New Wheels

Front Wheel: Campagnolo Record Hub, Mavic Rims
Rear Wheel: Taurus wheel

Carlton Corsa Strada 1970 – Updated to 2008

Almost Finished – Tektro 800A Brakes, Shimano Freewheel & Continental Tyres

Tektro 800A long reach brakes

Brooks Leather Bar Tape, Campagnolo Record Brake Levers

Campagnolo Record Hubs 126mm And Weinmann Rims 27 1/4″

Cinelli Bars and Stem

Crankset Campagnolo Record Strada

Stem, bars and brakes

A couple of Saturdays ago I managed to get all the parts and tools together to fit the Cinelli stem to the forks, then put the lovely Cinelli handlebars through and finally to attach the brake levers. For the first time the frame is starting to look like a real bike.

I’ve now purchased some wheels from ebay and these are sitting behind my desk at work. I need to somehow get them home, maybe a long walk tomorrow night if I leave my bike at home.

I now need to sort out the crank set as the Campagnolo Pista cranks that I bought are 151 BCD and I need 144BCD. Once that’s sorted I’ll get a sprocket sorted for the rear hub, a chain and hopefully we’ll have the makings of a vehicle.

Forks, Headset & Brakes

 

Having bought a headset (the bit that holds the forks to the frame and handlebars) on eBay I read up on how to fit it. However, the headset was pretty different from the bike’s original. So despite wanting to do everything myself I decided to take the plunge and ask Cavendish Cycles to fit it for me. For a reasonable £20 they did a pretty good job of fitting the headset and forks. Last Saturday I cycled down to the shop to pick the frame and forks up. It’s now actually starting to look like a real bike. 

This morning I fitted the brakes, which was a doddle. Next up will be the stem and handlebars (I’ve bought the bars, but I’m still waiting to find the right stem). 

I’ve also got to either buy a new crankset or a new chainring. The crankset I have is an old school 151 BCD (apparently abandoned in the 1970s) and the chainring is 141 BCD (the current standard). 

 

Bottom Bracket

So last night I took the opportunity, whilst waiting for a Tesco delivery (they said between 7 and 9 so I was home for 7 – they turned up at ten-to 9), to install my Campagnolo Record bottom bracket. I’d already purchased a tub of grease and the special Campagnolo Record bottom bracket tool so we were ready to go.

The whole thing was a little trickier than I’d expected, and before you ask, yes I did have the correct size bottom bracket for the bike – all measured and verified by my local shop / Sheldon Brown website.

As I was tightening the brackets it was getting pretty stiff and to make sure that I could undo them if needed I did. When I removed the BB I found that the very top of the threading on the cartridge had been worn off creating a steel thread. Fortunately this hadn’t damaged the cartridge by more than a fraction of a mm.

However, it still took approximately an hour or so to tighten the cartridge sufficiently.

I’ve briefly tested the BB with my cranks and it turns beautifully and smoothly.