Little Red Riding Hoods

With Project 105 complete, you’d think I’d put away the toolbox and enjoy the fruits of my labors. Hardly! No sooner had I fastened the last, uh, fastener than I turned my attention to this:

As I mentioned recently, the 105 parts were already en route to me when I received an email from a reader who was like, “Do you want some old Campy stuff?” Naturally I agreed, and I was stunned when the box arrived and I found it full of not Chorus, not Record, but Super Record, which is like regular Record only SUPER! 11-speed Super Record came out in 2009 I believe, and the parts I received appear to be from that era:

[From here.]

To me this is still the “new” Campagnolo lever shape, but at this point it’s already 16 years old.

With the Milwaukee already slated to undergo a 105-plasty, my mind raced as I contemplated what to do with this windfall. A sensible person would simply have put the stuff away until such time as the perfect project presented itself, but I am not a sensible person. Alas, had I not already returned the LeMond, I might have put the Super Records parts on that and created the Ultimate Early 21st Century Dentist Bike:

Oh well.

The Surprise Marinoni also would have been a perfect candidate for a Surprise Super Record upgrade:

But it is now living happily (I hope!) upstate with its new owner, Some Guy From Upstate.

Next I started scouring the classifieds for appropriate frames:

Even though buying a frame because you got some free parts is the very definition of waste:

I buy that frame and then the next thing you know I’m getting an email from DOGE asking what I got done this week.

Then, a revelation! I’ll put the “new” Super Record on the classic Super Record-equipped Cervino!

Wait, no I wont:

I suspect getting cable stops to work with that shifter boss would be kludgy at best, especially since the cables take a sharp turn after the shifter and then burrow inside the downtube.

Finally, my thoughts turned to the Faggin:

Not only is it Italian, but the poor thing just keeps getting uglier…

And uglier:

So I decided that if any bicycle deserves these fancy new parts then it’s the poor Faggin.

So I got to work:

I have no idea when the Faggin was built, but judging from the 126mm rear spacing and the decals I’d guess sometime in the mid-to-late 1980s. Nevertheless, it readily accepted the 11-speed parts transplant, though it probably helped that I’d just gotten finished installing all that Shimano stuff and was in something of a groove. (Plus, the Super Record parts are more straightforward to install.)

Soon, the bike was complete, and I had an important decision to make. The reader had sent me two pairs of hoods: one red, and one black. So which ones to use? Obviously only a color-blind idiot would put red hoods on a pink bike…and so that’s exactly what I did:

In my defense, I was afraid of tearing them (they’re a real pain to get on), so I figured it would be more prudent to practice with the red ones first–though it now occurs to me if only I’d put the hoods on before I installed the levers it would have been a lot easier. Still, it’s important that the Faggin always remain at least a little bit ugly. And apart from the hoods I’d say it came out pretty good:

It certainly feels good, at least if my short, rainy test ride around the neighborhood is any indication:

I even fitted it with a period-correct (for the shifters, anyway) ass hatchet:

The package did not include a crank, so I stuck this one on there since the silver Ultegra crank I’d been using is a stubby 165mm which I’ve decided I can no longer live with:

I thought of using a compact crank instead but I figured a 53/39 would be a better fit for the short cage derailleur.

I did stick with the Ultegra brakes, because the package didn’t include those either:

In your face, Campy-philes!

Speaking of Shimagnolo, I’m also using a Shimano 11-speed cassette:

See?

I’ve always heard 11-speed Shimano and Campagnolo are interchangeable and this certainly does appear to be the case. I’ve also read that 11-speed Campagnolo shifters with a Shimano derailleur and a 9-speed cassette works pretty good too. I suppose that could come in handy one day, but then I’d have to do without the ceramic pulley bearings: