Virginal white...

The previous bike builds learned that a new old stock 27.2 carbon seatpost is a rarity. Let alone Colnago branded. And yet, suddenly it was there. Slightly aerodynamically shaped even... On Ebay in Belgium. Not in the original box, but brand new with manual and still covered with the protective adhesive foil. And to top it all off:  In White.. White ? Yes of course. Perfectly matching with red and black. But a white seatpost asked for a white stem. So: https://velossimo.hu/. where I found the stem for Tecnos 2. Fortunately, they still had two 12cm pieces available in white. I did the same trick as with the Master using the Deda Spada adapter.  And a white stem meant white bar tape.  Which worked out quite well. With the Selle Italia black marked bar tape as a bonus. Which by the way has great quality end covering adhesive straps, a bit elastic and sticking perfectly tight. So, all on the white tour suddenly. Thanks to the seatpost.. 

All I had to look for now was a saddle...

No braking news..

Two generations..

The choice of brakes was easy.  Design is a noble art and the Campagnolo Monoplanar is a true example.  A kind of phenomenon that rarely appears. Simple and effective mechanics shaped in modest and timeless beauty.  A lever with leverage. But of course,  design and Italy are synonyms.. Not easy to find in NOS these days, but I was so lucky to finally come across a new pair on the web in Northern Ireland. A Chorus set in the original box. I had to replace the brake pads for modern Carbon pad holders and could use the originals on Tecnos 1 with the alu rimmed carbon FFWD's.  A great exchange and use for these solid pads with the characteristic positioning wings. The new holders suitable to contain the carbon compatible FFWD SwissStop pads were not that easy to find, but I finally succeeded with a set of the 55 mm Trivio 453C, although the brake pads are about 2mm longer and protruding a bit. Mario's second last set of NOS 10 speed Ergopower levers are in Chorus as well, be it in Carbon and from a later generation, but at least a fit in group classification, just as with the Master..

NOS... !!

Positioning wings..

Centaur..

Although not in Chorus or Record as most ot

her
parts, and just like with the Master, I was already very happy to find a 2 x 10 speed NOS Campa full carbon crank in the first place. And this time the last one available at Mario's.  But Centaur is made with the same construction techniques as its pricier flagship cousins and simply performs equally. So a multi-directional carbon fiber core with uni-directional weave, bonded to a Power-Torque chromoly axle, oversized with a splined interface on the non-drive side which is very easy to mount. Splendid engineering with great looks. 

Rounding up easily..

As with Tecnos 2 and the Master, I had a clear idea about the wheels: Carbon and new..  But as Shimano & SRAM are dominant over Campagnolo these days and the availability of rim braked wheels is obviously in decline, this basically leaves only one real choice: The Magnificent FFWD Tyro. The subdued matt black would make a great fit with the white and red. So again the best choice in my opinion, but with a 20% Black Friday discount this time, surely a nice coincidence.. And I had great experiences with the Tyro's on the Master meanwhile.  Due to its 29 mm width, a robust and still very smooth wheel greatly performing, clearly noticeable when rounding curves and bends and on bumpy roads.   And just 5 bar pressure is already enough to have a great balance between comfort, grip and rolling resistance;  inside the 28mm austere all black Continental Grand Prix 5000 that is. A hardly surprising choice either, but I simply see no reason to switch to anything else considering the great quality and having had no flat tyre for over more than 4 years now. So nothing new here..

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.