About 5 years ago I broke my frame. A whole bunch of life changes happened and there was no urgency to replace it. But I have been watching marketplace - I’m in a remote rural area so there’s very little lugged steel frame activity.

Last week an old Colnago Sport came up for a very reasonable price and I bought it:

Saddle, stem, bars and rear wheel from my old bike, other bits came with the “new” one.

I’m nearly 60 and wasn’t really expecting to ride it - it’s more a nostalgia thing. But I went for a short test ride and it feels great. I may actually spend some time on it.

And don’t worry - I’m not under any delusion that I have a great Italian icon - I know the “Sport” model is Colnago in brand only. But for my purposes, it’s perfect.

  • TrackinDaKraken@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    2 months ago

    Ride it. Don’t take for granted that you can, if you do, then you won’t be able to soon.

    I’m 60. I miss my 1982 Shogun 1000. I foolishly left it behind when I moved to a new state in 1992. It wouldn’t fit in my car. I prioritized the wrong things.

  • JillyB@beehaw.org
    2·
    2 months ago

    Awesome bike. It’s hard to tell from the pic but make sure you have some kind of foot retention on a fixed gear. Either clip-in type or straps.

    • Great Blue Heron@lemmy.caOPEnglish
      2·
      2 months ago

      Those are the pedals it came with - they’re flat one side and SPD on the other. I left them on for the test ride but I’ll put my “pure” SPD ones on before I do any serious riding.

      • JillyB@beehaw.org
        2·
        2 months ago

        Nice. I use SPDs with my fixed gear and it’s a great combo. Never tried bullhorn bars.

        • Great Blue Heron@lemmy.caOPEnglish
          1·
          2 months ago

          Never tried bullhorn bars.

          I never intended to - they just came with my first bike that I got from my brother and I liked them, so I kept them.

  • thisbenzingring@lemmy.todayEnglish
    2·
    2 months ago

    sad about the rust but looks like its just on the surface

    Id for sure ride that beast, love the horn handle bars. I always wanted to try those. I don’t think I could do a fixed wheel but maybe… never tried one since my early teens and the bmx styles I had

    • Great Blue Heron@lemmy.caOPEnglish
      4·
      2 months ago

      I don’t mind the rust - patina. Now that I’ve done a test ride and confirmed that I like it I’ll strip it back to the frame and clean it and put it back together with fresh greese and a fresh chain. I’ll wipe it down with something to stop the rust getting worse but won’t try to fix it.

      I love fixed wheel - just getting into that rhythm as staying there.

        • Great Blue Heron@lemmy.caOPEnglish
          3·
          2 months ago

          I’ve never used it, but I just did a little reading. I get the feeling it would ruin the current paint and I’d need to then re-paint the whole frame. I like how it looks now and would just like to stop the rust getting worse so it doesn’t become structural.

          • Krusty@quokk.auEnglish
            1·
            2 months ago

            I used it on an old bed frame cuz I hated the rust stains on my sheets and pillows. It worked out great. The white cures black and acts as a primer. So you can paint over it, but it won’t ruin the current paint.

            It’ll just give you a solid black patina that’s resistant to further rusting. You can paint over it or just leave it.

            If you want to touch up the paint maybe look into some … essentially it’s nail polish (that’s what we use at the shop.) I really don’t suggest spray paint unless you know what you’re doing. But nail polish or touch up paint is really easy to apply.