USAZorro

I'm somewhere in the middle. I do need the tires to match, and I do like my bicycles to have a "coherent" look to them. (probably not going to see silver bars on a black stem - except for on the Bob Jackson that came that way, or see cable colors that clash with the bar tape and saddle colors - for example).

That said, I won't hesitate to have modern wheels and a cassette attached to a cottered crank, if that suits what I want the bike to be.

J.Higgins 

I live in the rabbit hole. A restored bike doesn't leave my shop until everything matches. It would just be terribly gauche to put on a black stem or bars with a silver crankset and/or rims. Mismatching colors and components just won't do.

crandress 

iab

I traveled 9000 miles and spent a lot of money on a set of period-correct hubs.

You tell me if I'm ocd.

mstateglfr 

Black components all around or silver components all around. Matching components that are in pairs.
Besides that, I typically dont operate in the realm of period correctness.
All my c&v frames are build up with a mix of old, post-modern, and modern.
I want wider bars than what was spec'd originally. I want hoods more comfortable than what was available originally. Etc etc.



If/when I find a nice quality and condition road frame from 1981 that fits, I'll build it up with period correct components(except bars) as I would like a bike as old as me with a look that is original.

The Golden Boy 

These days I'm not exactly OCD about 'catalog parts,' or even 'roughly period correct.'

Things HAVE to match as I want things to match. That match may have something to do with an original catalog part, a part that matches a particular part or manufacturer, or a time period or just whatever I deem "cool."

Right now my Trek 620 has nearly a whole build of parts for an exceptionally glorious build... but I'm short of a few things, and don't have the discretionary cash to score what I want for this bike. There's seriously a completely awesome badass $1000+ wheel set sitting at the shop waiting for me for the past several months. I really should figure out what I really want and start putting some dough away.

Building up my Trek 720, I had to have a Dura Ace FD on that bike, but I couldn't get a 7803 triple FD to work. I put on a Mountech and then a Cyclone MII- they worked fine. They both looked really cool, especially the Cyclone. But it wasn't a Dura Ace. Eventually found a DA double that works perfectly!



IMG_0374 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


IMG_0375 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


IMG_1728 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

Chombi1 

I'm never really done with my bikes, so I'm OCD with them for as long as I own them.....
I kinda give away my "OCD-ness" by the way I pose ALL my bikes for all their pics, if you guys noticed...

sumgy

OCD enough that I don't clamp my bike into the repair stand by the top tube.
I have never really been able to accurately date my Concorde, so I just built it how I liked.

TheLizard

Interesting!

Brakes wouldn't bother me at all. I've just started a restore on a vintage Cannondale, it actually has those brakes and they work fine.

No rear derailleur on it, though, so I'm still hunting for a Suntour X-1 Accushift. I've seen them for $150 on ebay, but I'm not willing to spend that kind of money. Mostly, I want it to function smoothly. The freewheel is fine, so as long as the shifters are good, I'm gonna keep looking for that derailleur, unless I can figure out something that's compatible with the rest.

julius rensch

OCD.....not really, perhaps the greatst tribute to maintaining a "classic" is in keeping it "operational"....like the
old cars in Havana! Julis in Ohio

pakamac

The Shimano Dura Ace AX group was an exception. It included Bars and a beautiful stem. The Araya 821 Aero bike I bought a couple of yrs ago was all original except for bars and seat. I finally found bars, including the custom end caps, on an Australian e bay site, and bought a new Kashimax seat from Japan. I did replace the cables and tires and am now searching for original decals to complete the restoration.

Kabuki12

For me, if it came original, it stays original. As far as changing something , I try to stay period correct. I don't do modern bikes so that's not quite so hard to do. All of my spare parts are from the seventies as are my bikes. My most recent build was a 1972 ItalVega that was upgraded early on in its life , so replacing the Universal brakes with early Campy Record brakes was fine. If I deviate from original components I keep the original equipment in a box with the label stating which bike they came from. I don't know why because I have no intention of selling any of them! Yes, tires and wheels need to match, I am fussy about that. OCD can best describe a fair amount of us as who else needs so many bikes? Joe joesvintageroadbikes.wordpress

Mr. 66

Crap I have to finish my paint so I can OCD build. Here's my Basso Gap wet sanded and the fork rubbed out.

Miele Man

Dura Ace AX had a stem and a handlebar in their groupset. they even had a water bottle cage and water bottle in that groupset.

Cheers

non-fixie 

I'd say "BF C&V regular".

Kidding aside, some bikes deserve that level of attention. And I'm sure you got a nice pizza or two out of those 9,000 miles.

Miele Man

I'm slowly restoring a red Bianchi to the original Suntour Cyclone groupset. All I need to complete it are a Cyclone BB spindle and Cyclone brake calipers. Wheels with Cyclone hubs would be nice buy aren't a necessity due to the high cost of the ones I've seen thus far.



Cheers

non-fixie 

Now, that is one thing that wouldn't necessarily bother me on a low countries bike from that era.

BITD, when MAFAC calipers were widely considered to be the best available (except by the Italians, of course), many racers would combine them with Universal levers (except the French of course), as the MAFAC levers need fairly big hands and the half hoods need to be taped securely to the levers of you want them to stay put.

steelbikeguy

As Mark says, it wasn't common. It was more of a custom touch. As an indication of just how exotic it was, it is found on the two exotic bikes, a Wizard and a Confente, featured in this article in a 1989 issue of Cyclist magazine.





generally, it was considered a bit of a luxury just to get a frame pump painted to match the bike's color.


Steve in Peoria

TheLizard

I'm new to this, restoring my first real vintage bike, so my opinion ain't worth much. As a purist, I've done paint jobs on vintage jeeps, but that's an easy-to-match paint job.

No way I'm going to repaint the frame on this first vintage bike I've decided to try to restore, despite all the scratches missing pieces of decal. Okay, I might try to replace some of the decals.

BUT, the steel fork has some missing paint and a thin layer of rust. I could prep that and repaint it, but it's not going to match that "cosmic black with white web" on the rest of the bike, so I'm just going to buff out the rust, treat it with metal ready and cover the bare spots with por-15. It will be close to the same black, but an obvious touch-up if you look close. But that's fine. Not going to be painting the frame.

How would anybody recognize the model if I do?

iab

Found a fabulous family restaurant on via Gustavo Fara. Didn't speak a word of English. Grilled octopus, risotto Milanese and a perfect Tuscan filet.

SJX426 

Kinda OCD. Well if you ask my wife, definitely, and not just bicycles. I will go to approximate time frame for parts. I don't consider pedals unless it is for display. I don't repaint unless the original is way beyond acceptable with sub paint rust. Preservation is more important than cracked paint with rust. If it is an upper end model, then it is likely to be in better shape to be able to preserve it.

I bought a 1991 Montello that had 7400 series parts. Converted to Campagnolo because it is Italian, damnit! I could put the 7400 stuff on the newly acquired De Rosa but that wont work either. May put it on a Trek, just thought of that but I have already decided to put Superbe Pro on. I digress.

If the parts work, I use them. My 1972 Motobecane Le Champion got into it with a car. All the parts are good so I loaded them on a 1984 Trek 610 where they fit. Worked great!

Need pics:

1983 Trek 610 60 cm (24&quot by Patrick Boulden, on Flickr

non-fixie 

See? Excellent deal, IMO.

To show you're not alone: I'll be driving 3,000k in the next couple of weeks to get me some crostini neri and Lardo di Colonnata. Oh, and maybe some Universal 77 hoods.

tkamd73 

Generally start with the original catalog pics and specs, and go from there. Rims and tires have to match, don’t care about OEM, but usually wheels built with NOS vintage rims and hub sets from the bikes build year, plus or minus a few. Although, recently built up a Raleigh Supercourse with Velocity A23 assymetric rims that I really like, so those will probably be my new, go to wheels, as NOS vintage rims are getting harder to find, unless your looking for tubeless. Tend to replace the seatpost, stem, and bars with Nitto, as I want zero time on those components. CV bike has to look good, so will do touch-ups to a point, if repaint, color of my choosing, unless its a Celeste Bianchi, then factory match. Brakes and transmission have to be spot on, will upgrade to dual pivots, or modify single pivots to operate like duals, so easy to brake from the hoods. Generally stick with the original derailleurs, or find something close, but usually switch to a modern freewheel for smoother shifts. I do enjoy riding CV bikes, but to me, half the fun is the search, restoration, and rebuild experience.
Tim

TriBiker19 

I am not at all. Well, maybe a little. It depends on the bike. My son has requested that once I'm done with my Shogun--whose paint has seen better days and several spills--that I change it from burgundy to electric green. Sure, I said, because he's going to inherit it from me in a few years. (Unless I get my hands on something he wants more, of course.) I plan on upgrading the brakes and shifters and most likely replacing the handlebars.

BUT, the Centurion is another story. The components are decent even though the frame needs to be repainted. So, we'll keep what we can, probably find anything that needs to be replaced. I will be adding another brake because I'm actually going to be riding it in triathlons and I have a tendency to bomb down hills at alarming speeds. The new brake will match the original. The handlebars will be replaced with aero bars. I've already taken it to my auto body place to get the paint colors matched for the repaint. The seat post is toast, but I'm not sure I want that to be aluminum again, with the whole riding-while-dripping-water thing I'm going to be doing.

So, I'll keep what I can and change what I can't. This doesn't mean I might not end up with a couple "donor" bikes in the garage and my husband will park his car outside because the garage is becoming a bike shop...like he has been for the past three months.

iab

That's entirely reasonable.