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Medici for a Modicum - 65cm 1985-87 Pro-Strada

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Medici for a Modicum - 65cm 1985-87 Pro-Strada

Old 02-26-21, 02:30 AM
  #76  
RiddleOfSteel
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Originally Posted by 1 Lugnut
Hmm...don't know anything about computer (CAD) design programs, but here's a shot of my Mondia that looks to be in the vein of your design . . . ?

60 cm / 531 Spl Lightweight tubing / ITM bar & stem / Edco Comp Hdset / Cyclone Derails / Dura Ace 53/39 / Amer Classic hubs / FIR Rims / Regina X-tra 12x26 freewheel / 19.5 lbs
"As I live and breathe..."

...one of the very chrome combinations I was considering! Remarkable similarity in forks as well, including painting the cutout (which I have been heavily considering). Thank you for posting your Mondia! I think this confirms that, for me, having less chrome 'modernizes' the aesthetic composition to late-'80s levels so as to allow a black stem and seat post to be used without fear (to me) of visual clashing. That and I better have some really dark grey anodizing or gloss black on my rims. A lot of black on the upper portion of the bike/composition (really, pretty much the stem and seat post) visually "demands" (to me) the lower portion of the bike (aka the wheels) have that reciprocating and visually 'anchoring' black. Whether that be with all black tires, or darker rims, there are options.

I did some reworking (saddle angle and color deepening) to get a better idea of things.


Then I removed the pinstriping and made the tires have black walls. You can see how this anchors the composition and balances the black elements up top. If I was to remove the chrome, the composition would be even more of a two-tone affair. Do I want to go for that? I don't know. I have tan wall tires and I want to use them. I may have to run back to the "more silver" look.
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Old 02-26-21, 02:38 AM
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Originally Posted by bironi
I like that red option.
I rode a 70's Medici for several years.
Great riding bike.
Enjoy!
I couldn’t agree more! They are fantastic bikes and way under valued imho. Mine (in previous post) is worth three times what I paid for it , to me. It is light and agile yet great for longer rides.
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Old 02-26-21, 04:37 AM
  #78  
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Originally Posted by repechage
Thanks for the CAD commentary.

I am interestingly stuck in the dark ages.
I have a CAD package at work that has an upgrade path, big big dollars now.

I admit I am spoiled by how easy it is to use and how well acquainted I am with it, I can probably draw faster on screen than I can even layout a paper drawing. Way way back that was my test. Solid modeling is the leader, save for surface development- my history goes way back, GM was the leader at one time in mapping out highlight control.
something they have lost if you look at the New Corvette... all the car companies save Ferrari are out of control surface wise, but I digress.
( if one wants to see a disaster on a new car surface, look at the Mazda CX30... the flanks between the wheel wells ... who bought off on that!)
You are welcome for the CAD commentary!

You are also talking to a Transportation Design major. Art Center College of Design, class of 2010 (summer, in this case). Believe me, they teach us things in school, and then I see the wrong things done in 'industry.' Maddening! I've always been one to work towards clean and elegant shapes, with proportion guiding the way. Proportion covers many sins, as we know, because the "basics" are at least done correctly. Mazda has a great design language, but the CX-30 is a bit of a troubled mix of aesthetics. Yeah, those flanks' surfacing is pretty out there, though making it was likely super easy in CAD. Mazda has applied that flank surfacing much better in the new 3 sedan & hatch, as well as in the concept car that introduced this new generation of form language. The current 6 has looked great from the start, and I considered it a year ago when I was looking at a new-to-me vehicle for the next 10-15 years. There was a structural roof cross brace at the B pillar just behind my head that I would graze (6'5" problems) as well as a power seat motor that turned to gravel in just a few years (baffling). Touring with the 6-speed manual and 19" wheels was the ticket. It unfortunately was quite loud inside--no quieter on the highway than my former Camaro Z28 (road and wind noise here, not exhaust!). That sealed its fate.

I think Volvo has been smashing it out of the park with its design lately. All of those, especially the sedans and wagons, will look fantastic decades from now. GM ruled the roost back in the '60s and '70s, design-wise (likely '50s as well, but apart from the tri-fives I've never investigated further). The second generation Camaro, pre-facelift, are one of my favorites. Chrysler Corp's "fuselage styling" is another hit for me. Those '69 Imperials just looked the business. I love old land yachts. Chrysler's earlier "Forward Look" of the mid-late '50s resulted in gorgeous cars. I'd love to own a 300 from that era. Ferrari has done well lately, though it seems to be more case-by-case. Lamborghinis are more of that. Beauty in the Bonkers. Ferrari's Roma is gorgeous--I even "built" one out, colors and all. The new Corvette is striking, but there are indeed incongruities. It could use a lot less fuss, especially in the back end. A mid-engine road weapon from America for $60k(ish)? That's pretty crazy.

Two years into the 2010+ generation of the Mustang, I did this sketch for fun. Evolutionary step in design. Clean, pure, sleek, confident. Plus the "sitting in snow" and big wheels designer stuff to "lower" the car and drive home the essence of the sketch (so that it would have a chance to be further developed into reality).
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Old 02-26-21, 07:55 AM
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Originally Posted by RiddleOfSteel
"As I live and breathe..."
. Thank you for posting your Mondia!
No problem...you’re welcome! Glad to help w/ your renovating process. I’m amazed what you can do w/ your skills in design with changing items/colors on the Mondia!
it is an ‘82 frame fyi. Bought new in the late 80’s. Actually, a bit too big for me but it’s a great ride. Very nimble w/ quick steering....
I recently thought about selling it but couldn’t bring myself to letting it go. Instead, I made a few changes to it just to give it a new flare.
Maybe, this will throw more ideas your way...?
I would def be dangerous having your CAD skills 😲

Went with campy derailluers / record synchro DT Levers / campy 8-sp cassette / campy rims / record Ti brake (blk) calipers...today

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Old 02-26-21, 11:48 AM
  #80  
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Oh wow, that Mondia really makes my liver quiver! Very nice looking bicycle, in every aspect, IMHO. If you have kept that one that nice nd maintained, so well all this time, kudos sir.

Bill
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Old 02-26-21, 01:20 PM
  #81  
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Originally Posted by 1 Lugnut
No problem...you’re welcome! Glad to help w/ your renovating process. I’m amazed what you can do w/ your skills in design with changing items/colors on the Mondia!
it is an ‘82 frame fyi. Bought new in the late 80’s. Actually, a bit too big for me but it’s a great ride. Very nimble w/ quick steering....
I recently thought about selling it but couldn’t bring myself to letting it go. Instead, I made a few changes to it just to give it a new flare.
Maybe, this will throw more ideas your way...?
I would def be dangerous having your CAD skills 😲

Went with campy derailluers / record synchro DT Levers / campy 8-sp cassette / campy rims / record Ti brake (blk) calipers...today
Oh man, that looks even better! Love the color cohesion. The black brake calipers, bottle cage and pedals really complete the black upper components, with the white brake hoods as color relief/contrast. Now to go back into CAD...and make more components!
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Old 02-26-21, 01:41 PM
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This batch was done very late last night, but 1 Lugnut 's Mondia will have me putting out a few more here. I may add in bottle cages, even. My brakes are currently silver, so I'd have to get some slick, gloss, all-black affairs. Something like Shimano 105s (5500, 5600, or 5700 with 5600 being my preference). The FD and RD will be silver, as will the shift levers. I suppose if I wanted to go partially to the Dark Side, I'd "simplify" the red color and put a carbon SRAM Red crankset on, and then go black brakes, headset (critical compositional bit in this whole thing, isn't it?), stem, bar tape, seatpost and saddle. That will be for later!

I'm going to have to get some graphics on this pretty soon, along with everything else. Apart from that, this composition is still looking good to me. [I also reduced the hub flanges for the front wheel as they looked goofy. It now matches '80s/90s/00s Shimano hubs. Much better!]


Don't know how the black upper components are balanced with the polished rims, but they are.


Traditional silver seat post and stem here with white saddle and bar tape. Looks decent.


A more "typical" silver and black color arrangement. Not inspiring, but not wrong either.


Pretty much the same reaction as above, just with "MA40" rims instead of "MA2" rims (which I have).
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Old 02-26-21, 03:00 PM
  #83  
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6'-5", now the reason for the Big Bike.
ACC- my father taught Trans1 for 17 years, long before your time, just one class per trimester. But there was a long time that Every ACC Trans student had gone through his class, save for a few years that there were two sections. My first boss out of school was a past student of his.
I did not go there. Bunch of reasons, one being I would have been too known.
Did work for a car company, did a lot, but that same boss did not want to be home, so my hours were long too, at some point one divides pay into hours and reassess the $ per hour.
Gosh a long time ago now.
Once a designer, always one, always keep an eye out.
Wellburn should have told the Studio to calm the surfaces down, they Could have done a car to exceed the 488 in style and done it for a 30% of the price... They had a "clean sheet of paper".
Really want to yank the rear fascia and come up with an alternate for starters. Better yet, win the lotto and buy a Murray T50.
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Old 02-26-21, 03:26 PM
  #84  
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Ok, two more, Mondia-inspired. [Edit: Now three..]

New view! Love this one. Black headset and brake calipers. Bar tape, too. Changed brake hoods to white--this matches the saddle really well. Polished silver wheels still look good wit this!


Darn "MA40"s just not helping as much as I'd like here...


Oh, here we go. Now the "MA40"s look right at home, along with everything else. Wait, Riddle, didn't you have a dark grey Davidson Signature with Superbe Pro and dark anodized (TB14) rims and tan wall (Veloflex) tires? Yes. Didn't you sell it? I did. But why dark grey now? Because I can! And maybe because it's also the original color. The black components really make it, though, don't they?
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Old 02-26-21, 04:54 PM
  #85  
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Time for a In Real Life update. We're doing a quill stem conversion here, for the time being. I don't want to scratch up new bars just yet (installing a Soma Highway One type bar into a quill is hard--tight corners!), so I ponied up for a convertor and a $5 stem. It's only 100mm instead of the 110mm like I've been spec'ing to work with my fit parameters, but there were essentially no 110mm stems with 26.0mm clamp diameters that looked anywhere close to decent, or had the requisite -6° to -8° angling (-22° and -17° were the others...). I tried to find a good FD to use, but what I thought was a good used one turned out to be broken after I removed all the caked-up dirt. I'll try again today at a different place, so hopefully I have a FD to work with for a test ride. For now, though, I may just have to rock a 1x system.

So this is where we are. The brake levers I plan on using for another build finally had their replacement hoods come in and I have fitted those. They are non-aero, so this Medici is just going to be a humorous mashup of multiple eras, but I will be able to test ride it, finally, and see how it and I get along. And in the arena of front handlebar/brake lever height, this stem keeps things pretty low, but I should be able to hit the 2.5" saddle-to-brake-hood-notch drop target without changing the quill convertor height. I have spare brake pads, a 10-speed chain, and spare cables and housings. And scraps of bar tape to wrap where needed to simulate a fully operational battle station.
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Old 02-28-21, 10:23 PM
  #86  
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I received my Nitto M151 handlebars a couple of days ago and quickly went to mount them to the stem, and mount brake levers to the bars. The Dia Compe levers are obviously from a different time, but the Nitto bars have a peculiar bend for a compact (in my estimation). In the photos below, it will be evident.

Numbers seem to be a difficult thing for the makers of this stem and for Nitto with regard to these bars. My 100mm stem measures 105mm. The Nitto's claimed 76mm of reach, per their measuring, is 90mm in real life (ramps of bars at or near horizontal, not dropped down like, say, a Cinelli 64/Giro). And here I thought I was going to be way short on my calculated reach (from the saddle) measurements. Turns out the extra 20mm or so delivered a reach number pretty much on point. Go figure.

As you can see, we have a quite pronounced horizontal gesture with the long 60cm top tube combined with the "slammed" quill stem conversion (and stem at a very shallow angle). Add the handlebar orientation in, particularly in real life, and the horizontal gesture is a bit much. Ok, the all-silver top tube, stem, and handlebars do work to exacerbate that.


With the Dia Compe levers not too high (to be operated in the drops), they are still positioned "after the curve" or "after the start of the curve," if only just. This obviously presents ergonomic (aka hand/palm comfort issues), BUT these lovely brake levers (with replacement Dia Compe 202/204 hoods) are destined for another bike! A modern brake lever or STI/Ergo shifter would work well with these bars. Heck, the lack of rearward extension by the ends of these bars, compared to my 620's Nitto Noodles, may be of benefit for my bar-end shifters on that bike. But...that ain't happenin', pretty much ever. The Noodles are great on the 620.
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Old 02-28-21, 11:30 PM
  #87  
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TEST RIDE TIME - FINALLY!

I don't know why this project at only a few weeks seems like it's taken longer. Maybe it's all the wishing or willing of (used) components "that should be available" and aren't, and searching high and low for them. Such is the "norm" of living in a metro area such as Seattle as opposed to well outside the city. Heck, even just 25 miles from the downtown core. Anyway, there's a good bit of mental energy expended in crafting the components list and overall composition, which includes critical cockpit elements, and solving the question of "How do I find a quill stem that doesn't angle down?" And all of this for a bike that I may or may not get along with! I'm tellin' ya, the stakes are monumental! [...in your head, Riddle, in your head...]

So, below, you will see what really looks like a jalopy of a bike. Paint-stripped frameset with tape all over it, borrowed wheels (but not tires!), a modern saddle on a fluted seat post, non-aero brake levers and cable routing mounted to modern handlebars and a quill stem conversion, Paramount bottle cages on a non-Paramount sporting plenty of chrome, and to top it off, uncut cables taped to the frameset. But hey, it's a runner!

A runner with sticky brakes. Or rather, brake lever blade to brake lever body contact/friction. Coupled with the 7402 calipers' modest return spring, and I have a braking situation where I need to "un-brake" the rear after squeezing the lever to stop. Fantastic. Oh well! Sling on the spare 10-speed chain (but cut it down in length), fiddle with the rear derailleur tuning a bit (RD hanger seems slightly tweaked?) and get it shifting, install the 6600 Ultegra front derailleur (after a busted 7700 FD was used to "align" the FD braze-on tab...), tune the whole thing and get this Medici ready for a beat-the-incoming-rain midnight test ride.

Behold, my only operable bike, in all her 22.5 lb glory (pretty darn light, I'll say!). Yes, my Trek is awaiting replacement tires after the front became structurally-compromised, the rear is near worn out, and I couldn't solve it with the replacement used tires I bought off Craigslist (long story). Thanks to...weather(?)...those tires are still in Tennessee right now, having been slated for delivery yesterday. There is now no estimated delivery date...


You can still see the (horizontal) length of the bike along its top line. The black bar tape that I plucked from a bin helps break things up visually, but still, it's there.


Lights mounted for the midnight ride. So....how the heck does it ride, man???

In my download to @ctak last night, "M" is for Medici, but it is also for "mature." It is a bike that felt "right there," meaning it wasn't to one weird or spirited characteristic or another. ctak summarized it as "a gentleman's racer," which is a fantastic description.

The Medici was immediately comfortable. Does having a nicely broken-in Prologo saddle help? Yes. 25mm Vittoria Corsa tires on nice Mavic wheels? Yes. 3" saddle to brake hood drop? Uhhh, not really, but that's easily fixable. This is a road/race bike you can put some miles on and it doesn't beat you up. Strong, stable, serene, yet alert. It's a "corner railer" in that it beautifully goes into one, neither diving into or fluttering/floating wide. Ease and intuition. Definitely not a boring bike. Out of saddle efforts are met with a willing frame that goes about its business without quirk or untoward movement on climbs, with plenty of stabilizing power under bigger/big sprint efforts. That's the long top tube doing the work there (and elsewhere), I believe. I can tell my strength and form are off from what they should be to really take advantage of this frame's potential, but not too far off. I haven't ridden in a week, though it feels like more.

I will say I forgot to reach down for the downtube shifters, going for the bar-ends a few times. I laughed at that.

And for whatever reason, these single pivot 7402 Dura-Ace calipers, with Koolstop pads, on these Open 4 CD rims, stopped incredibly well. From the hoods. I do not know from whence this magical single pivot braking power has come, but it has alighted upon my Dura-Ace calipers and I now have dual pivot caliper stopping power. I'll take it!

So where does this 3,250g Pro-Strada frameset fit among my 3,000g racing luminaries of the past (Impulse, Prologue, 2,875g Land Shark, Peloton, etc) and 3,500g touring luminaries of both past and present (Paramount, Expedition, 620)? Well, the Impulse is still the best at accelerating and climbing, and doing so in the most one-with-man-and-machine manner, but you pay for it over bumps and roots and crappy roads. It feels stronger and sturdier than the Prestige-tubed Prologue and Land Shark. Those two you could feel the lithe and flex--not bikes to be overly aggressive with as it wasn't their character. Compared to touring bikes, it feels most similar to my former '74 Paramount. That, too, had a strong-feeling frame and a long (59.7cm vs. the Medici's 60.0cm) top tube. The out-of-saddle response is better than the Paramount, and I like the steering better as well. I'm liking the heavier nature of the frameset--thicker tubing as an agent of increased strength, but also of calming the bumps and the road chatter. It is pretty darn smooth, and I look forward to figuring it out more. So yeah, it and I were "fast friends" and that counts for a lot. It feels really good to be back on a road/race frame, and as far as I am concerned, it is clear to be painted.

Last edited by RiddleOfSteel; 02-28-21 at 11:37 PM.
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Old 03-01-21, 08:40 AM
  #88  
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Positive ride report.
I would imagine this frame received the heavier tube set.
that Mondia has a excellent forecast on how it could go.
I vote for tan sidewall tires
you are younger but for me, black tires will always be associated with the Schwinn Varsity.
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Old 03-01-21, 02:23 PM
  #89  
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Originally Posted by repechage
Positive ride report.
I would imagine this frame received the heavier tube set.
that Mondia has a excellent forecast on how it could go.
I vote for tan sidewall tires
you are younger but for me, black tires will always be associated with the Schwinn Varsity.
I would concur that this received some thicker tubes (if not in part, in full) simply due to the frameset weight. Likely full SP it seems.

Tan sidewall tires are a go for this. Thankfully I own the ones that are installed on these Open 4 CD rims. Dialing in the color (or the particular red) to make everything work is key for me here, among other things. More on that to follow.
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Old 03-01-21, 06:25 PM
  #90  
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Mazda has a get noticed red, Soul Red Crystal or something like that. Just saw a vehicle that color yesterday.

I won't be using that on my car, but I am going to have to get it repainted, unfortunately, may have to take it down to primer complete. It is white and the paint is sheet peeling- the best way I can describe it.
And its not a GM vehicle. My guess primed on a Friday, color on a Monday.
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Old 03-01-21, 07:00 PM
  #91  
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I'm late to the party. Just throwing in one more combination of a red bike with black bits for consideration.

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Old 03-01-21, 11:13 PM
  #92  
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Originally Posted by repechage
Mazda has a get noticed red, Soul Red Crystal or something like that. Just saw a vehicle that color yesterday.

I won't be using that on my car, but I am going to have to get it repainted, unfortunately, may have to take it down to primer complete. It is white and the paint is sheet peeling- the best way I can describe it.
And its not a GM vehicle. My guess primed on a Friday, color on a Monday.
Soul Red has been on my radar for a bit now. Gorgeous red that they keep making better. Had an older '98 Protege that ran flawlessly for 10 years a while ago--that got me on the Mazda train. Planned on snagging a (preferably) Soul Red 2014+ Mazda 6 GT (with the 6-speed manual), and even got close to doing so, but was let down by the road noise and deteriorating power seat motor (baffling!). Crushing, let me tell you. I've loved those cars since they came out in 2014. Maybe I was a fool and maybe I should have snagged one, taken the door cards off and plastered the inside of the sheet metal with sound-deadening material. Then driven it for a million miles. Alas, an '04+ facelifted LS430 is my beloved four-wheeled conveyance (all black ) and is very quick, very quiet, still efficient, roomy, and proven to run 300k easy (which is my plan). I can always get a manual trans car/truck in the future!
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Old 03-01-21, 11:30 PM
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Originally Posted by gaucho777
I'm late to the party. Just throwing in one more combination of a red bike with black bits for consideration.
Thank you! All great visual data points to consider. Today I rode the Medici for a good 20+ through Seattle's extremely smooth city streets. My long-chainstay'ed Trek 620 wouldn't even like them. The Medici handled them well enough, and we had enough long, smooth-enough stretches to really get out of the saddle and put the power down. Steady (and quickly) as she goes. It was a lot of fun, and my new (20mm higher than pictured) bar height position worked really well. It will be something that a quill stem can deliver, which is good, because as much as I like like a quill conversion, the visual balance/mass of it just doesn't work here. The stem will either be silver or black, 3TTT, ITM, or Modolo--both put the top line/edge of the stem at darn-near-identical to the horizontal top tube, which has been a goal of mine (all 72° and 73° stems angle down, which is no bueno with compact-profile handlebars).

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Old 03-02-21, 05:10 PM
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Porsche's, Guards Red, has long been a favorite on mine, but not wanting to attract any attention to any vehicle I drive, it never will happen. My brother, a retired Sheriff's LT, calls it "Write Me A Ticket Red"

The first bicycle I ever owned was a red, Sears-Roebuck/J.C. Higgins, 24" cruiser., it got stolen by some low-life after 3 great years of learning how to get around the town. Been since 1979 that I owned a red bicycle, maybe its about time.

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Old 03-06-21, 10:08 PM
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ROS: Your red bike mock-ups on this last page are looking similar to that newish red-hot car color from Mazda Car Co...?

Red Soul Crystal Metallic;
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Old 03-07-21, 08:59 PM
  #96  
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Originally Posted by 1 Lugnut
ROS: Your red bike mock-ups on this last page are looking similar to that newish red-hot car color from Mazda Car Co...?

Red Soul Crystal Metallic
I never watched that particular video, but have been aware of Soul Red for a few years (Repechage and I were discussing it a little above), and marked for a 2014+ Mazda 6 that I was hoping to purchase (used) last year before sadly (but with many a good reason) declining/not finding one and getting what I have now. Depending on how I go with the componentry, the red will either have considerable dynamism with silver/polished components, or a more 'straightforward' look (read: smaller, finer flake, more true red) with (gloss) black components. And if all else fails, jet gloss black because gloss black =
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Old 03-07-21, 10:23 PM
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Digital update: Now with decals "applied"! Took a few hours to remake the decals via online images and incorporate them into the model, placing them (in the correct size) where they used to be as I had taken measurements. This, I think, helps considerably. I swear, I'll make derailleurs and shifters next, haha. I need to source brake levers in real life, and haven't found ones yet (or ones at reasonable prices and in reasonable condition).

As to the frame/3D model itself, I changed the seat stay cap to reflect the "spoon" cap on the Medici. Looks a lot better! I swapped fork crowns and readjusted the fork blades' curve. Improvements for sure. Still need to add a FD braze-on (should be simple) and I'll either put in water bottles, or just add the hardware to dress the bosses up.

I've done some good riding with the bike and I enjoy it. Found some SRAM brake levers (first SRAM ever) and will run those to get a better idea of front end comfort as well as putting my hands where they are "supposed" to be (per my measurements, which means slightly more forward of where they were). I'm still using the quill conversion, though I seem to be converging on a traditional quill solution...which reminds me: I made an ITM / 3TTT stem for this model. I've been busy, indeed. Not just making pretty pictures.

Anyway, to the renderings. Firstly, a deepened candy red metallic. How legit do those graphics make this bike look??? Chrome seat stay cap as a love note to the original and now (sadly) corroded cap. It will be painted red. But the dreams and wishes here are free!


Jet black. Classic. Classy. Beautiful.


I did one in the original dark grey metallic. A really nice color (er, shade?). I keep the silver components as they are what I have (well, wheels certainly), so I'm working to have an accurate representation (minus the saddle, which will likely be that Prologo I have on it now. Decisions.....).


These SRAM levers allow my palms to be comfortable when riding as the previous "just get it running" setup didn't. With reach where it needs to be (aka further), that will provide critical data as to it's handling and feel when sprinting or climbing/accelerating up hills. You can also see the visual bulk of the front end quill conversion (and light-grabbing polished pieces) in contrast to the fluted and carved seatpost. It's been bugging me this whole time, but again, this is the testing phase and as soon as I get an idea for the front end, then we move forward.


I've always liked these SRAM levers (gutted shifters, essentially) and thankfully they deliver on the comfort promise like they do visually. A wild idea is to pair it with a newer carbon SRAM Red / Red 22 crankset (53/39T configuration), have Dura-Ace everything else, and basically have a street weapon with an Innicycle headset and black seatpost (if not fully black "upper" bike). Default is pretty and polished silver. It's also noticeably cheaper. We shall see.
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Old 03-07-21, 10:39 PM
  #98  
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Wow. Your digital renderings are amazing. This would probably be the future of bike builds on the internet. Fantastic work, RoS.

I like the red, but black is always good. I might be inclined to go with dark rims, and black stem and post. But that's just me..

Again, nice work.
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Old 03-08-21, 01:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Roger M
Wow. Your digital renderings are amazing. This would probably be the future of bike builds on the internet. Fantastic work, RoS.

I like the red, but black is always good. I might be inclined to go with dark rims, and black stem and post. But that's just me..

Again, nice work.
Thanks! I've thought about that (bike builds on the internet) as I've gone along. Certainly for basic compositioning it would provide quite useful. I think we'll all enjoy organically building as we are human after all, but for more specific things, it can be nice to see different options before committing money to them. Certainly for me!

I have my polished MA2 rims laced to 7400 Dura-Ace hubs ready to go on this build at least, having been saved from rain and road grit death on my 620. If not there, then those wheels will see use on my '79 Trek 510 most likely. That's another polished silver vs dark anodized battle. Going dark anodized over red would look plenty nice, and I've done as much a few times before. Nothing wrong with it. I have a "spare" (ok, two spare) 7400 hubsets (one mismatching, so if you know someone with a 36H rear hub, let me know!) that await their chosen rims, and tracking down MA2s or MA40s in good shape, for reasonable prices, is difficult.

Happy to build up another wheelset (and with dark anodized rims). Also happy to use my fully revamped MA2/7400 wheelset as my continued marquee wheelset on a top-level bike. Below is my former '87 Prologue with the then-TB14 setup. But you can see how well the tan wall tire, silver rim, and compact handlebar profile works on a dark grey or black frameset.
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Old 03-11-21, 02:24 AM
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I have been on the incremental-improvement/date-gathering path these last few days on the Medici. It has been a good sport. Today was changing out the Open 4 CD wheels from @Dfrost to my 7400/MA2 wheelset, keeping the same 25mm Vittoria Corsa tires and 80/90 PSI (F/R) more or less between the two. This was a test of a final wheel/tire setup for the Medici per thought and per my zillion renderings. Well, the learning continues. I had a feeling that the MA2 rims would not provide as good a braking surface (friction-wise) as the Open 4 CDs--due to prior single-pivot caliper experience--and I was proven correct. I could stop adequately, but I had to squeeze a noticeable bit more to do so. Did the MA2 wheelset look great with the tan wall Vittorias? Oh yes. Did they provide a bit more "sass" or flex or acquiescence to out of saddle climbing? No. In fact, they were "tighter" than the Open 4 CDs! I ran pressures of a little over 80 and 90 PSI front and rear, more or less the same as the Open 4 CD tire pressures with the same Vittoria tires. Guess who continues to get an education???

At any rate, this is testing and experimentation, with the goal of learning a lot and hopefully only making build decisions once instead of a million more times. The jury is still out on the efficacy of this, but it's better and more focused than past efforts of mine, so I count it as progress.

The unintended discovery was with regard to a "death rattle" that visited my rear wheel upon changing the "11-27T" 10-speed cassette from the Open 4 CD wheelset to my 7400/MA2 wheelset. 10-speed required spacer? Check. Tightened lock ring? Check. Loose cog rattle upon tuning and test ride? .....check... Crap. How does that work? My ever-trustworthy 7400 hubs had suddenly developed a sickness! Well, time to disassemble things and get to the bottom of the issue, even if that meant removing the 5-6 year old previous-era Phil Wood grease that smelled amazing! (and reminds me of the first days of all of this bike learning and C&V goodness) Well well well, what did I find? A cracked/broken plastic weather seal to the main hub/ball bearing area, and thus "opening" to the freehub. Tragic! 7400 rear hub down! What to do? Somehow, I have a "spare" (too insulting in my book, it's completely fine, just un-laced) 8-speed 7400 rear hub that I can employ a plastic weather seal as well as a rubber weather seal (between the axle/cone and the plastic weather seal) to replace the somehow-deformed one I am presently using. Lots of "good to know" things going on here. I was extremely relieved to know that years of use, including some long and very wet rides, did nothing to damage any of the cups or cones of the rear hub. It remains in lovely condition, and the grease with just a hint of faded green (it's mostly brown, but very present).

Enough text. To the photos!

M151 bars rotated down, SRAM levers rotated back/up, front end fit and lever positioning dialed. Visual proportioning also looks good. Whew!


Some angle. Had to get some photos of this in the natural (gorgeous) spring sunlight--even if in ambient--as the indoor shots are dreadful and uninspiring, ultimately.


That, is a big jagged break in a wall that shouldn't be there. If you looked carefully, you could see the hub bearing balls inside. Glad I had an uncooperative cassette!


30 years of service. Salute. Maybe I can do some plastic welding or 3D print a new one. 3D printing would be most beneficial from a cost and custom perspective. Keep the thing going.


Inside of the 7400 8-speed hub. Looking great otherwise.


Everything looks normal here...


...unless you're a first position cog with a "capped" spline construction that needs that critical less-than-a-millimeter allowance to run on a fully-splined 7400 hub to fully tighten a modern 10-speed cassette onto itself. Problem identified. Solution incoming. Otherwise, the freehub and bicycle work great! On to the next component testing....
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