monogodo

I finally picked up my Colnago from my ex-gf last night. She'd had it since I'd moved out of the house we shared as roommates back in April 2001. Her mother took it because she said I owed her $300. That's rich. Considering the fact that the reason I was moving out was I was tired of paying all the bills because her daughter, my ex-gf, was unemployed and not paying her half of the bills. Anyway, I didn't mind her having it so much because I didn't really have a place to store it. After I got married, she and I talked, and they asked me what we would like for a wedding present. I thought about it and I said, "how about my Colnago?" They agreed. This was back in the fall of 2002. It took until just now for me to get out there to get it. They'd been storing it in a shed in the back yard, so I expected it to be in pretty crappy condition. Amazingly enough, it's in very decent shape. Sure, it's filthy, but filth will wash off. The shifting is still flawless. The brakes work great. There's one small spot of rust on the seat tube that I'm fairly sure I can buff out with my rotary tool and cover up with white Testors paint and clear coat. I did have to remove the tires and throw them away, as they smelled like they'd been soaking in gasoline the entire time.

Here's the best pic I have of it as of now:

Colnago SL frame w/ Campy C-Record RD, Super Record FD, Retro Friction shifters, Nuevo Record cranks, Look pedals, American Classic BB, Chorus HS, Cinelli stem, Scott Drop Ins, DiaCompe Royal Gran Compe brakes, Ritchey seatpost, Serfas Kevlar LiveWire saddle, Mavic Hubs, Campy Ypsilon rims, Sachs Maillard FW.

I'm planning on converting it to single-speed. I'll remove the front and rear derrailleurs, one of the chainrings, and the 7-speed freewheel. I'll install a single speed BMX freewheel, and be done. I'm considering changing out the handle bars for normal drop bars, and possibly getting a new seat.

I posted about it in the Single Speed forums of BikeForums. I expected to get some support, seeing as how it's my first single speed bike and that's what they're about. Oddly enough, most of the comments have been toward leaving it the way it is and picking up a thrift-store bike instead. Oh well. I have my brother's support in the project, so that's good.