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.