[statsman]

My riding goals are recreational, with my daughter. It would be fun to do a t-shirt ride with her. There will be no criteriums. There will be no more descents where I put one hand on the stem, my chin on that hand, my rear in the air with the other hand behind my back. There will be tales told to make it sound like I was better than I was 😄

 

[velodog]

My riding goals are recreational, with my daughter. It would be fun to do a t-shirt ride with her. There will be no criteriums. There will be no more descents where I put one hand on the stem, my chin on that hand, my rear in the air with the other hand behind my back. There will be tales told to make it sound like I was better than I was 😄

Ride your bike with her and live its history with her, and with any luck the bike will become hers, and she will continue to ride it with you and enjoy your memories, long after you have, as my Mother puts it, gone to the great Beyond.

 

[xxl]

I didn't say restoration, I said up and running, and yes it's completely doable. That $700 will rebuild the wheels replace consumables(bar tape, brake pads, cables, brake hoods, tires & tubes, probably chain)clean and lube everything and possibly replace the seat, if the OP does the work hisownself. Maybe a few bucks more than seven but not a grand. Those 6 speed cassettes wore better than what we're used to these days, so should be fine.

A restoration would be well north of a grand and could result in a bike that wouldn't be as fun to ride out of fear of dinging it up.

^All this.

 

[xxl]

I paid $1,100 for it, new. The most expensive racing bikes of the time (Columbus SLX, C-Record) cost $1,500. Early composite frames could go $2k. Still, friends thought I was paying a lot for a bike. My thinking was- it’s a lot if I ride it hundreds of miles per year, but not so much if I rode it thousands of miles per year, which I did.

I appreciate all the suggestions. Back in the day, I did my own mechanical work, and I saved the tools, but it has been a while. On this job, I’m leaning to doing a lot of it myself, to save money and to get it right. I don't have great bunches of time, so it will take a while.

I am now planning on cleaning the frame more than refinishing (will redo decals), replacing the brake hood and pads, looking for deals on drivetrain parts, and paying what it costs to get the wheels right.

If your tools skillz aren't as madd as bitd, youtube and the Park Tools website are your friends. Best of luck, and be sure to post pics; I'm thinking that frame will look a lot better once it's been cleaned and polished.

 

[xxl]

I know I will get a ton of criticism, but if you want to start riding again, and if it was me, I’d make this a restoration project and take my time, wasting money along the way while I actually ride a new/newer bike with indexed shifting and 11sp drivetrain. You don’t have the same legs you had when you were 20. A 50/34 11sp will be welcomed. I think it’s a wonderful endeavor to bring back a beauty of long ago. But it’s from long ago. If riding is your goal over wrenching, I’d make my plan around actually riding. Have you tried indexed shifting? I mean down tube shifting sucks. It’s probably the most important improvement in cycling in modernity. 2X 11sp is pretty nice as well.

I’m ready for the dog pile from RBR members who are from, like the 1960s who praise the down tube shifting bike. From a nostalgic perspective, from a rehab perspective, I get it. But if your goal is to ride, why wouldn’t you use a bike that makes that goal easier? As beautiful as this frame is, it’s a dinosaur with little functional value. It’s an amazing restoration project. But, as Velodog points out, if you do a true restoration do you want to do real serious miles on it? I wouldn’t.

Restoring is a great goal. Riding is a great goal. I just don’t think the two goals agree.


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I think we're all actually in agreement, and dancing around the real solution: Purchase a new bike to ride while fixing up the old one.

 

[stan01]

I've had the exact discussion before with a friend that I used to race & train with. Sentiment is a great thing but it biases your memory of things past with rose colored glasses. I wasn't able to convince my friend to get something new at the time. I understand sentimental value has its place & I love classic fully restored bikes. But it all depends on what you intend to do with it. My friend wanted to get back into shape with it & also as a daily commuter. Sure it looks beautiful when restored but is it practical? In the end he did a full resto with new chrome, paint, decals & cold set rear triangle for 8 spd. It ended up costing quite a bit, took way too long to get completed & ultimately he ended up selling it.

The problem with classic racing bikes is that they were designed around what was socially accepted norms of that time. Super skinny tires that were pumped up to over 120 psi, tight block racing clusters of 12-19 or 12-21 with a chainset of 52/42. This was at a time when we were in the best shape of our lives. I've no interest in pushing that type of gearing anymore. I was finally able to convince him to get something new & he was blown away by how different & much better everything is in terms of ergonomics, functionality & practicality.

For just casual riding, the time, money & effort to just get that Pinarello up & running is still a considerable investment. And what does that get you? Its still not very practical & not the easiest to use. Save your efforts for later when you do have the time & energy to get it fully restored as your N+1. At least do yourself the favor of going to a bike shop & test out what is available these days to see what the differences are.

 

[No Time Toulouse]

I know I will get a ton of criticism, but if you want to start riding again, and if it was me, I’d make this a restoration project and take my time, wasting money along the way while I actually ride a new/newer bike with indexed shifting and 11sp drivetrain. You don’t have the same legs you had when you were 20. A 50/34 11sp will be welcomed. I think it’s a wonderful endeavor to bring back a beauty of long ago.

Let me second that idea. My 1978 Trek 710 was only my 'secondary' road bike, but I figured that I'd ride it on the beautiful days, and ride my Cannondale on the other days. Then I bought my Specialized Awol, figuring it would be good crappy-weather days and singletrack riding (it has 50mm tires and Velo Orange fenders). But, the allure of disc brakes and Brifters was too strong, and I end up doing 90% of my riding on the Awol.

But, the Trek is still there, and still in great shape. It's still a reminder of my 'second wind' when I got back into riding in my mid-30's, and for a few years was able to keep up with the younger crowd. Of course, that's all in the past now, but on those beautiful summer days when I take it out, I still get the occasional 50+ guy who says "nice bike"!

 

[skolnikbill]

I get what you’re saying about a new bike, but…I’m 58. I did things on this bike that I will never, can never do again. That’s what I’m trying to tie into.

And, there’s this-

I have a friend who restored his dead father’s DeLorean. He told me, “Yes, my new Honda Civic is faster, quicker, handles better, gets a better mileage and is more reliable. Yet, when I fill up the tank of the Civic, people don’t come up and ask to take their picture with, like they do with the DeLorean.”

Oh boohoo, your 58. I'm 68 and 7400 miles on my bikes this season. You are only as strong as your weakest synapse...get a new bike and ride (fly) like an Eagle.

 

[GKSki]

Shouldn't the cables have a housing where they go under the bottom of the crank?
If you have the $, and a new bike is available, I would just do that and ride. That bike is nice, but it's a project I wouldn't have time for. Unless you go through ever thing and fix it right, every ride is going to have an 'issue'.

Never a need for the housing under the BB. I haven't seen a Pinarello yet that isn't routed bare cable that way.

 

[SantaCruz]

Late to the party, but ......
If @statsman has not gone and bought a new bike ....I salute you.

Now is the worst time to be buying a new bike.

As others stated: clean, lube, brake pads, cables, tires. Ride

If you buy another bike, a similar vintage DeRosa Pro rides a bit nicer, as an all day racer. IMHO, from personal experience.

 

[happybill68]

I have a 1985 guercotti that’s my cruising remember the past bike. Here is how I set it up.

First I stripped the frame .

Then I bought the nicest in my budget 50 c/m complete bike I could find on eBay. This bike became the donor bike for wheels, brakes, shifters, der’s, and stem.

I went with a thread less adaptor stem so I could run some 46mm wide bars.

Once everything installed it just needed new cables and chain.

It’s all shimano 105/600 ultegra mix.

Rides nice and relaxed. Weighs in around 24lbs. 60cm steel with steel fork.


Hope this helps bill


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[TonyTTT]

I bought this new in 1986, and rode the hell out of it for the next several years (raced a few Cat 4 races to…not great results). I did my own maintenance, but then…I got married, focused on work and added about 50 pounds. At that weight, when I did find time to ride, I felt the Pinarello was not a good choice, that my weight was not good for it (wheels especially).

I’m 58, and lost a lot of weight. My 11 year old daughter likes to ride, and we’re talking about a few t-shirt rides. I’d like to get the Pinarello (neglected in storage for 25 years) up and running. Not a renovation for display, but to ride (hundreds of miles per year, not thousands, like before).
I’d like to not update to modern components. I want to keep the cleat/toe clip pedals, and all the Super Record components. That said- the cover over one brake lever is cracked from age- am I looking at a NOS Campy lever or can I just get the cover? (I need to replace the brake pads, right?)
How do the chain ring teeth look? Need to be replaced?
I used a Suntour 13/23 freewheel, because I wanted the lifetime of steel use, but now I’m wondering about a SR freewheel (because I won’t put as many miles on). Thoughts?
I need to probably just have the Mavic wheels respoked and tried by somebody who knows what they’re doing.
The frame- the paint isn’t that bad- I should probably clean it and polish the chrome to see what it looks like? I definitely need new decals. Should I have a pro put them on?
I live in Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Foet Worth. Any tips on service sources?
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What a nice old bike! I can’t imagine it would cost that much to get this up and running if you do the work yourself. If it’s a rider, get some replacement hoods from Soma (somafab.com), they’re only $18 for a pair. Brake and derailleur cables and housing should be less than $50. Be sure to regrease everything! I’d just get some automotive finish restorer and wax for the paint. Bar tape will be less than $40. The wheels and tires are the expensive part. I would not recommend getting a Super Record freewheel because they’re rare, expensive if you can find one, and made of aluminum alloy and were intended as “special event” equipment. A nice set of prebuilt 700c clincher wheels with more modern cassette style hubs are going to cost around $400 to $600 but would give you better service than trying to rebuild the old tubular wheels you have.

 

[mackgoo]

Clean it, lube it, put air in the tires and ride it. You'll likely never find a SR freewheel with the gearing and "price" you'll want

 

[PBL450]

Beyond sentiment I just don’t get it. I just looked at Marketplace and my local Craig’s List. I found a CAAD 10 in my size with Ultegra for LESS than getting this bike serviceable. Not a rehab, just rideable. And the CAAD is 10 miles from me. $500. I can go check it out in person. It looks clean in pics. I get that there is a certain attachment to old stuff here, even adamant defense of annoying 40 year old tech, but that doesn’t make it somehow sensible to spend $800 bringing a nice bike back from the dead when you can spend less to get a bike that delivers modern conveniences and performance improvements. I’m a sentimental guy. Rehabbing that bike looks like a labor of love, and one I’d happily take on. But I’d be riding my other bike while I do it. And I’d be riding a 16/17lb bike instead of a 25lb bike.


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