Heads up..

With retro frames,  there's always the headset choice. A classic 1 "stem mounted inside the fork, or a modern 1,1/8"upon which the fork needs adaptive measures. Personally, I prefer the last option and I was very happy finding a new Nemesis stem in an online bike shop in Germany, which was a perfect fit. But while the fork headtube of Tecnos 2 had enough length for the stem to be simply placed just needing some bushing to make it fit, the master fork unfortunately was too short and needed height adjustment. I didn't have to search very long to find a convenient solution with the Deda Spada stem adapter to be easily placed inside the 22,2 diameter fork shaft adding just enough length to mount the stem to its desired height. As the upper headset bearing cover needs to be locked, spacer rings or bushings are required to solidly pinch the bearing cover below the stem. Here, the Contec Spacer Box was exactly what I needed. With bushing and rings in all possible heights and thicknesses, you simply can't miss. For the space between the stem and bearing cover I simply needed one single 2cm bush below and one 3mm ring on top of the stem.

Back to the nineties..

Ample clearance now..

Upon looking for a NOS carbon Campagnolo parts line from the nineties, it turned out that only 10 speed is still available, be it in already decreasing availability. The space margin for the 10 speed chain running aside the dropout however already had been a concern with Tecnos 2, being a 9 speed from 1994. So I decided that once having found a frame, measuring the rear fork width above the dropouts would be a wise thing to do. While Tecnos 2 had a 132mm clearance near the outside of the smallest gear wheel, this 1993 Master proved to have only a 130mm allowance. On itself, 130mm is a perfect fit for the rear axle, but it's the shape of the support which joins the frame and dropout that is critical. Although dropouts are naturally 100% straight vertical, the connecting supports are bent inward in order to correctly connect to the slanting fork tubes.

So with 2 mm less, I knew that a possible downgrade to 9 speed lay ahead. And although almost negligible, the chain indeed seemed to touch the support. So a 9 speed it would be. As the outer smallest Campa gearwheel cannot be removed due to its closing function, and the inner largest gear is also differently shaped with the toothed section pressed aside to the inward, I had to decide which in between gear would have to be sacrificed. I finally choose for the 19, as I frequently use 13 to 18 and 21 and 23 would be needed for climbing. With 1 gear less, the space between most outer smallest gear and the closing nut ring had to be filled up with Campa spacer rings in different thicknesses, fortunately well available on the web. 

So...with nine-speed back to the nineties..

The saddle settlement..

The right saddle is critical and surely not the easiest part to lay hands on. Findling a NOS saddle that makes a good fit in style & color is a matter of luck. The most logical path to follow for an Italian retro bike is of course to look out for a piece of the well established names San Marco & Selle Italia, which bike branded saddles are still well available, be it used mostly. NOS is seldom found and only against very, very high prizes. Among them, Colnago is well presented, mostly by San Marco in the Hoskar line. I didn't succeed in finding a qualifying NOS specimen this time. But came close however.. The saddle I finally managed to obtain was from Miami USA via Ebay. It came from a brand new Colnago and was dismounted almost immediately because the owner found it not comfortable enough as he was so honest to disclose. But I immediately took the chance. Simply because the fit in color and style was too perfect.. The carrying supports just had some mounting scratches and the stiffness of the seat was only minor.. Long live Ebay..!

Braking even..

The brake set is always a fine example of basic mechanics and really an eyecatcher on a retro bike. And when it comes to design, to my taste,  Campagnolo is really outstanding. Even though the Monoplanar is still my favorite, the Campa Record BR-04 RE is equally well shaped and superior in braking output due to its dual pivot construction. So I decided the Master would have them. Although the availability on the web is not too bad, upon the search I more frequently ran into the BR02-RED, which is more widespread and looks similar at first sight. Looking closer however, the rear brake caliper turns out to be single pivoted and lighter in construction. But I decided equal calipers would be better balanced in both look and performance and so the better choice. At the time of my search, NOS was not available and I finally ended up with a set from Germany in very good shape and fairly priced.  A 1994 1st Generation set still with Campagnolo as single marking, as "Record" only shows up after 1995.  The shiny blank calipers are a fine match with the chrome of the front & rear fork and although the complete original set with handles of course has the characteristic round levers, I had to stick with the current 10 speed Carbon Ergopower set. Record as well, so surely a fine fit.

Reinventing the wheel...

Having been fortunate in finding the excellent Forza Vardars in NOS for Tecnos 2 on last quest, this time it was different. No such luck now. After searching for months, brand new or second hand, mostly in minor condition, was now the reality. Various visits to sellers on the Dutch Marketplace revealed either too much breakwear on the rims, scratches, or were just misfits in style. One obviously neat set at first sight even turned out to have a tear at the side of the rim.  And on all occasions pricing was still considerable.. So new it would be. As basically, wheels are the bike. The soul at least.. The whizz, the rotation, the contact with the earth. The bikewheel is a thing of beauty. Primary mechanics generating motion and speed still within the human scale. The primary bike part, of which the Master in its awesome condition would deserve a high quality outfit.

Considering the very good experience with the proud Dutch FFWD brand, I choose the TYRO. A 45mm high & 29mm wide rimmed piece of modern technique and robust design. And one of the last available Campa fitting rim brake carbon wheelsets on the market in the present disc brake era. With the wider rim and conventional round spokes, straight pull, even suitable for gravel bikes. A straightforward and allround heavy duty carbon wheel. Not the lightest set around, but a perfect fit for my old steel frame. I collected them at the factory in Zwolle, and met Idsart, the owner of the place, who invited me on a tour around the production line & workshop. A nice experience.. So all in all perfect choice, and match, and a magnificent ride. A great asset for a bike lover.

Super Mario..

A true treasure..

Being the standard nowadays, black parts were still not that common in the nineties. NOS from that era is presently still available, but not in great abundance and very expensive. With Tecnos 2, I was lucky to find the Veloce groupset almost immediately, meaning I never really had to search deep for the drivetrain and shifters etc., and so I expected things would not be that easy. But thanks to one person in particular, also this time the quest was remarkably short. That person is Mr. Mario Verhoeven, a real Bike Doctor. Mario is running the webshop: https://defietsenmaker.nl/ An absolute treasure cove for NOS retro bike parts. In The Netherlands even. Lucky me again. Mario turned out to have available in his shop: A complete Campa Centaur carbon crankset (Power Torque), plus front & rear derailleurs Campa Chorus mixed steel / carbon, all from the nineties & all NOS. The  front derailleur even with a cam, instead of the ealier version with clamp. The Chorus seatpost I took back from Tecnos 1 and the also brand new Record shifters came from the Dutch Marketplace, not in the retail box as originating from a bulk assembly line packing. The Ergopower cableset, Power Torque cups, Record chain and Veloce cassette are of course still well available new. So this time Campa only for all the mechanics. 

The Famous Master..

Looking back, the idea of owning a Colnago Master must have lingered for a longer time. Having seen quite a few on my quest for the Tecnos and despite my opinion that the Tecnos is still superior in both build and appearance, the Master kept on crossing my mind. Being a fanatic cyclist and with an increasing love for bike tinkering and admiration of the fantastic combination of steel and Art Deco Style, I soon decided that looking out for the famous Master was the right thing to do. The winter months would be the perfect time for the search, with long evenings and ample time behind the screen. Ample time, indeed, to find out that a Master in the preferred type and style is not easy to find. Despite its overall presence on the web in general, an available version meeting the desired fit in both color and correct size is quite hard to come by. The AD10 (Art Decor Blue/White) coloring had my preference combined with a full chrome fork. A commonly available outfit upon release in the mid nineties, but nowadays the availability is surprisingly limited and specimens in good condition are simply unaffordable. On one occasion an X Light 57 seemed within reach however. In the southern part of France on Ebay.  But with negotiations still going on, the seller suddenly decided he wanted to keep the bike after all. Although this particular version had the right color and size, it was equipped with a blue-white fork instead of the desired full chrome, but the condition was so very good that I was still disappointed to have missed it, especially considering the amount of time spent on searching. But in the end, the chrome fork came. I had already decided that Colnago #3 would also have carbon wheels together with other accents in black, so what color would be a better match with black and white than.... yellow!  As a very neat version suddenly showed up on the Dutch Marketplace. A 1993 Master Olympic AD14 in size 57 in apparrent neat condition. Not so perfect as my Tecnos from Belgium it would turn out, but still very good. It took a 200 km drive to the northeast to discover that it had two paint chips around the bracket area on the left side, some paint missing on the edge of the seat tube next to the seat post and one paint chip on the dropout on the drive side. The lemon yellow, enriched with pink and blue decorations, looked marvelous. The chrome fork was perfect. The groupset was Shimano Ultegra 1st generation & the wheels were a rarely seen set of Cane Creeks. A fair deal.. I was the proud owner of a Colnago Master.

With a similar idea about the outfit, plus the experience of Tecnos two, and having the special tools already in place, I had a good starting point. There would again be as many parts possible in Campa New Old Stock, but with one difference: I wanted parts in black, making a great fit with the yellow & white of the frame, besides two exceptions: the new Campa Record headset which I already found, and the brake set. I decided not to search for the Monoplanars this time, but the equally well shaped Campa BR-04 RE in blank metal to fit with the chrome fork. For the rest of the parts, besides the black, I had no idea or further preference yet. But that was the nice part of it. As searching on the web while not knowing what you will run into is highly exciting. And very useful and informative.      The quest was ready to start...