Peaceful shifting...AT LAST!

   I had originally built my Vitus 922 with a complete set of Mavic components, which were hard to find and are becoming rarer and more expensive all the time. As I rode the bicycle more often, I found there were some changes and compromises to be made in order to achieve a better fit and improve the machine’s overall performance.

   The first change was obvious immediately, as I wanted a compact crankset to provide more “climbability”. I had installed modern FSA cranks for the short term, until I could find something more era-appropriate, which came in the form of a Sugino RT set.

   During this swap, I was happy to learn that I could adjust the cage length on Mavic 801 derailleur by sliding the pivot bolt within a slot in the cage plates (see yellow circled area in photo below). By lengthening the cage, I could increase the chain wrap capacity – in other words, take up the extra slack in the chain that occurs when changing between the compact crankset’s 50- and 34-tooth rings.

   I didn’t like the curve of the Mavic handlebars, as I couldn’t find a comfortable position for the brake levers in order to be able to ride from the hoods, yet have the proper reach to brake when in the drops. Here I went a little outside of the box, but because you can only see a bit of the handlebars with tape applied, I decided to cut a little weight and install some Kestrel carbon bars. The product choice was actually a bit old-school, as they were a pristine set from the early 2000s.  

   The major change to the Vitus’ setup was to come with the shifting. I had originally installed a set of Mavic 820 downtube shifters (photo below), but after a decade of the ease and safety of keeping my hands on the bars when changing gears, I decided to change things up – and my preference would be Campagnolo, of course.

   The first issue would be changing the Mavic 801 derailleur, which made me sad, because I loved the industrial look of that component. The 801 had a drop parallelogram design, which required a shorter amount of cable pull to shift cogs than modern brake/shift levers provide. I purchased a Mavic 845 derailleur of the more modern, slant parallelogram variety which more closely follows the profile of the cogs when changing gears. I thought that I was well on my way to fixing the situation.

   The next problem came from the set of Mavic Cosmos wheels, which I loved, but the set unfortunately had a Shimano freehub. This was no problem with the downtube friction shifters, as they would work with any brand of cassette, but Campagnolo and Shimano have different cog and spacing widths, so any change involving indexed shifting was going to be sketchy.

   After some research, I found that the Shimano 7-speed cassettes had similar shifting distances to the Campagnolo 8-speed, and theoretically an extra spacer and cog could be inserted to match up. It ended up being very close, but the shifting was noisy and occasionally slipped in the middle cogs. I substituted a set of Campagnolo wheels and the situation was a little better but not perfect.

   I took a trip to visit my pals at Bikesport for some brainstorming, and it was suggested that the culprit may be the cable pull compatibility. I recalled reading somewhere that the Mavic 845 rear derailleur would work with 8-speed systems, but I couldn’t remember that it specifically mentioned Campagnolo.

   Sure enough, after checking with some old Mavic technical manuals someone had posted online, only Dura-Ace indexed systems were named as compatible. I slipped the shift cable out of the rear derailleur and housing then took the righthand Dura-Ace lever that had been set aside for the Bottecchia 989 to conduct a shifting experiment. I inserted the cable into the shifter and housing then, without having to actually install the lever on the bars, went through the cogs without any problems.

   I was a bit disappointed to have to remove the more stylish Campagnolo shifters, but I was happy to be able to keep my Mavic wheels and, more importantly, the derailleurs. If the Dura-Ace shifters would not have worked, I would have had to consider changing to a complete Campagnolo group. It wouldn’t have been tragic, but I really wanted to maintain the overall “French-ness” of the bicycle.

   There hasn’t been a lot of mention of the Bottecchia 989 build since I bought the frame back in September, but that is mostly because it simply involved collecting parts...and I simply had a hard time finding reasonable prices for everything. The fact of the matter is, as time is going on vintage parts in good condition are getting harder to find, and the cost is reflecting that. It doesn’t help that eBay now has PA sales tax added on. An additional 6-8% is a big hit to my budget when buying $300 frameset and component groups!

   The Bottecchia is being listed at a number that is higher than I would normally prefer, but it is a pro team bike from the ‘90s – a rare find in such condition. I hope, with the appropriate top-end parts installed, it draws in some potential buyers.

   Just to provide a little update on the Masi Nuova Strada project, I have nearly all of the C-Record group ordered, and I’ve installed a few things as they’ve come in. I even threw a few desperate lowball bids at some delta brakes, but nothing stuck.

   I really want to keep the budget within reason, so my plan is now to go with the “Cobalto” brakes Campagnolo substituted when the first-generation deltas were found to be less-than-perfect mechanically. The Cobalto brakes are essentially Super Record with blue script and a blue jewel on the caliper pivot bolt. The color will match up nicely with the frame, and, more importantly, the alternative brakes will cost about 1/3 of the deltas!

   Collection of the needed parts for my Eddy Merckx Hitachi team bicycle is going well, with the expected difficulty being the search for a set of Delta brakes at a reasonable price. My goal is to have the bike ready for the Cycle Tech Turkey Trek in a few weeks.

   All readers are invited to this social ride (relaxed pace) that will start at the Schuylkill River Trail’s Betzwood Park Trailhead, near King of Prussia. We’ll ride into Philadelphia and back, around a 44-mile round trip.