Project "Not Quite Eroica..."
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sometimes, it's all about the little details...
Sometimes, it's all about the little details #cinelli #project1989 #classic by The Big Yin, on Flickr
classic Anodised Metal Capped Handlebar end plugs. Cinelli Milano, to match the Giro d'Italia bars, naturally...
Can't believe I've managed to keep away from B&W all this way through...
Finishing Touches #cinelli #project1989 #classic #raleigh #reynolds531c #reynolds531 #steelisreal by The Big Yin, on Flickr
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Another update...
Managed to get lucky via fleabay... £35 for a pair of wheels, hardly used by the look of them, Mavic MA3 rims (nice and "low profile" - slight "shoulder" rather than just a flat "top" to the rim like their predecessors the MA2 - but certainly much less deep than the Fulcrum R5's or most modern rims) - 32h, and a pair of (very non-period) Tiagra hubs. Best I can say about them is that they're silver, small flange, and after a little service, the bearings run nice and smooth. With the Clement's fitted, they certainly look the part though - I'll try and get some pictures at some point to show this.
Oh - and I managed to actually get out and ride the bike on Sunday. A whole 10 miles or more.
And what did I learn from this experience...
1) Non STI brake levers are REALLY narrow across the hoods.
2) Downtube shifting takes ages, and I found myself pre-planning when I needed to shift gears.
3) when you forget 2) and press on the side of the brake lever, it doesn't work, and you feel a twatt.
4) my position on the bike has definitely changed quite a bit from what I used to be happy with - surprisingly, it's not the "more comfort oriented" changes you'd expect in near 30 years - I actually ride with the saddle higher and set back more, bars lower and brake hoods higher on the bars. I think that the bar height is mainly because these days I ride "on the tops" more, whereas BITD I'd spend lots of time on the drops - so if the bars were higher overall, getting into the drops would have been easier, especially to keep there for a hour at a time...
5) and here's the big problem... The pedals. Or more particularly, the toe-clips and straps. The Pedals are lovely, jewel like things, as are the original clips and straps. Problem is, they're actually too small... I've remembered why I had a pristine set of the clips and straps... because they didn't fit my feet. BITD I got hold of some "normal" clips and made myself some clips to suit my size 10.5's - why? because, even then, the Campag custom ones were about £45. Still are actually - but anything other than small or medium are rarer than chicken lips. I tried riding with the medium's as fitted, but they were actually getting painful by the end of the 10 miles or so - even after a rest stop they were still hurting. Worse still - the shoes I needed to wear for those pedals won't take the orthotics I need to stop my hip playing up. And, even with less than 10 miles ridden, I'm still in pain from the hip this morning. So - I'll find some cheap "large" toeclips on fleabay, and get to work with the vice, hammer, and dremel... Probably pick up some longer, leather, toeclip straps as well - BUT - those measures will be kept purely for "special events" - where clipless pedals are outlawed. For normal riding, I'm sticking a pair of Shimano SPD Road pedals on there, and I'll ride in my normal comfortable Sidi's...
(there is actually a precedent here, as to be honest, by 1989 I had already gone over to the SPD-6401 "look compatible" shimano clipless pedals - the whole "Victory/Triumph Campag combo was kit i'd had since 1985 or so... though, IIRC the reason I went over to clipless was more about not getting cold-toes in winter!)
I always said that this project was about getting the bike to be a "proper working bike" not a concours museum piece... and, putting SPD's on it is going to make it much more likely that I'll ride it more, and for longer. Even if they just don't really look as pretty
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You know I wondered about sticking SPDs on mine, I think if I'm to ride it more then the odd occasion then I might be tempted.0
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and a final "beauty shot" to round things off...
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