle because of the orange frame and white bar tape.

It was for sale on eBay but for some reason never sold after several attempts. I contacted seller after last auction ended and, well, got a great deal. It's all Campy: a mix of mostly Record and Chorus. It didn't come with any bars, stem, or shifters so I added Nitto Noodle 46 bars, a very classy looking Nitto stem, Centaur shifters, and white bar tape. I have only invested about 50% into it of what a new bare IF steel CJ frame now costs !!! I'm not sure why it never sold - it is near mint and could easily have been advertised as NOS - honestly I don't think it was ever ridden more than 25 miles. I've seen new bikes in LBS with more shop wear than The Creamsicle

The welds on this frame are outstanding. I've seen them vary on IF frames - some are not very smooth at all. This is one of better examples I have seen.

It's my first Campy bike since NR ands SR. On all my other newer bikes I have Shimano Ultegra & DA. I've only had it on trainer, but I found two things:

It's a 2002 model per serial number and info from IF (nice guys there at IF !). It is listed as a 55 but per my measurements is more like a 56.

dcbikeguy

Love it. My size too - so, you care to elaborate on your "great deal"?

markwebb

I've got $1,000 in it including the new bars, stem, and shifters. Pretty good for what is esentially a NOS IF steel CJ frame equipped with pretty good NOS Campy 10 speed double parts.

dcbikeguy

Wow - great deal. I saw a guy out in the sticks this summer on a green IF with Cosmic Carbone Pros - I remember being hypnotized as he rolled by. Them are nice bikes.

Hocam

That's an incredibly sweet deal, any idea what the tubing is?

markwebb

Yes, per IF (I sent them the serial number and Joe Ingram replied) it's a stock Crown Jewel made in 2002. The color is Hemi Orange Metallic (but doesn't look "metallic") and the tubing is Reynolds 853 with Columbus Foco stays. I think when it's not an all 853 frame they don't apply the Reynolds 853 decal.

markwebb

There were a few other parts that came with it that I sold to net the $1,000 investment. Honestly, if you look for the deals, eBay's got 'em. Recently, a true NOS IF with Campy Record carbon 10spd group sold for $1,300. It had all original paperwork from IF, too. It was brand new. And another guy scored a brand new Waterford lugged steel frame complete with Shimano DA/Ultegra build for $1,100. The deals are there.

divineAndbright

nice.. toe clips and straps?

markwebb

Yes....I'd prefer to use clipless but I have major problems with the strength in my calves and ankles - so it's hard for me to rotate out of clipless. So I use toeclips.

BTW the end buttons on straps are Campy, too

Dick Rhee

You should try Speedplay Frogs, there's no tension keeping you in the pedals so it's an effortless clip out.

markwebb

Really??? Hmm......may be a good option.

How hard is it to clip in ???

LowCel 

Beautiful bike, congrats. Makes me miss my orange IF Ti CJ.

Rutnick

love that bike. What would set it off for me is a silver Nitto Seatpost, silver CK headset and silver spacers.

I've got those exact same bars and stem on one of my other bikes. They are just awesome.

markwebb

Yeah the silver seatpost would make it a lighter (as in color) look and go more towards creamsicle. I went with black spacer, though. It seemed to look better than the silver one that came with bike. I have a Ritchey silver post but it's a standard size and this bike uses smaller size. So I kept the black one.

A couple of things were wrong with bike when it arrived. One was spacer was too short so I could not get the allen bolt on top to tighten completely. Secondly, the tubes were actually wrong size (not 700cc) and were all pinched. Those were two obvious problems. I am not sure why bike came like that, but for the price easily fixable with less than $10 of parts (2 new tubes + spacer).

prendrefeu

Nice build, congratulations!

Two notes:
1. Flip it. [Sorry, knee-jerk reaction. Ignore at will.]
2. That bike, with your set up - would look REALLY great with downtube shifters. In my opinion, the brifter-setup does not collaborate with the rest of the set up as well as downtube shifters would.

scotch

gorgeous bike. i would've gone with black tape, tho.

kpfeif

Yeah, silver hardware and a white saddle or black stem and black tape.

smoke

then, at the risk of sounding like a shill, try SRAM. the hoods are much better than shimano. i haven't ridden campy in a while, but it's close to that. and you'll like having only one lever doing all the work even better than double levers or thumb shifters

anomaly

Wow, thats a great deal for an IF. I wish I had been able to pick up that Waterford...

Hocam

Yup and they're very easy to clip in, you align the cleat and push forward slightly and it goes "click" rather quietly. I love mine.

Dick Rhee

Yeah, you'll love the Frogs if you haven't already tried them. Clipping in is easy once you get used to it, but it is a different motion than most pedals. I suggest practicing in front of the TV for a couple of minutes before your first venture.

mrt10x

needs one of these

and down tube shifters

markwebb

No - I draw the line at white saddles and wite leisure suits

mrt10x

dude where have u been hiding? white saddles r all the rage...and did white leisure suits ever go out of style?

Terex

White bar tape, white saddle and white tires - a full Cleveland.