Campagnolo Gold

photo's courtesy Greg @ Cyclomondo.

Words cant to these photo's justice!

Inspiration

After some discussion with a fellow Colnago lover across the ditch I was introduced to his private collection of Colnago's and all thinks Campagnolo.

Amongst his stable of beauty's I came across this "Master" a NOS Colnago Master dressed in Campagnolo C Record, almost the same as "My Master" from an earlier posting. As you can see this is an amazing example of 1980's steel craftsmanship.

How hot is this black Stallone!!! The Colnago Delta's just finish this bike off a treat, Colnago Saddle, toe straps and engraved 3TTT bars & Stem this bike is 100% Italian from top to bottom!

For those with an eye for detail you will notice the hubs are C Record Sheriff Star high flange road hubs, extremely rare to find these days for track hubs let alone the road version, needle in a hay stack comes to mind.




And it comes as no surprise given their beauty and style, I have come across a front road Sheriff hub but the search continues for the rear road model. The driven train on this bad boy is also Campagnolo, an alloy Campagnolo 7 spd cassette, extremely hard to find and twice as expensive!


The detail in the paint scheme is just unreal, how many bikes do you ever see these days with so much detail and passion put into them, I mean hands on craftsmanship, not just some computer geek play with a CAD program 24/7 in Taiwan to produce the next wonder bike I mean hand painted chromed lugged steel bliss!!!







The only view that other bikes should see off a Colnago, the ass end of it as it rides away from the peleton, as the decal says 10 x world champion, and that was back in 1988, add at least 3 more by Oscar and I'm sure there will be more to come.........

Until then lets just remember the days when steel was real!!!



All photos courtesy of Greg @ Cyclomondo

Almost retro

I know....I know, this rig hardly looks retro and is at least 15 yrs younger than anything else I've posted to date but its retro in terms of BT's these days, especially with the aussies about to saddle up on the next generation BT in Beijing.

This bad boy has carried me to many a victory at dirty ol Denton Park in Christchurch and many hours of fun in sunny Invercargill on the new boards of the deep south, and in the photo below at the Oceania Games in Melbourne,Australia in 2006.

Sold earlier this year as I have since retired from racing due to business commitments I still love this bike even though it weighted a ton, the lines are so smooth and fast, its not surprising that BT track bikes have been the benchmark(homes.co.nz) for so long now.

Blog List ------------------->

For those that have the time and the $$$ to visit the sites listed to the Right its Happy Days!

There are some gorgeous parts and frames for sale on some of these sites, mouth watering stuff, some of the other sites are just to window shop and appreciate the craftsmanship of some very clever people out there (yes mum that does include you)!

Anyway go forward and surf, you wont be disappointed, just make sure you clear the history on your computers so the wife doesnt know you just spent the family trust fund on vintage bike porn!

Pinarello Montello

Purchased today a Pinarello Montello, Campagnolo Super Record groupset and Mavic GP4 rims.

It has clearly been resprayed by the previous owner however it is also clearly a Montello from the engraved lugs and the internal rear brake cable guide.

The Campy SR engraved set post is a real treat as well, still in surprisingly great condition and will only need a hand polish to make it shine like new again.

This bike has been looked after pretty dam well from what i can tell, the chrome work has no rust what so ever and the engraving seems to be pretty sweet as well.

The only thing that might be hard to restore back to original condition is the head badge, this is itself in great nick but it has been drilled out and now trying to pot rivet it back on might be tricky

I really cant wait to get to work on this bike, I have been do some research on the internet and some of the Montello's out there are very sweet looking bikes. The example below is currently for sale on eBay and is a very very nice example, one that I hope to replicate with my one.

I believe my frame is the same or very similar model but i have yet to research the serial number on the BB shell, if anyone out there knows of a good website that has that sort of info on it please let me know.




Also if anyone has or can help find a SR chain ring like this one I would be very VERY grateful, its a beautiful addition to an already extremely HOT retro ride.

I just love the amount of detailing these older retro steel bikes have in them, I mean show me a bike now days that has anything as cool as this stem !!!! Its just all massed produced in Taiwan by kids on 50c per ann, not right!


As for the engraved lugs on the BB shell and then to my surprise on the braze on derailleur hanger as well, I mean come on, that's just bike porn right there! I cant wait to have the frame painted a beautiful bright candy apple red and then get the engravings paint filled with white get the turtle wax out and spend a couple of days shining this baby up a treat before assembly!!!!

Depending on the yr this frame was built I may build it up with a Campagnolo C-Record groupset with Deltas as per the Team Reynolds bikes from 88-89 before Banesto took over the team. A small unknown rider (later to become known as BIG MIG) won a stage in the 89 Tour on a Team Reynolds Montello!!!

Either way this bike will be one sweet ride and will look very nice next to Eddy in the office, keep watching for further updates as they come to hand, cheers and keep living the dream!

Xmas comes early!

Dont start something you cant finish Glenn :)

Colnago Master 1988

This is where it all started, approx 3 yrs ago I was talking with a mate about a box of 2 bikes he had bid on on trademe, no photo's no questions answered he bid on it blind for a stupid amount of money (stuff all I suspect) anyway 2mths later a box arrives and he opens it up to find this....

...a 1988 Colnago Master full C-Record group set with Deltas and Omega wheel set....only problem is...wrong frame size, mate put it on eBay you will make truck loads out of it, no Glenn i want you to buy it....and so a monster was born, one trip to eBay lead to another and another then to google to find more treats for my new family member.....and now well you have seen the blog and if you know anything about retro steel and Campagnolo you know it don't come cheap!!!


So I started to collect everything i needed to rebuild this beauty to NOS standard, I even got Mystery to strip the bike down to the frame (he almost rang to say he couldn't do it as it still had all the original Campagnolo grease in the headset and bottom bracket) i wish he had, i would have said stop, how I am in too minds what to do with her, the paint needs work on the left hand side as she was mistreated by the original owner, we all know you cant paint one side and not the other so its off to the paint shop for a new dress and some new decals clear coat and a rebuild by the master....Mystery Morrison.

I still think this is "the" nicest bike I have ever ridden, smooth, comfortable, and solid, heavy as hell but what a ride!!!

I know she will look amazing once finished but I am almost scared to send her to the paint shop for fear of a low grade finish, i guess its like sending your children to school on there first day, glad to see them go but you miss em all the same... I say I guess cos I haven't had to do it yet!


So I have a box of gold (C-Record grouppo) setting under the bed and the frame in the office against the wall waiting and wondering when is the right time to do this, always something else comes up, the NOS Merckx, the Rossin, the Hiatchi Merckx, now the Montello, all of which are the same sort of projects, strip down rebuild/paint, still none of them are "the first" and we all know you never forget your first :)

I know that one day soon I will just have to do it and get it done, its a crime to have such a Master piece lying around in parts and not getting the full pampering its deserves but at the same time you cant be too careful can you...its a bad world out there........

MOLTENI MAGIC

COOL!

Freshly Roasted

@

Coffee Culture Sumner

http://www.coffeeculture.co.nz/
(stole this photo off my mum's blog site fair and square, cheers Ma :) )

http://adriennerewiimagines.blogspot.com/

The Holy Grail

If anyone out there can help me with finding one of these baby's let me know i would be very grateful, the holy grail of late 80's retro!

New NOS/NIB toys

After wondering were all my other NOS/NIB treats were I had a dig around in the shed to find some more treats to share with you all. Below are some more 80's treats just waiting for the right ride, or maybe just to be put back in the box for another 20yrs and then admired again for their lasting, timeless beauty.

More cool NOSbits and bobs to follow in coming days, camera just threw its toys, i just threw camera!!!

Campagnolo Delta Brakes

Ever since i started riding in 1988 I always wanted a set of these beauties, until my coach and sponsor, Brain Lambert of Lambert Cycles in Masterton told me how much they cost, like all good bike shop owners they came at a price hahaha. Being all of 14 and at school I didn't even dream of asking the old man to cough up for something that would slow me down!!! eating pies from the bakery he managed would do that at a fraction of the price.

Some 20yrs later and I have had 3 sets and still hold onto the best set of all, Campagnolo C-Record Delta's attached to my Master piece, 1988 Colnago Master full C-Record groupset.

The first set I managed to acquire off trademe for a few hundred bucks a couple yrs back NOS Croce d Aune, levers cables the works the only thing missing was the box, DAM IT!!! If the box had of come with them i would never have sold them (for a tidy profit I might add), i no i no i should never have sold them but I was` racing at the time and needed the cash to buy my BT track bike, hey they are almost retro now, my one weighed as much as the Colnago so it almost counts.

Anyway the Colnago had the next set as mentioned above and then when i found another set of CdA's on eBay for a bargain I just had to have them for the Rossin Ghibli in the post below. The Delta's on the Rossin came from the South of France, the Record on the Colnago are from Wellington NZ, god knows where the NOS CdA's came from but they ended up in the States which is where the Rossin is heading.

They may not have ever been the best stopping brakes and they were always considered pretty heavy but mate aren't they just the best looking bicycle component ever made!!!! I will NEVER sell the Colnago so the Record Deltas are here to stay.

I live in hope that one day sometime in a far off world that Campagnolo will re release the C-Record groupset for an anniversary, the house will be mortgaged in a second!!!

WANTED!!! REWARD OFFERED!!

A must have in any Retro restorers collection is some NOS/NIB Campagnolo parts, any component and any aera below are some of my latest additions to the collection. Try not to dribble on the key board.........

Super Record NIB Hubset












Athena NIB Bottom Bracket





NIB C-Record Pedal Set (pedals,clips & straps)

NIB C-Record Track Headset

Team Hitachi Merckx

Just arrived today, team hitachi Merckx, 88/89 team hitachi was originally a Mavic sponsored team but this bike will be built up with Dura Ace STI 8spd as its the earliest groupset I have that isnt Campagnolo.

Brought off trademe recently (off one of the best traders I've ever dealt with by the way) it is due to be built up and ridden a few times before making its way onto ebay for a new home.

As it is not really in a collectable state and given the incorrect groupset it simply cannot be placed in the collection stable.

I was watching the 89 Tour on dvd the other day and watching these frames on the roads of France was pretty cool, I think Mr Merckx was sponsoring at least 3 teams that yr, Hitachi, Kelme, Winiemen (spelling?) oh and how could I forget, the most wanted of all Eddy Merckx frames.....Team 7 eleven!!!

even though this example is not in such a great shape you still have to admire the classic lines and details of the Merckx brand, I only wish they had of keep the same design on there frames these days, today's Merckx frames are a mere shadow of their former selves.

Once i have built her up and taken her out for a roll I'll post some more photo's of the complete ride and how it goes. If anyone out there is interested in buying this bike leave a comment with your email and I'll get back to you. cheers