DMC707

Latest project completed. Sold my S Works Tarmac to fund a new mountain bike build but was missing having a "current" road bike. Although current is debatable - i know that this bike is on the far outside interpretation of being C&V, - but by calendar years its actually getting close - and Campy 10 speed is pretty long in the tooth as well

Litespeed Classic -- bike was originally painted in Team Colorado Cyclist livery. The paint and decals were looking shabby so i hit it with some stripper --- That is NOT a fun job - ive done it in the past but it has likely been 25 years ago.. I rode the bike for years but never really liked it much so disassembled it and hung the frameset on the wall

I am really pleased with the resulting satin Ti battleship gray look - It reminds me of the old Dean framesets from the 90's. Went back with Campy Record 10 speed carbon with an FSA carbon compact crankset.
Gear ratios with the compact crank and a 12-26 cassette are close to the Specialized's ratios ----- but - rear derailleur is a long cage so i thought i could try a bigger cassette . Spun on a Centaur 12-30 and the result was a noisy , clattering mess .

Granted, the long cage was likely designed for one of the old Racing Triple setups with tight rear cassette ratios, but i was truly hoping it would work without resorting to a goat link or something like that.

Since the big road cassettes are a relatively new phenomenon, i thought my derailleur might pre date the trend, but do any of you folks know what derailleur Campagnolo makes that actually works with one of their big cassettes? (10 speed that is ) -- im logically guessing Centaur since that was the cassette i tried out but didnt know if there were others

Kitted it out the rest of the way with Thomson stem and post with Salsa flared handlebars and a Specialized Power seat --- these things are expensive as all get out, but truly are a revelation for my posterior. Bar tape is courtesy of Amazon and was cheap --- and i picked it because i wanted an 80's/90's look to it

just need to epoxy on the head badge and decide if i want to mess with decals or keep the stealth look . I'm just hoping i can like this bike more on its second go round.. I am very pleased with the aesthetics and the shakedown cruise went well

Anyway - pics or it didnt happen -- so ......................

tricky 

Very nice! I like that finish too. It's a no nonsense, but low key high end build. Looks primed for covering lots of miles.

Wildwood 

Not a Campy 10 rear derailleur expert, but last time I rebuilt my ‘new’ carbon, Ti & lugged steel bikes (well over a decade ago) I did so with western Washington hills and mountains in mind. Two with compact double, one triple. Cassettes have always been 12/28 or 13/29. I have no need for an 11 tooth cog, always the most problematic & fast wearing cog from my past. Also no experience with a 30 tooth cassette, only 29 and older cassettes (Veloce steel).
Pics tell the story. No issues whatsoever with shifts or noise.

Campy Comp Triple w Centaur UD triple crank

Centaur long cage (or was it mid-cage?) w Centaur UD compact 50/34

Chorus mid cage (I think) w FSA compact 50/34

Hondo6

From the looks of the frame (no downtube shifter boss mounts, no "L"-shaped cutout near rear dropout), seems to be a 1999 model.

Turned out very nice. Enjoy.

sovende

I can’t help with your groupset / gearing question but agree that the “Ti battleship gray look” is awesome! RE: decals, I’d leave it in the stealth mode (I’d even consider leaving the Litespeed headbadge off ). While I’m unlikely to ever have a bike with a Ti frame, a steel frame, powder coated with a Ti-like color may fit the bill (and be more in my budget). Nevertheless, that bike looks awesome! I hope the gearing issue gets sorted.

DMC707

thanks for the kind words gents!

compared to Dura Ace Di2 with discs, the performance of the Campy shifters and brakes is —— different

The brakes haul the thing down from speed just fine for the most part but some kool stop pads are now on my short list
shifting is typical Campy. Crisp but with a heavier feel than shimano. i knew this going in, but the darn Di2 can spoil you after a couple of years

The frame itself feels livelier than i remember and interesting enough, is harsher riding than the carbon bike , — but i feel that this is a lifetime machine if i want it to be

i decided to suck it up with my gearing issues and am on the hunt for a good condition short cage 10 speed RDR. The darn things fetch a pretty penny on the ‘bay for 10 speed parts - but i guess my bourgeoisie tendencies appreciate that about Campagnolo.

Next up: going with another American build - either a Marin road frame from ‘92 with a Lemond’esque paint scheme, —- or a OS Paramount with an american flag paint scheme that’s been hanging on the wall too long— or maybe both if my fiancé continues to not talk to me for a few more days 😌🥲 (TMI)

DMC707

Those look great! 13-29 is more than ample for me too. I’ve seen the Veloce cassettes in the $60-70 range and that seems pretty fair 👍