The Bicycle CURRENTLY Known As "Prince"

   I’m so glad that I forced myself to get out on the road on those days I didn’t feel 100% like riding, now that the weather is refusing to cooperate in letting me wrap up the last few miles of my 4000 goal. I don’t normally do sub-40° rides, but I might not have much choice if things don’t improve in the next couple of weeks, before 2013 comes to an end.

   Incredibly, when I sold back the Campagnolo Super Record components that I didn’t need, I ended up making $60! If you remember the discussion I had with the eBay seller from whom I purchased the Colnago, I had pointed out to him that it is much more profitable to sell vintage parts individually, knowing that there are builders who are willing to pay just a bit more for that one needed component to complete their restoration project. I don't think any further proof is needed to make my case, considering I kept three of the nine components included in the set and still made such a nice hunk of change!

   Budget-wise I am doing amazingly well on my Colnago – along with the selling of the mismatched parts that came on the bike and the partial refund from the seller from the mysterious missing pieces, I am still nearly $100 under the original price for the bicycle. I just found a crankset, a 1983 model perfect for the bike, so all that remains of my search is a headset, a braze-on front derailleur and pedals. I will also have to purchase some appropriate bar tape and cables/housing, but there really isn’t any search involved for those parts.

   Another vintage builder filled me in on some interesting and very useful information when I was looking for the correct crankset for my Nuovo Mexico. One can identify the year a Campagnolo crankset was made by looking for a stamp on the back of the crankarms. Starting in 1973, a code consisting of a diamond or circle (early ‘80's) with a number in the center denotes the last digit of the year of manufacture. For example, the cranks I recently sold (photo above) have the number eight in a diamond, meaning the cranks are from 1978, while the ones I just bought have the number three in a circle, for 1983. Strangely, "11" in a rectangle means 1985, "22" means 1986 and "33" means 1987, which was the final year of production for Super Record components. 

   As promised last week, I’d like to introduce an additional bike project I've started, which was another case of an eBay seller with an attractive frame that I had seen listed for an extended period of time. When looking for bikes to work on, I’m always conscious of purchasing those with a frame in the 55-57 centimeter range, knowing that these are the most common sizes. I also keep in mind, that in an “emergency”, if one of these bikes wouldn’t sell, I know someone in my family could ride it! This frame was a 57, so it fit within my limits.

   This Pinarello Prince is of a similar era and design as the Orbea I just finished for Sue’s principal, with an aluminum main triangle and carbon stays and fork. These frames were unfortunately notorious for poor decals which would flake off, as was the case on this Pinarello.

   The big advantage this auction had going for it, besides it being for a desirable Pinarello Prince, was the presence of so many of its original parts. I wasn’t too thrilled with the outdated Shimano Octalink bottom bracket, but what made up for it was the inclusion of the headset, stem, bars, seatpost and fantastic embroidered Selle Italia saddle, which was unused.

   I had seen this bike off and on for almost a year, and although I really liked the bike, it was still listed at a price a bit higher than that in which I wanted to invest. Additionally, at those moments the listing reappeared, it seemed I always had plenty of other things to keep me busy. This time around I decided to take a shot at it, and inquired if the seller would be willing to take $50 off, and sure enough, the deal was done!

   My plan is to outfit the frame in high-quality, lightweight components. I have already collected some Campagnolo Chorus carbon parts, as well as a set of new decals, and I’ll fill you in as progress is made.

When Goal-less Is a GOOD Thing

   Now that I’m only one relatively short ride away from reaching my goal of 4000 miles, friends and relatives are asking what I am going to do next. I have thought about it a lot while riding this year and how sometimes just “putting in the miles” took away from the basic enjoyment of being out on the road. Too many times I was focused on what the cycle computer told me at the end of a ride, and I wasn't really even collecting the information to track my fitness.

   I think my solution next year will be to go computerless - and I don’t mean disconnecting the mounts, etc. from all of my bikes, I’m just not going to pay any attention to the miles or worry about the pace at which I ride. For the past couple of years I have entered every mile I’ve ridden on MapMyRide and recorded my personal best times for my regular routes. From now on, I’m doing none of that – I’ll keep the maps so that I have a way of telling Sue where I am going, but no more mile totals and no more average speeds!

   Having the computer available will still be useful in order to tell the time of day, how far I have left for some of the longer rides and maybe, if I'm occasionally curious, how fast I'm going. I have noticed how little I actually look at the computer when I’m riding, and it’s amazing how my average speed still ends up within my “comfort zone” around 18 mph. I’ve grown to have a really good feel for tempo.

   Down in the shop, I finished up the Orbea conversion, which was pretty straightforward. I did have some difficultly with the front derailleur that was for triple chainrings. I have found that setting the cable in the middle ring position and making adjustments from there is most effective, but it requires a third hand (Sue’s in this case) to tighten the mounting bolt while holding the derailleur cage in place and the cable tight over the bolt. It seems that with some brands of components, this is the only method that works to achieve smooth shifts and eliminate as much chain rub as possible.

   Mark had a chance to take the bike out for a spin the other day and expressed how much riding a correctly-sized frame made a difference. I expect the excitement of having a new toy helped put a little jump in his legs as well!

   The Colnago project has seen a bit of progress in that I purchased a (nearly) complete Campagnolo Super Record component group, or gruppo if you want to sound like a pro “wrench”. It unfortunately did not come with a headset or pedals, which of course have been the most difficult to come by at a reasonable price! There are a couple pieces that don’t quite match up with the era of my bike, but I intend to sell those back, hopefully make some money on the exchange and buy the appropriate part for my bicycle.

   The brake levers and front derailleur that came with my Nuovo Mexico were not Super Record, so I welcomed the correct versions with the group I purchased. Unfortunately the derailleur was a clamp-on type, and my bike requires the braze-on mount version, so the hunt for one of those continues.

   I also found a Selle San Marco “Rolls saddle, which is still currently in production, but I wanted a vintage look and found an original. Nuovo Mexicos came with these saddles or with a Concor model, but I think the Rolls is more aesthetically pleasing with its brass fittings.

   I also lucked out (didn’t have to mortgage the house) on a 3T stem with the Ernesto Colnago autograph engraving, which would have been original to the bike as well.

   I took the opportunity to install a few things and take some pictures. Note all of the decorative elements on the frame, such as the ace-of-clubs logos on the downtube above the shifter levers...

...and on the rear brake mounting bracket.

   You can also see the club-shaped cutout in the location of the bottom bracket, before I installed the part. This was not just a decorative feature; it also allowed moisture to escape the seat tube. This portion of the frame is usually a rusty disaster, but thankfully the person who owned the Colnago previously must not have ridden in the rain much, if at all!

Here is the bottom bracket installed - notice the white-filled “Colnago” stamping on the chain stay. The chromed stay has similar stamping on the side away from view.

This final pic shows the Super Record rear derailleur.

Next time I’ll introduce an additional project that will keep me occupied over the winter.