P!N20 wrote:Very nice, Keith. I'm amazed you sold the bike all those years ago and managed to purchase it again. Did you know the owner or did it just pop up for sale?
Nice touch with the black stem.
You mentioned chrome underneath the original paint. Did you have to remove that or is the chrome still there? Did you consider re-doing the chrome chainstay?
Thank you for the kind words.
It was sold at the time owing to a young family, changing work situation, nagging injury, all that stuff. It sat around and wasn't getting used like it should and it was too nice a machine to leave gathering dust. I sold it to a work colleague who used it well, and who I recently bumped into coincidentally in the street after not having seen him for many years. We had both moved overseas to different countries at one point, meeting him in the street was a miracle, and his still having the bike after all this time even more so. I had to persuade him to sell and I suspect he was a little concerned about the state of it at that time.
He definitely used it and enjoyed it and the bike bore a suitable patina as a result. Excellent, and exactly the reason I sold it - these are bikes to be ridden and enjoyed.
The chrome was in very poor condition and is now all gone. The frame was sandblasted to remove the rust and chrome and these days I hear that chrome is considered a means for a bike to rust from the inside out. Luckily the rust was superficial although there were some small holes in the tubes I am told. They were brazed up, I didn't want to know too much about it... (fingers in ears - lalalalala). Chrome was considered but the additional time, effort and cost especially were not deemed to be worth the effort.
In researching the bike, originally it seems after painting the driveside chain stay and rear stay only might be chrome, or both sides and the fork, or maybe just the fork. Being Italian and hand made, no two were the same I've gathered. So I deleted the chrome.
Anyone who restores an old bike has a plan in mind when they do so. Sometimes its a faithful vintage resto, other times a more practical approach is warranted. I wanted to ride this bike again and retain the spirit of the Record heritage. Hence, it had to be as Italian as possible and with a period correct silhouette. Campagnolo Potenza drivetrain in polished alloy is a pain to keep looking on point, but worth the effort. A Record drivetrain was considered, but I wanted to retain the alloy appearance of the drivetrain so it had to be Potenza. Compact and 11-32 to permit a fat bloke to go up big hills. I have other bikes with Shimano drivetrains (di2 and mechanical) and while I'd like to think I'm agnostic in this respect, there is a lot to like about the way the Potenza gruppo goes about its business.
TB14 rims and record hubs have the correct vintage look from afar, and are a fast, comfortable and surefooted combination. Vittoria Corsa tires look the part but I'm not convinced they are strong enough for backroads. I used to race on Corsa tubs which is why I got them - and I'm a bit over that part of the nostalgia trip owing to regular flats on the new tires. Pirelli make a strong all road tire and I'll give them a shot next time round.
The turbo seat is still available new, a very nice shiny nuovo record seat post finished the build. I retained the original handle bars and stem which carry enough patina to remind one of its past and of course the handle bar tape for a Record must be white. The cables are Campagnolo and also white.
So a combination of old and new, as much shiny Campagnolo componentry in the drivetrain as possible, just as it used to be in essence. I have been asked if I had considered getting it polished further and panto'd. Yes I did and I passed on that. There is sufficient bling, I'm happy with the result and enjoy riding it. Did I mention I built it to ride a lot... ??