I am slowly gathering parts for a new road bike. One of many self proclaimed "last bike"or "lifetime bike". The last custom frame I had was ordered in 2012, almost 4 years ago. Since Instagram does not seem like the most efficient way to document this build process, I decided to make notes here.
I lost sleep over the build on this bike. The cheap in me wanted to build the bike with Shimano 9000 group I had on the Seven Axiom SL, and not buy anything new. In secret, I dreamed of a full Campagnolo group, but dreaded spending the money for all new parts and tools.
In 1997, I bought my first real bike. It was a beautiful Celeste green Bianchi Trofeo which I got off the net for $430 shipped. It was equipped with Campagnolo Mirage components. At the time I did not even know the difference in component levels, let alone differences in component manufacturers. Some of my fondest memories are on that bike. Riding in rural Maryland in the middle of winter with my Triple Fat Goose jacket. This was months before I had riding partners, or before I was issued team clothing. I knew so little about cycling then, it was such a refreshing time. For one reason or another, I haven't ridden Campagnolo components since then, and I really miss the aesthetics.
Now, coming up on 20 years of riding, and on to the 40th year of my life, I wanted to build a bike which would be a constant reminder of what I loved about riding. This bike will be neither aero nor light, nor super stiff. But it would look nice, and be comfortable and fun to ride. I no longer race, and never really did in the past anyways. This bike will take me to new places and help me meet new people.
I had to look really hard to find these parts. They are exactly the parts I wanted to use, but some were up to 80% retail cost. I ended up buying many of the parts used, which is fine.
The goods:
Shifters: Campagnolo Athena (620grams), or Chorus 11, I have both, but have not decided on what to use. $110 Italy
Rear Derailluer: Campagnolo Athena (211 Grams) $100 Italy
Front Derailleur: Shimano 9000 Braze on (65 grams) $50 Japan
Crankset: Campagnolo Super Record 172.5mm 39-53 with Record cups (620 Grams) $200 Italy
Handlebars: Fizik Snake R3 40cm classic bend (256 Grams) $50 China
Stem: Jaegher China or Thomson USA
Seatpost: Bontrager XXX carbon (145 Grams) $50 China
Saddle: Specialized Power 143mm (210 Grams) $100 China
Wheels: Campagnolo Eurus (1450 Grams) $700 Italy
Skewers: Campagnolo 100 grams Italy
Cassette: Shimano 9000 12-15 (172 Grams) $100 Japan
Chain: KMC (260 Grams) $30 Taiwan
Tires: Continental Grand Prix Classic 25mm (440 Grams) $62 Germany
Pedals: Shimano 9000 (265 Grams) $100 Japan
Bottle Cages: King Titanium (62 Grams) $50 USA
Tubes: Generic (220 Grams) China
Handle bar tape: Deda Mistral (56 Grams) China
Headset: Chris King Blue Sotto Vocce (112 Grams) $100 USA
Recently I bought a pair of broken Chorus revolution
shifters. I was able to salvage the levers and the hoods from the right shifter
and transfer them to the Athena body. The left Chorus shifter turned out to be
fine. Unlike most people, I like the feel of the Powershift system for the
right shifter and I like the Ultrashift set up for the left. What was more
intriguing is that the new style of hoods works perfectly for the pre 2015
shifters. I was told that you could not use the "Revolution" hoods on
the older shifter bodies, but that is just not true.