Omne trium perfectum..

Ultimate treasure...

The quests for Art Décor frames & NOS bike parts during the last years had turned out to be highly exciting. It's a kind of treasure hunting which is surely as much fun as the bike tinkering itself and can even be somewhat addictive. It also provides insight into pricing and availability of certain parts, which often proves to be unavailability instead. So when running into the crank and drivetrain parts at Mario, https://defietsenmaker.nl , upon building up the Master, I noticed he had a remaining last two pieces of the carbon Campagnolo Centaur crank, as well as his last two mixed carbon-steel Chorus derailleur sets. I bought one of each for the Master, but the remaining last set was in fact never quite forgotten. And despite already owning three Colnago's in Art Decor, I actually never gave up searching for a possible next catch, as I meanwhile seem to have turned into a true admirer and collector. Setting high standards in the choice of available frames & parts however, had made it an expensive hobby. And naturally, at a certain point there’s a limit to everything. So I decided that the unexpected financial windfall which suddenly came around would allow me to do the trick just one last time. The journey to the final catch took quite some time & efforts until at last I found my ultimate treasure.

Most of its lifetime spent at the loft...

An almost new 1997 Tecnos 2000 frame size 57 in bright and shiny red / white. It was offered on Kleinanzeigen, a German version of Ebay, on which I had placed a search order which was responded to by email one evening. The paint scheme looked marvelous and the frame was promised to be in excellent condition. I was highly excited as this seemed a rare chance: Belonging to the last generation of the Tecnos, it has rear dropouts for one fixed axle position only, placed in a wide rear fork setting to easily allow even an eleven speed cassette. A clear advantage. The additional pictures asked for, indeed confirmed my suspicion that this was in fact an almost flawless specimen. I quickly took my chance. Luckily the price was fixed easily and we planned my visit: To....the outskirts of Frankfurt. Yes. Quite a drive. But worth it, as would soon appear. Upon my visit, the color setting looked even more beautiful and all I could discover additionally, were a few tiny paint chips on the white section of the fork. The bike had been too low in size for the seller, who had inherited it from his father a long time ago, and was completely stripped leaving only the Shimano Dura Ace bottom bracket and headset. The frame turned out to have spent most of its lifetime at the loft until, after more then 20 years, it was decided to be sold at last. I turned out to be the first buying candidate and very lucky indeed. The condition of the frame really exceeded my wildest expectations and I returned to home in a truly euphoric state. The thorough inspection upon my return revealed how close to new the frame in fact was. Even the chrome on the rear fork below the chain was without a single scratch. Amazing.. And just like the yellow of the Master, this red & white would be a great fit in color with carbon wheels and parts of which the Campa crank and derailleurs were still available at Mario as I had kept on noticing.

3 is perfect  (According to the Romans already....)

So instead of considering a possible new direction in the parts outfit,  two Campagnolo build-ups further now, I still stayed loyal to the all Italian approach. And although the frame allowed an 11 speed group, I decided to stick to the peerless design of the Campa 10 speed generation of 1998-2008.  

Having high regard for Shimano, I'm just too great a Campa fan. Already since my teenage years, admiring the beautifully designed groupsets in the bike shop nearby. The Campa parts from that era were produced in large numbers and are still well available on the web and never lost their appeal. Although my admiration for the bikes of those days was surely intense, I meanwhile consider the Colnago Art Decor of the mid nineties the ultimate achievement in bike beauty. So this third and last build-up exercise would be another joyful experience and a bit of a capstone I was really looking forward to.....

 

A happy ending...

 
All things must come to an end and so did this magnificent tinkering tour. I'm again delighted with the result and the bike meanwhile spent quiet some time on the road, arousing curiosity and compliments. I sent some pics to the previous owner who was happy to see his bike started a new live..  It's indeed satisfying to see old glory being restored with a modern look. Neo Retro is just cool....

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.