My other bike is a Ferrari.

For any project, be it car, boat, or bike - the key is starting with a good chasis.

A minimum pre-requisite should be very little to no rust.

When looking for a frame, other issues to consider are:

No dings.

No dents.

No ripples in down tube as these are key indicators the frame has been crashed (usually head on) and while sellers will state 'no structural damage' till they are blue in the face - to some degree, it's has, and you don't want to be descending at 60 kph to find out to what extent.

No flared fork steerer.

No bent dropouts.

No damaged threads, be it fork, braze on, bottom bracket shell.

No bodged seat binder.

No flared head tube.

Unfortunately, when searching for a used frame you are left to discover the issues post purchase when you unwrap it, then faced with the challenges and costs to resolve them.

If the frame has patina, chips and scratches or the paint is just tired, quality paint and cyclomondo reproduction decals will set you back $350 for a single colour respray.

Rechroming will bounce that out $100-400 depending on what and how much needs to be done.

If that said chasis needs no restoration then you are already miles in front.

Made to measure

RS emailed a request for me to build him a bike, mentioning 'fixed' and 'classic' as main drivers for the build.

After collecting as much information as I could about what he wanted aesthetically, what his primary use for it would be, the next step was to find a frame in his size.

After seeing his Colnago X-Light which was a 57cm with a considerable stem, and even more post, I suggested he look at a 58cm minimum. RS also mentioned he was getting numbness from longer rides on the bike, so I suggested he drop his saddle height and also a professional bike fit from First Place Osteo.

After checking in with the good doctor, RS confirmed my suggestion that a 58cm frame would be a better fit.

58cm Eddy Merckx Professional.

The REAL Super Record.

Nothing speaks 80's louder than Super Record Campagnolo.

With such a gorgeous frame as a base, it became apparent that anything less than MINT would look out of place.

I sent RS some inspiration to help him decide which direction to take.

RS was on board with the aesthetic I had in mind - also preferring the non-aero hoops of brake cabling from the era.

He'd seen what I could do with restoring a stem, so the next hard to find object was the milled and pantographed Eddy Merckx brake levers.

When I received the levers, this is what they looked like.

After stripping, going through the various grades of grit for sanding, polishing and painting them, they presented like this.

Cyclomondo came to the rescue again, this time with silcon replica gums hoods which are superior to the original rubber hoods. Having sourced NOS rubber hoods in the past for restorations, even when boxed and out of daylight for 30 years, they are still super delicate and likely to tear even if you look at them the wrong way. The silicon replica hoods are supple, retain their colour and shape longer, are near impossible to tear when installing, and the only downside is they are slightly thinner.

The benefit of keeping the build classic was if RS didn't fall in love with fixed, he was 90% of the way to an equally beautiful strada build.

Cinelli bar and stem - Rolls Saddle

Campagnolo Super Record 170mm PISTA crankset.

Campagnolo Record steel 1" headset

Campagnolo Record Italian bottom bracket

Campagnolo Super Record seat pillar

Campagnolo Cobalto brakes with actual Sapphires replacing the plastic gems.

BREV. FYXOMATOSIS 44t chainring

Izumi Super Tough NJS chain

Phil Wood 18t track cog

Campagnolo <C> Lock ring

Campagnolo Pista chainring bolts

Campagnolo seat binder

Hand built.

Very few people are interested in riding tubulars. This narrows the rim selection significantly if you want a bike that isn't a rolling billboard.

For this reason it's hard to look past Mavic Open PRO CD rims. Light, strong, readily available and once the moden decals come off, you have the period aesthetic.

Polished Campagnolo Record Pista hubs, rebuilt and then handed to Shifterbikes for building. Squeeze on a pair of gum sidewall Veloflex Masters to these hoops to finish.