Project Pistacchio is rolling ..... :-)

[MichaelB]

Well, this starts way back when I was looking for a suitable frame for a fixed gear bike, and a LBS named JT Cycles. After asking if they had any frames suitable, one spiky haired lad of many years my junior commented that they had some old Cinelli frames out back.

I recognised the names, and asked for a look.

They promptly dragged out a box with a couple of Track frames (Europa has pinched one), and also a couple of Cinelli frames, a Proxima & a Unica.

Whilst they had some scratches and vertical droputs (no good for a fixie), I asked how much. After a phone call the next day, $200 ea was the reply.

Now, they had been bugging me for a while, and MountGower snaffled the Unica, and finally, I succumbed and got the Proxima for the princely sum of $150, and so, Project Pistacchio is born

Cinelli PROXIMA TROPHY
- Braze on Fr Der.
- Oval shape down tube with Brazed on shifter mounts
- Columbus THRON Acciaio Tubing
- "Tubi Speciali Rinforzati" & "Doppio Spessori" on the Tube sticker
- Frame Number "58 097633"
- Frame Size : Presuming 58cm, non-sloping
- 570mm C-C Top Tube
- 580mm C-C Seat Tube
- 130mm Rear spacing (OK for 8, 9 & 10 speed rear)
- Colour is Metallic Lime Green

And now for some pics .....

Frame as bought


Nice rear brake bridge


Front Downtube shifter bosses



Side by side with der Adler


So far I have sourced :
- Downtube doodads to make the frame SIS shifter compatible
- s/h Veloce groupset for $200
- Ergopower cable set
- Wheelset will be the Mavic Aksium that I have at the moment

To get sorted :
- Cinelli stem
- Cinelli bars (looking at a set at the moment)
- 26.4mm Seatpost
- Seat (likely to be a Brooks B17)
- Rear freehub spline to suit Campagnolo

Why Project Pistacchio you might be wondering..... , well, that is the colout of the frame as written on the inside of the forks !!

[stryker84]

Why Project Pistacchio you might be wondering..... , well, that is the colout of the frame as written on the inside of the forks !!

And a very nice colour it is! Wow, if you ever decide the project's too much to carry on with... I'll be happy to take it off your hands.

[sogood]

Real nice bargain!!!

[europa]

She's a lovely frame, and really light too.

So you weakened and bought the Campy groupset. This'll be fun

Richard

[MichaelB]

She's a lovely frame, and really light too.

So you weakened and bought the Campy groupset. This'll be fun

Richard

That reminds me - need to bring it to work to weigh it accurately.

The Veloce groupset was too much of a bargain to pass up. Full groupset including 3 cassettes for $200

See what all the fuss is about ...

[europa]

click click click click click

Richard

[MountGower]

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[MichaelB]

The colour is written on the fork tube that is hidden by the head tube. You will have to pull it apart to see it, so may not have been on yours in the first place ?

The good thing with mine, is that the serial number on the forks (stamped in metal) matched the frame S No.

The rear chain stay (chain side), rear lugs and front axle lugs are chromed on mine (can maybe see from the pics), so that is a different touch.

Mine is made from THRON tubing, and whilst there was a link on here somewhere, i can't find it

EDIT : Beautifully supplied by MountGower Columbus Tubesets is some interesting info.


I hope that it will be nice to ride, and will be interesting to compare to the LeMond.

[europa]

You'll never want to ride that cheap Trek rubbish again

Richard

[MichaelB]

Have confirmed that the Seat Tube angle is 73.5 Degrees, and the Head Stem Angle is 73.0 degrees.

The weight of the bare frame is 2.222 kg, and the Forks are 0.7535 kg.

So all up, the frame weighs a shade under 3kg at 2,975.5 grams

Have purchased some Ambrosio handlebars from the UK delivered fro the princely sum GBP 10.99 delivered. They are old school steel with an alloy centre fitting, but they are Italian, and at right the price !!!

The seller also has a Cinelli stem and hopefully a seatpost as well, so may get a few parts in one go.

[MichaelB]

Picked up the Veloce 9sp Groupset the other day.

The bloody sod then mentions that he has the original wheels from the bike, Campag Ventos (when the 3 spoke pattern was Front & Rear) that he would sell to save me from buying the new sleeve for the Mavic rims

I'd just bought it that day from eBay in the US. Never mind, I will stick with my plan, but if anyone is interested in a set of Campag Vento's, let me know, and I'll ask Tim what he wants for them.

[LuckyPierre]

If they're silver (not black), then I'm in the market for another set of Ventos if they're not too expensive.

[uMP2k]

What ever colour they are I might be interested as well!

[MichaelB]

Looks like there are several interested parties.

The guy is checking on the colour (he is pretty sure they are black), and are missing a skewer from the rear.

They have rim tape, but no tyres.

He is after $250 for the set, and I can help with doing the postage from Adelaide (Around $25 to $30).

Let me know - Order of priority is LuckyPierre, MountGower and then uMP2k.

[MichaelB]

Well, I had a few minutes spare on the weekend, and decided to try and fit the BB from the Veloce groupset to the frame.

Having done a bit of research, it seemed that the measurements indicate it an Italian BB (I would have presumed so anyway), but it appears that the BB that came with the groupset (removed from a Pinarello) is an English BB.

Partially confirmed that I couldn't thread it to the frame

Oh well, may be a good pointer that it needs to be a 2008 job when the budhget has recoved and I can clean the groupset properly.

In the meantime, the new Campag Ergopower cable set arrived, as well as a Campag lower cable guide for the BB.

Rock on Xmas

[europa]

BBs are dirt cheap and you're probably best served just taking the frame and cranks into BJs and buying the right one from them.

Richard

[MichaelB]

BBs are dirt cheap and you're probably best served just taking the frame and cranks into BJs and buying the right one from them.

Richard

That ended up being the plan, and to get the headstem bearing done at the same time.

2008 job tho'

[MountGower]

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[MichaelB]

Michael

Which side are you having trouble threading in? Both? Italian BBs have a right hand thread on both sides. Sorry if you know that already, I'm not presuming you don't, just worth asking if it solves things.

I don't know enought to be totally amazed but I am a bit surprised to see a Pinerello with an English BB.

Yup, both sides. As the cups are alloy, I don't want to try "too hard" in case I stuff them. I can't get them to go in straight and start, so rather than risk damage, will leave it to the people who know a little better.

Threads may need a little clean as well to help. I don't have the appropriate tool to give the threads a lick clean, so the LBS may have this.

[europa]

It can be hard to tell sometimes so another try might be in order. Funnily enough, the easiest way to tell is to turn it the WRONG way and wait for that little click as it skips off the end of the thread. Clean threads and a bit of grease and a very gentle touch, that's what you need, apart from the times when you go at it like a gorilla and manage to fluke it right

Richard

[mikeg]

Michael

Which side are you having trouble threading in? Both? Italian BBs have a right hand thread on both sides. Sorry if you know that already, I'm not presuming you don't, just worth asking if it solves things.

I don't know enought to be totally amazed but I am a bit surprised to see a Pinerello with an English BB.

Yup, both sides. As the cups are alloy, I don't want to try "too hard" in case I stuff them. I can't get them to go in straight and start, so rather than risk damage, will leave it to the people who know a little better.

Threads may need a little clean as well to help. I don't have the appropriate tool to give the threads a lick clean, so the LBS may have this.

Sheldon's Bicycle Bottom Bracket Crib Sheet might help you there, The second table might assist in determining which type you have.

Mike

[MichaelB]

Cheers for that mikeg, it inded appears that it is an Italian BB, just may be that the threads need a lick over with a tap/thread cutter and some grease. The thread ID on the BB shell is 35mm.

Anyone got some spare BB shells thay can sell/sacrifice/lend so that I don't stuff the good soft alloy ones ????

The old man has a thread file (internal & external threads -0 but I think it is metric ) that I can borrow to play with the threads a little and make sure they are OK.

In looking at the chart, as an engineer, it makes me wonder why they mix metric & imperial systems Bloody Italians ........

[MountGower]

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[europa]

Michael

I can't understand why I did not remember this before. The Unica needed the fork steerer, the BB shell and the rear derailleur hanger all tapped out. You are probably just in the same boat.

Another case of 'fine Italian engineering' eh?

When dealing with Italian workmanship, it's always worth remembering that the same company that makes Ferraris, also makes Fiats

Richard

[LuckyPierre]

I had to do the same with Enzo too - because he was 'old', some oxidation had built up and the threads needed a clean out. My closest shop did it for me.