Berlingot

Hello! These days I look around for getting me a used road bike and finally a (nice & probably trustworthy) person offered me this bike: Brake-system/Crankset is Campagnolo Chorus and Gear-system is Campagnolo Record, which are all fixed on an average Alu-frame which dates from the 1990s. Are all these Campagnolo parts from the 2004 era, or some earlier? Are these recommended parts? Some special things I should watch for? Until now I never had Campy on my bikes, so I am really a "dummy" in this field. I add two detail photos below. What do you think, is this a good offer for $500? Thanks! Martin

clichty

For $500 I would go for it. The record shifters are close to that price alone.

acorn_user

BUY BUY BUY!

(If it fits)

carpediemracing 

If it fits, get it.

Cranks, shifters, derailleurs will last a long, long time.

Ritchey stem is my preferred stem - I think they're great.

cdr

Berlingot

Wow thats good news. I will meet the seller tomorrow & will do a little test-drive.
As I live in the Austrian alps I think it would be a good idea to get me a composite crankset.
Would also a triple-crankset fit or is this not compatible to the shifter and/or front derailleur?

celticfrost

From what I can see, that looks like a nicely setup bike.

If you want some lower gears to help you get over the Alps, then the cheapest and easiest thing to to is to get a Campy 13-29 cassette. Your rear derailleur may need to be adjusted after installing the 13-29, but that takes a mechanic about 5-10 minutes. Getting a new chain to go w/ your new cassette is recommended too. Although Campy recommends switching to a medium front derailleur for a 53/39 crank w/ a 13-29, you shouldn't have to . I've had this done on a Campy equipped bike and have not had to get a new front derailleur. That'll give you a low gear ratio of 1.34, which is pretty low.

Going to a compact will require a new crank and a new front derailluer. Going to a triple will cost you a new crank, a new front derailluer and a new (or modified) left brifter.

Psimet2001 

The bike is worth much more than $500. Do what you will. f he's serious about $500 I would buy it whether it fits or not. If it doesn't fit you can always strip the frame and by a new one - selling the old one.

acorn_user

The compact might work out for you. A triple may be better. You can do that with a new crank, maybe a new rear mech and a certainly a new front mech and a new chain. Or you could buy a compact for the cost of a new crank.

Which part of the Alps do you live in?

Servus,

Acorn_user

Bob Dopolina 

A compact will requir a new Fr Der. A Triple will require a new Fr der and a new Rr der. Guess which option is least expensive? Hint, hint, triples may go the way of the do-do.

Use a 13-26 or 13-27 on the rear with a 34/50 up front. That's pretty good.

If you trust the seller and the bike fits, buy it!

unbelievably

I second buying it regardless of fit.
You could always swap out the parts to a new frame.

songfta

That's a steal for $500. Top-level parts that would sell for much more on eBay, looks nice, totally worth it for the parts alone.

In other words: what almost everybody else says!

carpediemracing 

Triple shouldn't require a new brifter on the left side, just ratchet it more. It will req a new rear derailleur as pointed out before.

Compact gets my vote. The "best" would be a 110/130mm BCD crank but that would blow the budget out of the water as the only one I know of is an SRM crank. 34-52 or some other ridiculous jump would be possible (or 36/52 etc etc). If you're going up climbs steep enough to warrant a 34, it's probably more fun with higher gears coming back down.

Whatever, with the cost of the bike, you could buy one of each crank and try it out.

cdr

zacster

I put a compact on my Chorus bike without changing the front. The biggest reason to change is if the tooth difference on the front changes. I went from 53/39 to 50/36, so there was no reason to change. Just don't go to extremes on the gears and you'll be OK with those parts. So buy it.

Berlingot

Sorry for my late update. Yeeaaaahhh yesterday I got my baby - I still cannot believe that now I am riding such "fine parts", as a poor boy I was looking out for some Tiagra/105-thing to fit my small budget... and finally ending as a proud Campy Record/Chorus driver. Today I changed the handlebar tape, drove for some 60 kilometres, also climbed a "decent" mountain road, well the 53/39 -- 13-26 is really a little tough, so I will look out for a 13-29 as a first step, maybe later in summer I'll get a compact crankset, let's see how my legs will develop... Thanks again to all of you for your help, tomorrow I will post some photos. Greetings from Austria! Martin

the beef

$500?! Damn, man! Good job!

Berlingot

Here are some new photos of this bike. I added black handlebar tape and removed some of the ugly decals. Besides, I have the feeling that the material of the frame is not aluminum as the seller stated but could be titanium?!?, as it feels much harder, stiffer and "metal-like", however it is not steel as I already tried a magnetical-test, anybody here who has a "good eye" and can tell me maybe more just from the photos? Greetings from Vienna! Martin

uspspro

Maybe this?

https://www.rih.nl/site/index.php

It looks like it says RIH.

Youngin

Wow, looks like an amazing deal! I think it could be Ti, that's a great bike you've got there!

Berlingot

... thanks for the hint, but in this case "RIH" is not the Dutch brand but the initials of "RADSPORT INTERNATIONAL HAMEDL", a Viennese bike shop (founded by Franz Hamedl who once won the Tour of Austria and later founded his own bike-shop). They did not produce frames but just put their decals on other frames (mostly Italians).

dannyg1 

There's no doubt in my mind, that bike is titanium. Look at the uber-cool ork. No way it would be that thin and aluminum. It's probably flexy as hell in titanium!

Danny

songfta

Martin: ausgezeichnet!

Seriously, that's a great bike! The titanium frame is well made and will last a long time. And Campagnolo parts last almost forever, too - just rebuild them when things wear out.

I'd wait to see if the 13-26 cassette works for you as you get more kilometers under your wheels. 39/26 seems like a high ratio now, but you might find it to work for you. At worst, you can get a 13-29 cassette or a compact that will fit your square-taper Campag BB. It's all good.

EuroJosh

I stayed in a hotel a block up from RIH two years ago. My wife and I were cyclo touring Austria for our honeymoon. I got a real kick out of the shop a little further up the street named Bike Attack, awesome name for a shop.

Back on topic, you scored a really nice bike indeed. You have a beautiful country to ride it in as well.

Berlingot

.. yesterday I could not resist & purchased a 13-29 cassette at a garage sale, the seller said it is "Chorus", however there is no modelname on it, just "Campagonolo" and "Titanium", the teeth are all chrome, is this "partly titanium" cassette really Chorus or another model?? Anybody here who knows more? See photo attached

Zinn-X

jesus dude, $500 for that bike is a killer deal.

sfcrossrider

I have an 05 Record/Chorus mix on my cross bike and LOVE it. If it can take cyclocross abuse... it will last for years on the road.

I also had 94 record on my roadbike (that I built in 94) that worked great until I sold it. Campy is always a good choice.