Despite not having written anything on the
blog for the past few weeks during the holidays, I haven’t exactly been
inactive down in my shop. A new friend dropped by with a Bianchi frameset he
had just gotten back from a painter. He also had most of the Campagnolo parts
for assembly, so I simply had to add a few details to otherwise complete the
build.
Todd was reluctant to cover up the beautiful
celeste color with a decal set, but he seemed receptive to the idea of
eventually adding a Bianchi head tube badge.
I also managed to collect the last of the
parts needed to build up my Look KG 231 – now it seems I’ll just have to wait
for some proper riding weather, as winter has finally settled in on us in the
northeast!
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Specs:
BRAKE/SHIFT LEVERS- Campagnolo Athena, DERAILLEURS (both)- Campagnolo Athena, HEADSET- Campagnolo Chorus, CRANKSET- FSA
Carbon Pro (172.5mm, 50-34t); BOTTOM
BRACKET- FSA; BRAKES- Mavic SSC; STEM- 3t 2002 Evol (110mm); HANDLEBARS- Kestrel
carbon (42cm); SADDLE- Prologo Scratch; WHEELSET-
Mavic Ksyrium Elite with Schwalbe Lugano tires
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After months of letting the frame hang in my
shop, I finally (re)stripped the paint from my Pinarello Asolo. Quite honestly,
I had become a bit discouraged with that project when my attempt at a yellow
cromovelato finish was a complete bust. The yellow Dupli-Color Metalcast
overcoat that I applied to the company’s Instant Chrome ended up looking more
like the “Metallic Pea” tone of the Griswold’s Wagon Queen Family Truckster –
NOT what I was going for!
I took the bare Asolo over to my friend
Bruce, and he is going to apply an Italian tricolor fade, which will look
something like this:
A really nice 2004 Look KG 451 had been
available on eBay for quite some time, maybe because the listing didn’t include
many photos and the bike had a couple mismatched parts. Since I had been on a
bit of a Look “kick” lately, and the bike was at a really good price, I decided
to pick it up. The bike needs Shimano Dura-Ace derailleurs (currently has
Ultegra) to go with the rest of the component group, and the bars could
probably use some new tape. I might want to “flatten down” that riser stem, but
otherwise the bicycle is good-to-go!
Finally, I took a drive up to New York City
to make a sale, as well as pick up a bike. I also squeezed in a ride between
the transactions – not any new territory included on the route, just a loop
from the George Washington Bridge down to Central Park to do a few laps and
then returning through the Bronx and back across to Manhattan via the High
Bridge. I was glad that I had chosen to take my trail bike, as the wider tires
helped smooth out some of the streets that have already seen their share of
winter weather abuse.
The bicycle I acquired is a 1990/91 Basso
Loto (Italian for “lotus”), which is in remarkable condition with its original
Shimano 600 (Ultegra) group. The bike belonged to a gentleman who works near
Central Park and stored the bike in his office so that he could take the
occasional spin. Perhaps because of the long commute home to Long Island, he no
longer finds the time to ride the Basso regularly – and really, it is too nice
of a bicycle to just sit around!
He was mistakenly under the impression the
bike was a 55cm, when it is actually a 59. That's a bit out of my normal range of
size when I consider purchases, but the bike came at the right price! I was
originally considering a Campagnolo swap of components (which could still be an
option if an interested party came forward with that preference), but I think I
will just give it some new bar tape, replace the modern saddle with something
more era-appropriate and attempt to move the bike as-is.
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