[brooklyn]

I have attached some pictures of my Colnago that I have been riding as a fixie. I want to build it back up to a geared bike. I wanted to get some opinions on what would be a good start. I have been searching around and campy parts are hard to find and also expensive. I thought about shimano but something about that doesn't seem right.

The top tube in fine. Its just the way the pad was sitting on the frame.

 

[plodderslusk]

To spread or not to spread

The rear spacing is probably 126mm, if it is 130 go as modern as you can afford. If it is 126 my advice would be go for used but nice old Record stuff from the beginning of the eighties. If it is 130 or you spread it then go for most fun for the money, 9 speed Dura Ace can be had for not very much money and for most of us noncompetitors it will do VERY nicely. If the purists smirk, well let them, some day you can afford that Master X-light with all NOS C-Record but until then a Colnago with Shimano is a sweet ride.

 

[bsdc]

I have attached some pictures of my Colnago that I have been riding as a fixie. I want to build it back up to a geared bike. I wanted to get some opinions on what would be a good start. I have been searching around and campy parts are hard to find and also expensive. I thought about shimano but something about that doesn't seem right.

The top tube in fine. Its just the way the pad was sitting on the frame.

If it were me, I'd deck it out with silver Centaur for that not-too-expensive, neo-retro, Campy look. Beautiful bike.

 

[merckxman]

Brooks Swallow?

Is that a Swallow? How is it comfort wise? Any break -in required, etc....????

 

[fbagatelleblack]

If it were me, I'd deck it out with silver Centaur for that not-too-expensive, neo-retro, Campy look. Beautiful bike.

Or find an old NR rear derailleur and a record crank for that classic look, then build up the rest with whatever you can find inexpensively. I'm sure you could find a nice Wolber or Weinmann wheelset with Normady hubs that would fit in nicely with the rest of the build. Cheap old handlebars are a dime a dozen. You'd probably want to find some old Campy DT shifters as well. Sneak in a newish Shimano front derailleur - they just work better (let the flames commence). You've already got a good saddle for the project!

My 2 Cents,

FBB

 

[fbagatelleblack]

Or find an old NR rear derailleur and a record crank for that classic look...

BTW: If the Record crank is too pricey, you could look for an old Gipeme, Ofmega or Zeus. All would be acceptable in terms of period. The Zeus crank, if you could find it, would add a bit of uniqueness to the build. I'm not sure that it would be a bolt-on addition to the bottom bracket. You should do some research first. It might end up costing more than a Campy crank.

- FBB

 

[Friction_Shifter]

if you have a 2-4 month time frame

you can deck it out with all campy from 1980-1992 for reasonable on ebay. You will end up with various stuff but thats part of the fun. For parts that campy doesn't make you can get other Italian stuff. I would try to keep it as much Italian as possible. A lot of times good deals can be found on stuff that ends in the middle of the night or on weekends.

 

[Nrvus]

Is that a Swallow? How is it comfort wise? Any break -in required, etc....????

Its a chopped b17. It is comfortable but there is a break in period that i am going through. As you can see I had to tilt the saddle up a lot so i don't slide foward. I probably have to do some adjustments but i am happy with it.

As for the bike, I have been searching ebay for late night and weekend deals. I still have the wheels that came with the bike. They are a set of five speed nuovo hubs laced to tubulars. I was thinking of going with ergo brifters but i picked up some nice campy friction shifters(not Colnago Stamped like the original ones that I had but lost). There have been some nice Dura Ace parts on ebay butt I think it would be best to spec the bike with Campy parts.