Meddling With Mavic and More

   One detail about the Vitus that I didn’t mention during my last post was that the seller neglected (once again!) to properly pack the bicycle, leaving the rear derailleur hanger unprotected, and it was crushed closed, similar to what happen with the Olmo bicycle. However, the Olmo had steel dropouts, which could easily be bent back into place. The Vitus unfortunately has an aluminum hanger that screws into the frame at the junction of the rear dropouts.

   Aluminum does not do well with bending, as it is more susceptible to fatigue failure, and although I had a good idea that it was going to happen, I attempted to straighten out the hanger, and it cracked. I was able to ride with the damage, but the derailleur didn’t shift perfectly.

   When I contacted the seller about the issue, he immediately issued a refund to cover the replacement of the part, which I found from a company named Pilo that manufactures many different hanger models/designs and lists some of these items on eBay.

   The parts are frustratingly expensive, as any replacements (such as the Mavic parts discussed later) tend to be on vintage bikes. You can understand my disappointment when the part arrived and I found that it did not fit correctly into the cutout in the Vitus frame. Really left with no alternative, I had to turn to filing and reshaping the outer curve of the hanger until it fit properly.

   In the photo on the above, you can see the notch I filed in order to clear the back edge of the cut out (red arrow), as well as the gap caused on the front edge (green arrow) after I properly rotated the part and screwed it into place.

   I took a photo of my cracked part on top of some small-grid graph paper, hoping they can use it as a comparison with their product, and sent it along with a note expressing my displeasure to the folks at Pilo.

   I installed a lightweight FSA compact crankset on the Vitus, and I have already had some luck in my search for reasonably-priced Mavic components to replace the Campagnolo triple group that were originally installed on the bike. I found a really nice Mavic front derailleur without too much trouble and I have a Campagnolo short cage rear derailleur temporarily in place until I get that part sorted out.

   The least expensive recent listing I had seen for a Mavic rear derailleur was an insane $175! I came up with a plan that takes advantage of the fact that the French brand can be completely disassembled piece by piece for any necessary service/replacement. I found a “for parts only” listing for just the main derailleur body, mounting plate and one half of the derailleur cage. Amazingly, a couple of weeks later I saw a listing for used Mavic hardware that included the other half of the cage, the mounting bolt, pulley wheels and axles, plus many other parts to the derailleur.

   When the first package arrived, I was disappointed to find that the seller of the derailleur body forgot to include the mounting plate (regular readers might recall an issue I had previously with that part and my Vitus 979), so I will have to be patient until that part is sent. I was able to assemble the rest of the derailleur when the hardware set arrived over the weekend. I’m considering hanging onto them “just in case”, but if I sell off the rest of the leftover parts, my final cost will be less than half of that other Mavic rear derailleur I saw listed!

   I’ve also made some significant progress with the Colnago Mexico I had purchased way back in November. I had cleaned it up a bit, just in case someone who stopped in to look at some of my completed projects (or folks in for repairs/tune-ups) might be interested in purchasing that machine as-is. The tomato red paint had gotten a bit flat so I also rubbed Meguiar’s Scratch X all over the frame and buffed it to restore the glossy luster.

   I decided to narrow down the crazy array of components on that bike, which was a mix of Campagnolo Super Record, Nuovo Record, C-Record, Croce d’Aune and Chorus, along with Modolo and Shimano Dura-Ace parts – YIKES! Besides the wheelset (Chorus hubs) and the seatpost (Croce d’Aune aero), I am going to outfit the bike in C-Record (short for Corsa Record).

   The C-Record group includes the Campagnolo delta brake, which is legendary for being beautiful, but also heavy and a maintenance nightmare. The brake is also a bit over-engineered and has been knocked for its average stopping power. Despite all this, the brakes are incredibly expensive, in a way that is far out of proportion to the rest of the group, so I decided to go with an attractive set of the Chorus Monoplaner brakes instead.

Campagnolo delta brakes (left) and Chorus monoplaner

   Because pedals are such a personal choice, and because the vintage Nuovo Record set that came on the bike were in such amazing condition, I decided to sell them. Pedals of this type/vintage usually have plenty of scrapes on the face plates and/or the dust caps, but this pair has none of that! The pedals need to go to someone giving a bicycle a top-quality restoration job - I knew that the pedals had a far greater value being sold alone, instead of being just another part of this bike sale.

   So far I am significantly on the plus side of the parts sale/acquisition process for the Colnago, having a cushion of $90, with only the crankset left on my “want list”. Stay tuned...

Wreaking Havoc On My Hands

   I’ve been working my hands raw (literally) the last few weeks, mostly with the polishing process on the Wilier Triestina bicycle. I would have considered using some type of gloves, but it is hard getting a good grip on the wet/dry sandpaper with anything that would be thick enough to stand up the punishment that type of work would inflict on the gloves.

   Then there was the scrubbing involved to get the grime off of my hands after each session, and of course, the cold, dry winter air doesn't help this situation. I've almost gone through a whole tube of Neutrogena from my nightly applications!

   I was pretty happy with the results, particularly considering the original condition of the top tube. Re-assembly was fairly simple, except for some necessary adjustments to undo some of the knocking around of the components during shipping. Maybe the next time I order something from Giovanni, he will take my advice and pack things a bit more carefully – this bike came away in reasonable shape, but I can’t imagine he enjoyed sending partial refunds for some of the damage caused in the past.

   I discovered that the model name of the Wilier is “Snow”, so it was very appropriate to take the bike out for pictures during the recent weather.

   One of the regrets I've had while assembling my little collection of bicycles is selling the Vitus 979, particularly because its rare Mavic components are now worth about four times what I paid for them! A few months ago I was talking to a couple of folks about vintage bikes and mentioned the lightweight aluminum Vitus bikes as an alternative to steel, and I found myself conducting occasional searches for the French brand on eBay.

   I have had a remarkable record with throwing low-ball offers at folks on eBay, having come away with “steals” for Colnago and Pinarello bikes in the past, but I was still a bit stunned to shave $200 off the asking price for a wonderful 1995 Vitus 992 in the Lotto team colors.

   I had every intent to make this a bike for resale, but when I saw it in person with its original shop decal from the French town of Montélimar, I was quickly thinking about how I could fit this into my own collection. The 992 is similar to the 979 I owned before, as far as having the aluminum tubes bonded to aluminum lugs, but the tubes on this updated model have an ovoid shape, giving them a bit of a more aerodynamic quality but also more structural rigidity.

   Looking to take the Vitus for a test ride, I met up with a couple of my riding buddies on one of the crazy-mild days we experienced before Christmas. We did about 34 miles, looping from Phoenixville south to the Chester Valley Trail, riding east through King of Prussia and taking to the road into Norristown to meet the Schuylkill Trail for our return.

   I loved the bike! It currently has a Campagnolo Veloce triple group, and I plan to swap that out for a compact double set-up. In the back of my mind, I’m also hoping to find some Mavic derailleurs and brakes at a reasonable price somewhere.

   I’ve always professed myself as a Cannondale guy, and now that I have a modern carbon version as my regular ride, I decided that the “Black Lightning” shore bike could be let go. That bike is especially rare in that it still has all of the original custom black and gold components, and I’ve already received some inquiries. I took a trip down to Stone Harbor to pick up the bike, and was “treated” to an unusual experience of driving on snow-covered shore roads, as a coastal storm hit over the weekend. As usual, it was deserted at this time of year, so at least I was in the relative safety of non-existent traffic!

SAMPLES of my work

(As always, you can click on the photos to enlarge them.)

I bought a classic Vitus 992 Lotto frameset (actually the 2nd one after I built my own), made of lugged/bonded aluminum tubes, needed a bit of work to return it to the glory it enjoyed when used by the 1995 pro cycling team. I removed and replaced most of the decals before equipping the bike in full Mavic componentry. The complete story on this project starts on this page.

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I bought a Colnago Nuovo Mexico frameset on eBay that had some mismatched Shimano and Campagnolo parts. After selling off the unwanted parts, I built up this legendary Italian bicycle with complete Campagnolo Super Record gruppo. You can see plenty more photos here, and read about the assembly story starting here.

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A friend was interested in buying a carbon fiber bicycle, but wasn't sure if he wanted to dish out the $1200-1500 required to find a quality machine. I approached him with the idea of trying to build up a bicycle with a patient search for a quality used frame and parts. We stumbled upon a 2005 Specialized Roubaix in good shape, sold off some unwanted parts that were included, and assembled a great bike with a very lightly used Shimano Ultegra component group and an almost new Mavic Krysium wheelset - all for less than $900 bucks! You can read about the project starting here.

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For many months I saw a nice looking 2000 Pinarello Prince frameset listed on eBay, with no takers. The auction included some really nice extras, so I offered a lower price, which was accepted. These frames were notorious for bad decals that bubbled and flaked below the clearcoat, so I had some removal work to do. A pro airbrush artist helped with touchups before I applied new decals and outfitted the bicycle with Campagnolo Chorus Carbon components and a new Fulcrum wheelset. The story on this project begins here.



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I put a lot of work into this early 1980s Pinarello Treviso. Someone had done a bad repaint job, along with an inaccurate application of modern decals, so I stripped it and had a professional apply an automotive-grade paint with tremendous luster and depth. I then added period-appropriate VeloCals before building up the bike with Campagnolo and Cinelli components - many of which are rare Pinarello engraved parts. You can see more pictures of the finished bicycle here and read the story of this build starting here.

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The repainting of this 1980s Monteverde drew upon my whole bag of tricks! A friend brought in the stripped frame, which we had a pro painter buddy of mine redo in a beautiful burgundy. I recreated the decal designs from the old, cracking originals, then had the wonderful folks at VeloCals manufacture the finished product. The bike was built with Campagnolo Athena triple gruppo. Additional photos of the finished bicycle can be seen here and read the story of this project starting here.

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This custom build for a client replicates the professional specs the French Cofidis pro team used on their Wilier-Triestina Escape bicycles in 2006. Featured are many lightweight carbon components, such as Campagnolo Record shifters and derailleurs, an FSA K-Force carbon crankset, and a fantastic set of Mavic Cosmic Carbone wheels. I was rewarded not only with the happiness of my client but also by a feature during an episode of the "Global Cycling Network Tech Show". The bike received a "Super Nice" bell ring in the "Bike Vault" segment. You can see additional pictures of the finished bicycle here and read the story of this build starting here.

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I purchased this 1992 Pinarello Asolo frameset with the paint already stripped. Unfortunately, I failed badly in an attempt at a funky metallic paint job, but I then turned to my talented friend, airbrush artist Bruce Tatem for help. The Italian tre colore fade he created looks wonderful, and I touched it off with a set of VeloCals. I equipped the bike with mostly Campagnolo Chorus and a set of the company's Mexico 68 wheels. The cockpit is Cinelli, including a sweet pantografia stem. Read more about the project here.

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