gugie 

I started swapping parts from OEM to what works best back in 1975 on my first "real" bike.

3alarmer 

.
...I'm not the original owner of any of my bikes anyway. Those guys had more money than me at the time, and a lot of them are dead now.

SwimmerMike 

I try to keep my bikes close to period correct. There are times when I need to adjust to make the bike what I want. I wanted my '71 Bob Jackson to be my Eroica bike, so I put a NR triple, still period correct. I tried a SOMA long cage on a NR derailleur. I wasn't happy with that. So the choice was a first year Rally ('74 I believe) or a Gran Turismo (Period correct). I'm enjoying the Rally....

The only exception is pedals. I have a couple sets of Campy pedals, but I run Speedplays on all my bikes so I don't have to think during a panic stop.

Roger M

How'd that Gran Compe Steam work for you, Mark?

Back when I was a kid , my pop had me trying to find a bucket of it once(regular steam, as opposed to Gran Compe steam).

jonwvara 

I'm a fan of French bikes from the bike-boom era, which takes a lot of the pressure off. Even the manufacturers didn't build them with complete originality.

noobinsf 

Like others, my goal is to have a bike I will ride. I like being able to feel the nuances of different frames, but in terms of components, I like triple cranksets, long cage derailleurs, fat tires, wide handlebars, and aero levers. I'll also try to make sure everything fits together aesthetically, since that is part of the joy for me in the hobby. My closest is the Univega Competizione, which had most of its original parts when I bought it -- but, most of the original parts are gently packed away in a bag.

jamesdak 

Nope, occasionally I get one that works like I want as originally set up and I'll leave it alone. That doesn't happen too often. For me they are bikes, thus tools to be used. So whatever makes it the tool I need or want is what drives how I treat a bike.

gugie 

$7 in 1975 $, I think I was overcharged.

79pmooney

Nobody builds bikes like I do! I pair V-brake levers with dual pivots and cantis to get the handgrips I love and predictable braking. City bikes I pair Mafac fronts with Weinmann rears (re-building one of each to move to the other end of the bike with a hardware store center bolt. My Raleigh Competition has had the Huret hanger ISO'd, a modern seatpin installed, wears a late model SunTour RD, AR FD, Power Ratchet DTs, that funky northern European brake pairing, whatever Japanese bars and a Nitto Pearl stem. The SR 100-something adjustable setback MTB seatpost (with the QR replaced by a bolt). My early '80s 400-something Trek frame set up as a fix gear wears a 175mm -22 degree steel stem. (LowRiders and fenders.)

So - complete originality? I'd say so! Completely original? Now that's an entirely different question! (Andy K and gugie will vouch for these statements.)

DMC707

Most of my bikes were originally sold as framesets, ----- so i keep them era -correct

A vast majority of higher end bikes were sold frameset-only BITD. It was up to the importer/dealer/ owner to decide what went on them

I saw a Colnago Bi-titan in perhaps '94 or '95 built up with 600 tri color. The owner wanted the frame but blew his budget on that so the tri color got the call.
Also saw a rich guy without any financial concerns build out a MErlin with 600 because he liked the way the gray painted bits offset the color of the Ti frame --- but was also outfitted with a lot of other bling (Cooks Bros Cranks, King headset, etc. ---- anything goes - but i keep it era correct anyway mostly

seedsbelize2

Never. I throw on whatever fits the need, from the parts bin. I do have one bike that's full 105, except the hubs, but the groupset is not all from the same time frame.

Chombi1 

Nope,........but I did build all of them to at least be "country and period correct".
I just install components on the frames that might be considered as period mods to improve the bike to my liking.

grant40

No. I only have one vintage bike that is mostly original but I build most of my stuff up to what I want to ride.

jdawginsc 

What's wrong with the Gran Compe stems...they are for discerning vintage bike lovers...

gugie 

Oh, they're lovely stems...but check my receipt from 1975, I was charged for steam.

jdawginsc 

Steam was expensive back then...

Now I get it...didn't see the image.

gugie 

I've had that receipt for...well, you can do the math. I never noticed the mis-spelling until I posted that pic about a year ago and someone caught it!

At least my last name was spelled correctly.

davester

I'm figuring that the Gran Compe Steam was some kind of power assist, sort of like the e-bike motors that are available as accessories these days. The hazard with those was apparently scalding rather than electrocution.

jdawginsc 

I notice the process of upgrades was tedious...they charged for red tape...

and you bought Nevar cranks...hopefully they sometimes were...

gugie 

...and the hits just keep on coming!

I suppose you'll be here all week?

@Straightblock, your old boss is certainly entertaining us many years later. About 50 lbs later, in my case.

SurferRosa

All my keepers are far better now than they were originally. That's really saying something when you consider the oldest one was produced in 1972.

jdawginsc 

You are far too generous regarding my quips...they would not be worthy of an additional day, much less a week! Maybe the Poconos....

What I thought interesting were the up-charges. Were they the difference in the upgrade or were the prices for the full cost of the items? Was the Gold cluster the freewheel? Plus, I find it really interesting that the gum hoods (which would be worth $30-40 now) were NC, but the seatpost bolt was $1.95.

Do you still have that bike, by the way? That receipt is a cool piece of history.

cyccommute 

I usually start with a bike and then aim for the expensive and (mostly) practical

merziac

Um, no.....

Some need to be close as you can get, many you cannot get there from here without a second mortgage.

Not disparaging anyone who chooses or adheres to this.

If I get lucky as I did with the 58 Paramount then its all good, if not well....

It came mostly original with some really cool parts that are all in great condition so this was easy, no brainer, lucky as ef.

RD, crank, pedals, saddle,chain, FW and bars were not original, most all are close for the era now and some are very close.









All that being said, it will likely not happen again on one like this, not usually still going to have so much original.

This is another very lucky find that is very original aside from saddle, tires, straps and bar tape, it was of course full custom but it is full on Campy and Cinelli.




When they come to me like this, I'm all in but not going to the ends of the earth to get there after the fact, poetic license and practical vision will rule the day hopefully with some serious lucky breaks along the way.

Masi, Colnago, Bianchi, etc. super icon's of course merit extraordinary measures, may the force be with you.

Oldairhead 

Do you always build bikes with complete originality?

I presume the question is referring to bikes that were sold complete and "as sold," but for many bikes "original" is a variable. Leaving aside bikes that were ordered as frames and custom orders there are a number of Marques that varied quite a bit in their component spec for any given year, depending on available products and the position of the machine in a brands line-up. This can make it quite difficult to determine what might be correct.

For example, my current project is a mid-50's Urago Debutante, which was a model that was offered for perhaps 10 years without significant change. Each year this entry level racer was probably the recipient of surplus or discontinued components from the previous year, essentially becoming the discount outlet of bicycles. The components may have changed from year to year or even mid-year based on what was on hand. It would be very difficult know how it might have come originally. For my purposes I try and keep things "in character" both in period and location. Italian on Italian, Japanese on Japanese and French on French, but even these guidelines for me have exceptions. I say, build what you like!