Vintage Basso RestoMod......
emaren
Posts: 934 Member
I currently own six bicycles, 2 Mountain (26er 30spd, 29er rigid single speed), a Triathlon Bike (Kestrel) with almost 12K miles on the ODO, a shopping bike a steel framed single-speed and now this one.
I have spent many months looking for the 'perfect' frame - ideally a 70's or 80's steel frame, preferable Reynolds 531 or columbus and preferably a 59/60/61.
This one came up on craigslist a while ago and sold instantly, luckily for me the buyer bought it for the Campy BB that he wanted for his project, so he advertised it and I bought it fairly fast.
This was as advertised
As you can see, it is beautiful and quite nicely worn.....
The plan has always been 'restomod' - there is little point looking for vintage parts because at best I am going to spend a fortune on worn out things. I also want to keep the patina because, well, it is lovely...
Also I wanted to ensure that I could build it quickly and get to a position of actually being able to ride it, then improve it, so some of the current components are, at best, transient.
This is the current state......
The fork is a rather nice Carbon Fiber piece that I picked up on sale a year ago, it just happened to be exactly the right offset and length, so the geometry is exactly as it should be. Headset is a 1" Ritchey Logic one, that also was in my big box of spares.
Wheels are Forte 'Titan', they are very light, inexpensive and seem to ride OK - I've been using a set on my singlespeed for some time and not had an issue. I really want some deep V carbon wheels, but not just yet...
Brakes are currently SRAM Apex, operated by a spare set of Cane Creek TT levers, attached to bull-bars.
Seat is a cheap Origin8 item on a 'pace' allow post. I have a CF post on order and also a Selle Italia, so again, this is a stop-gap.
The drivetrain is currently temporary - only the BB is final - this is a Shimano item with Italian (70mm) fitment. Gear changes will be handled by old-school down-tube (indexed) shifters.
Still to arrive are Shimano 105 Brakes, front and rear derailleurs and rear cartridge. Also an SRAM compact crankset (50/34) is on back-order.
I very much hoped to have it ridable this weekend for my Sunday group ride, but maybe this is optimistic.
I have spent many months looking for the 'perfect' frame - ideally a 70's or 80's steel frame, preferable Reynolds 531 or columbus and preferably a 59/60/61.
This one came up on craigslist a while ago and sold instantly, luckily for me the buyer bought it for the Campy BB that he wanted for his project, so he advertised it and I bought it fairly fast.
This was as advertised
As you can see, it is beautiful and quite nicely worn.....
The plan has always been 'restomod' - there is little point looking for vintage parts because at best I am going to spend a fortune on worn out things. I also want to keep the patina because, well, it is lovely...
Also I wanted to ensure that I could build it quickly and get to a position of actually being able to ride it, then improve it, so some of the current components are, at best, transient.
This is the current state......
The fork is a rather nice Carbon Fiber piece that I picked up on sale a year ago, it just happened to be exactly the right offset and length, so the geometry is exactly as it should be. Headset is a 1" Ritchey Logic one, that also was in my big box of spares.
Wheels are Forte 'Titan', they are very light, inexpensive and seem to ride OK - I've been using a set on my singlespeed for some time and not had an issue. I really want some deep V carbon wheels, but not just yet...
Brakes are currently SRAM Apex, operated by a spare set of Cane Creek TT levers, attached to bull-bars.
Seat is a cheap Origin8 item on a 'pace' allow post. I have a CF post on order and also a Selle Italia, so again, this is a stop-gap.
The drivetrain is currently temporary - only the BB is final - this is a Shimano item with Italian (70mm) fitment. Gear changes will be handled by old-school down-tube (indexed) shifters.
Still to arrive are Shimano 105 Brakes, front and rear derailleurs and rear cartridge. Also an SRAM compact crankset (50/34) is on back-order.
I very much hoped to have it ridable this weekend for my Sunday group ride, but maybe this is optimistic.
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Replies
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It looks surprisingly modern with those wheels.0
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It looks surprisingly modern with those wheels.
I think that the geometry is fairly 'modern' and the carbon front forks certainly help.
I made slight progress on it today. As the cassette and crankset is currently in transit, I threw on a spare Mountain cassette, a nice new Chain and connected everything up and rode it around for a while.
The gearing is absurdly low, it is only once you get to the lower third of the cassette that it makes even slight sense. But it feels very good. This was the objective, figure things out a touch.
The biggest thing that I figured was that it is a long cockpit - this is a good thing. I may need to buy a shorter stem than the current 90mm that is there - maybe I will ride for a while though.
nothing broke, nothing fell off and now it is just a case of waiting for the correct gearing
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I think I have seen that frame somewhere before. Have you posted it on any other forums? Maybe bikeforums.com? If not someone has the exact same frame. Looks great. Would like to see it when you have it finished like you want.0
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I found a similar one on a forum, it is not the same.
This one is really early and as such was probably very high end when it was first sold.
I am awaiting a BB at the moment, then build #1 will be finish.
I decided to switch to my trusty Race Face Cadence crankset as it is light, took and cool looking 0 -
The BB arrived and I bashed it all together and rode it a couple of miles around the block
At this point everything works enough to ride it.
Spec:
1980 Basso Frame (Columbus SL tubing)
Carbon Forks
Ritchey Logic headset.
Forte Wheels (temp / cheap) tires/tubes.
Ultegra BB and Cassette (9speed)
105 brakes and FD (may be temp may upgrade to Ultegra)
Shimano POS RD (definitely temp, want Ultegra)
RaceFace Cadence crankset
Wellgo SPD Pedals
Alloy bullhorns (unknown make)
Origin8 seat (temp)
Sunrace down-tube indexed levers (cheap but nice to use)
Pace alloy Seatpost.
Cane Creek TT brake levers
It is so light I do not believe the scale. My usually accurate scale put it under 15lbs.
I have a pair of Ultegra hubs that I am going to build into new wheels once I decide on the rims and spokes and I have a 105 RD on the shelf that I may swap in for the current one.
Also I have a set of rear dropout adjusters on their way.
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Nice! :bigsmile:0
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+2 Nice!
Wow the under 15 lbs is amazing.0
