Have your Phil

Team Carrera TT bike project

2009 has started off well.  I am busy writing training plans and scheduling bike fits. 

I have also begun my newest restoration project, although technically it is not a restoration as the frame was never built.  I have acquired a (year to be determined) Team Carrera TT bike and it is in the stand going through frame preparation.  So far I have chased the threads in the bottle mounts and drop out adjusters, adding stainless screws for the bottle cage and Campagnolo adjuster screws as the frame came without these. chased the rear derailleur mount and rinsed the inside fo the frame with Boeshield (yes this is a steel frame), next up is to chase the threads in the shifter mounts, after I replace my M5 x .8 tap and clean the paint out of the BB threads.  A little facing of the headset and BB cups and were are in business.  This bike will be recieving a complete NOS Sante Group since I have always wanted to build a Sante TT bike and the Pearl white frame is also NOS.  I will be using mavic rims front and rear, 32 hole Sante hubs front and rear, 12-18 cassette, 600 EX Aero seatpost and stem, No Sante were offered, and an undetermined bar and saddle.  Although the saddle will be white.  The final project when complete will be quite a looker, although I will most likely change the outer chainring of the Sante crank from a 52t biopace to a 56t TT ring. I am including one picture to whet your appetite for now. 

   

Collecting decisions

        Collecting is an addiction.  Those that are true collectors, not just for hobby or too get a few items, understand the addictive nature of collecting.  With each new piece that I find, I am drawn more and more into the treasure hunt, because that is what it becomes, a treasure hunt.  The quest for that elusive piece of history to display along with the other pieces of history and create a time capsule of sorts. With my collection I have come to an understanding with myself to limit the time line for my collection and to improve the quality of my little snapshot of history.  I want my collection to tell a story and provide others interested in the subject a complete look at the technology.  With that in mind I have decided to limit the main collection to a time frame of 10 years 1986-1996.  Part of this decision comes from the fact that this time period represents the time when I was most active relative to the technology and it is a period with a strong growth of ideas and a fairly solid ending standardization.  I will still have a Post 1996 - present collection and a pre-1986 collection, however I have already begun the process of collection purging with the selling off of pre-1986 components and specialty parts. 

     Most recently passed on was an excellent pair of Dura-Ace EX HF-7261 aero hubs from 1982.  These were a great example of early Shimano innovation but since they neither matched a group I would use or would have been used on a bike in the current collection they have now been passed on. 

     

    I will continue to amass memorabilia, medals, clothing, posters, and the like, but components and frames will be passed on. Back to the restoration grind stone, got a seat post to finish polishing.

It was a good year

As 2008 begins its final weeks, I have turned my eyes away from collecting and instead will focus on restoration and cataloging of the collection in its entirety, 

Under current restoration:

• Zinn Custom
• Orbit Custom
• Carbonne Custom
• Nishiki Linear
• Carrerra Team

To be Cataloged:

• Vintage Aero helmets
• Rare vintage memorabilia
• Vintage Aero equipment
• Pre 1993 Funny Bikes
• Pre 1994 Aero compenents 
• Post 1999 Aero bikes

• Post 1999 Aero components

Over the next few weeks I will also be reconfiguring the pictures, catagories and entries here on the blog to better reflect the projects I am working on and showcase the collection. 

One more on the way

Always vigilant in my watching of the known sources for the recyling of once used TT bikes, I have made the purchase of yet another bike to be proudly displayed in the collection.  Unlike the previous acquisition, pictures to come after some cleaning and restoration, This beauty is a complete bike.   A full mavic equipped dual disc lovely that was once raced by an unknown Italian of the professional persuasion. 

Plans for the current collection are thus.  Within the current collection I am in need of some time to restore all bikes to an appropriate aesthetic.  First up is my custom Orbit, which will recieve the Dura-ace headset now residing on the Zinn and the orginal Chris king will transfer to the Carbonne.  The Zinn's Ritchey dropouts will be restored along with the bottom bracket and the frameset will recieve the Mavic group and discs from the Carbonne, along with Mavic base bars from parts collection. The Carbonne newly robbed of its original Mavic will be redressed with a lovely 8spd Ultegra grouppo and J disc.  No front wheel yet.  lastly the Nishiki Linear is to recieve a stem and bars from the parts collection leaving only a front brake missing.  These are the 4 current incomplete bikes, once finished I will have pictures taken and posted.  I did have a request to post pictures of the bikes in their developmental stage so I may try to remember and post the transformation photos along with the final outcome photo's

If you would like to contribute to the on-line guest collection you may send me photo's of your TT Funny bike for submission (please only mixed wheel bikes).  If you send a decent photo with a short description/ history I will post your bike for all to admire and lust after. 

Enjoy the day and happy riding.