Colnago Master X-Light build - let it shine....

[open roader]

Your spoke card somehow ended up attached to the crank arm, too

.........and it's not white.............

Actually, I used the BB cups box as a crank arm protector when leaning the bike inside my study...........

[ironhanglider]

Am I the only one thinking that the headset lock nut is not shiny enough?

Looks very nice, I'd expect it to ride just as nicely.

Cheers,

Cameron

[munga]

needs wheels.

[open roader]

needs wheels.

Wheels are coming. My mechanic has had a leaking roof to deal with in the past fortnight - every spare moment up on his roof re-pointing tiles. He is building me the wheels as a favour / mates rates / partial barter so I'm not pushing............

[Velo13]

This one is looking stunning. Impressed!

[fitz]

Im enjoying the process. Nice work.
I'm in no way criticising here, simply curious.
When you explored using an older 8/9/10 Campagnolo group did you consider using say TA Zephyr light or Stronglight Impact or Zlight compact cranks? I have used these options successfully on bike to get around the need for compact but keeping an older look.

[open roader]

OK, after many weeks delay with a handlebar curve that just simply did not agree with my battered hands and the search for a more agreeable anatomic curve replacement that more closely matched my other road bikes geometry and grip as well as my mechanic, who is also my wheel builder needing to spend his own spare time fixing his roof and recovering from a self inflicted leg wound (long story - don't ask......) thus NOT building my wheels up.......

Last Friday I took posession of a completed hand built wheelset. Needless to say I'm thrilled with the way they look. Spent this past weekend gluing the tubulars up and finished taping up the bars which also arrived from OS on Friday. This afternoon it had it's maiden voyage in fully completed spec..........

........Uber pleased with this bike, soaks up road vibration like no other bicycle / wheelset combo I've ridden. The fat 25mm FMB tubular tyres at 90 psi front and 100psi rear offer a truly plush armchair ride............. very comfortable bike to ride now with slightly lowered hoods and a nice and straight bar to grip onto when on the drops. The sun came out this weekend to add to the joy..........

Master X Light fully completed


Cinelli Eco Touch anatomic bars with fat gel inserts under the off white cork bar tape


Some narrow Italian strip decals on the cable end via Greg Softley aka Cyclomondo


The white painted parts of the frame have a delightful pearlised finish


Transparent gel strip chain stay guard and a little more decal bling via Cyclomondo


Record 10 speed hubs, DT Champion spokes......mmmm so shiny..........

[Madrider]

Let me be the 1st to congratulate on a Superb build open roader

Truly fantastic and hope you have mainly enjoyable rides

[Zynster]

Stunning!

[grantw]

Beautiful! Well done.

[Jean]

Looks great (though that saddle just looks painful to me, but obviously YMMV), well done.

[Mulger bill]

Pics no work

[singlespeedscott]

Nice build. Not a huge fan of the saddle or the bars but everyone has different needs when it comes to comfort.

You wouldn't fit a Tally-Ho paper in between the rear tyre and the seat tube.
Strictly a nice weather ride me thinks.

[Lots of steel bikes]

Excellent. If there was a bicycle equivalent of Playboy it would be the centrefold.

[ft_critical]

All class OpenRoader. Beautiful.

[open roader]

Cheers all!

No further riding to sprook about due to rain just as I finished work today so just have to look at it for now........

Not a huge fan of the saddle or the bars but everyone has different needs when it comes to comfort.

I agree, the original bars I selected had a more classic appearance and suited the bike better, however, with over half a dozen fractures and cracks from past lives, my hands simply were not up to anything other than a straight grip section on the drops like my other bikes. i also had to lower the shifters twice on the new bars as I simply felt too upright and NQR when riding on the hoods. Having them lowered now combined with some seriously chunky sections of gel padding under the tape makes a perfect nest for my hands to sit.

Saddle - SMP is the best I've tried for my undercarriage thus far with the Dynamic model a good compromise of stiff with just a hint of padding. After nearly giving up cycling for lack of a comfortable saddle, my opinion now is that the saddle is the most important part of my bikes so I cannot compromise in this dept so stuck with what works........

You wouldn't fit a Tally-Ho paper in between the rear tyre and the seat tube.

The rear tyre is a tad lumpier in it's profile than the front with a 1.5mm hump to one side of the valve area - still allows a good 2.5mm of clearance between tyre hump and seatpost......... that said I reckon a 27mm tyre would be likely to rub........

[Causidicus]

Top locknut looks cross threaded and upper race not fully screwed down. Fixing that sooner rather than later would be wise.

[open roader]

Top locknut looks cross threaded and upper race not fully screwed down. Fixing that sooner rather than later would be wise.

The lock nut will come down nice and flush when I get a new blade for the hacksaw and take off the extra 2.5 threads off the fork steerer after having the bottom bearing race not properly tapped in when i measured the fork for cut off, once seated properly I gained a little extra fork protrudence through the top. It's the light/shadow in the image making it look cross threaded. The top bearing race is squeezed down good and proper, any tighter and it locks the steering, bottom race also tapped down flush, no more room to move there.......

[Mulger bill]

Pics no work

They do now...
*shivers*
An Italian that's as beautiful as the GLW. Likes hugely.

Fabulous work OR. +10000 style points.

Shaun

[open roader]

Pics no work

They do now...
*shivers*
An Italian that's as beautiful as the GLW. Likes hugely.

Fabulous work OR. +10000 style points.

Shaun

Thanks Shaun,

Style is what I will have to enjoy for the time being after discovering this afternoon that I have a slightly protruded disc in my lumbar spine and that bikes are only for looking at for the next 2 weeks......... Fingers crossed I can get the inflamation down and strengthen it up over time to get the ok to ride again......... at this point I'm following medical instructions and will ask permission to ride........

[jaseyjase]

Lovely, just lovely.

If you dont want to cut the steerer, you should be able to just insert a 5mm 1" spacer un the locknut, shouldnt look to out of place and saves you the drama of cutting the steerer.

[munga]

might not be the best aesthetically, but you can get 2mm carbon spacers on fleabay cheap too.

[open roader]

No riding for min 2 weeks - I can hunt down a 1" spacer to amuse myself- cheers!

[Discodan]

I have spare 1" spacers in polished alloy if you're interested, same as in the pic below. PM me your address and I'll drop one in the post

[sumgy]

Beautiful looking bike and despite what I said elsewhere about the Master being the harshest riding bike I ever owned, you now have me thinking about finding another one and buildng it up.

Not a fan of those bars on it (but it is not my bike) and your SMP is set up wrong, but otherwise you have done a fantastic job.
I hope that you enjoy it, but if you dont and if it is a 58cm let me know.