New Year, New Bike

   I must say that I appreciated a little writing break, although I certainly wasn’t away from the cycling world during that time, with all sorts of things going on. I actually got in some rides before temperatures became brutally cold, taking to the local rail trails on my Vitus with it decked out for the holidays. I love the double-takes, friendly honks, and especially the occasional rolled-down window, accompanied by a shout of “Merry Christmas!”

   The Pinarello Treviso paint job was completed shortly after my last blog entry and it looks fantastic (see photos below)! Bruce told me it's what is called a "candy" finish, which reflects different colors in the sunlight. I was cautioned by the folks at VeloCals to wait a couple of weeks before applying decals because of outgassing that occurs with new paint, but Bruce suggested at least a month to let the clear coat cure completely. Since I am certainly in no hurry at this point, and figuring that a sale on this bike is more likely when spring comes around, I will try to be patient before tackling the decal work and installation of the components.

   A local cyclist surprised me with an offseason (the best time to do it!) bicycle overhaul on a secondhand Motobécane. This was a modern U.S.-trademarked version, as opposed to a vintage machine made by the French company, but not a bad bicycle overall. It had been well cared-for generally, but some of the bearings and the drivetrain needed serious cleaning and lubrication. I had been doing so much building up “new” bicycles lately that I had forgotten about the getting dirty part! 

   I was also able to sell the Cervélo Soloist Team bicycle to a nice guy from NYC. I was a little annoyed that he haggled the price a bit after I drove to meet him halfway, but I was still getting a great return on a bike that was essentially given to me for free. The funny part was watching him give it a short test ride in a light snowfall - the road was only a bit wet at that point, but it still was an odd sight! A mountain bike or even some type of hybrid probably wouldn’t have created the same effect, but this aero racing machine looked totally out of place with snowflakes coming down around it. 

   My string of bicycle-buying bad luck continued when the seller of the Bianchi cyclocross bike simply disappeared. He replied to a couple comments initially about shipping, and from what we had discussed, I assumed the bicycle was being packed for a drop-off at UPS. After two weeks, during which time there was no response to my inquiries about arrival time or tracking information, I opened a case with eBay. Strangely, I received almost an immediate refund. I tried again to contact the seller just for some explanation, but got nowhere!

   It may have turned out for the best, as I ended up finding a better quality Bianchi ‘cross bike, even if I had to pay a bit more for it. The 2006 Cross Concept I purchased has a very lightweight scandium/aluminum frame with carbon fiber rear stays and fork. The bicycle was custom built with some top-of-the-line components, such as Shimano Dura-Ace shifters and derailleurs, a SRAM carbon crankset, Ritchey WCS stem and handlebars and a Vuelta Corsa Lite wheelset.

   The seller of the Bianchi even threw in a quality spare Cane Creek Volos tubular wheelset with the deal. The rear had a cassette with a better configuration of cogs for climbing, so one of the first things I did was switch its 12-27t cluster with the 11-23t version that was on the Vuelta wheel.   

   The bike had come equipped with a pair of Tektro carbon cyclocross brake levers, which are often called “interrupters” because they are attached mid-brake line, clamped to the top of the bars (see photo below). I disassembled this whole configuration to convert the bicycle to an upright, much like the arrangement on the other Bianchi that I had originally purchased.

   Because I like to match components as much as possible, I acquired some Ritchey riser bars and lock-on handgrips to complement the existing stem and also picked up a pair of Avid brake levers to go with the brand of cantilever brakes that were installed on the bike. For some reason the Bianchi had a mismatched pair of tires with different widths (32 mm front, 28 mm back), but since I preferred the “knobbier” Michelin Jet tire on the front, I bought a duplicate for the rear.   

   I have been waiting for the new set of Shimano trigger shifters to arrive, since they have to be slid onto the bar first during assembly, and then I’ll just need to purchase some cables to complete the conversion. I’ve already sold the Tektro levers, and I expect to recover a decent amount of funds from the wheels after I get the old glue off and clean them up. I’m going to hang onto the bars and Dura-Ace shift/brake levers for a little while, since I have my eye on another possible project - that is, once I clear some of my finished bicycles out of the shop.

Hopefully some pictures of the completed Bianchi next time!