Basso Loto SLX with (mainly) Campagnolo Record

Hi all, first post so Hello.

I'm an ex-first cat, packed up in '96. I sold off most of my gear but kept a couple of bikes, of which this is one. It's been ridden casually maybe half a dozen times a year since. I'm getting back into training again as I'm doing the London to Paris this summer, but I'm probably looking at a new(ish) build so I'm toying with the idea of parting with this as there seems to be a resurgence of interest in vintage Italian kit.



It's a 58cm frame, centre to top. Columbus SLX throughout. Groupset is all early 90s 8-speed C-Record with the exception of the headset and Ergolevers which are later Chorus items, and the bottom bracket which is a later cassette version C-Record. Third generation Delta brakes. Bars and stem are ITM Super Italia Pro; San Marco Regal saddle. Rims are 32H Campag Sigma Pavé Hardox with Vittoria CX tubs and DT spokes. 12-22 cassette and Record 'Look' pedals; Sedis chain. 53 x 39 chainrings and 172.5mm cranks.

Condition is generally very good, with just a few signs of wear and age and the odd minor scuff. The bike was never raced (although some of the components were whilst previously on other bikes) and it has never been crashed. The wheels have never been used in the wet, so the anodizing on the braking surfaces of the rims is intact and they still look new.

I'd appreciate opinions as to whether I'd be best off putting it up for sale as a complete bike or parting it out. I've seen Delta brakes (for example) fetching some pretty hefty sums on eBay, and similar frames going for £200ish.

Cheers.

Apologies - I meant to post this on the 'Road Bike How Much' thread. Mods please feel free to move it.

Welcome

I run a more modern Basso than that very good looking beast

They laugh at me at work because somewhere along the line he cheated during his racing career. Great bikes though

Shaun

Hi, and welcome.

That's a really lovely bike. Are you sure you want something newer? I reckon it would cost a lot to get something that would ride as well as that.

The (sad) reality is that you will almost certainly get significantly more for it by splitting it and selling everything separately. There's a much bigger market for 90s Campag components than there are people willing and able to pay what the complete bike is worth. It's a shame, because this is obviously set up to ride beautifully.

As you've pointed out already, there is a particular interest in Delta brakes. You can get an idea of the market value of the other parts pretty quickly by watching ebay for a week or so --- there is quite a lot of this stuff changing hands now. Bear in mind that a lot of it is not in such good condition as yours looks to be.

Nick

Thanks for the welcome and compliments on the bike.

You're right, it does ride beautifully. Back in my racing days I was always a Colnago man and owned a Master, Master Piu and later on a Bititan. All were flawless. When I decided to stop racing I sold all the expensive gear to help fund a house deposit, but kept the Loto. I got the frame at a good price as a friend's Dad ran a bike shop, so I built the bike up from my left over, spare and 'retired' parts. I seem to remember this was during the winter of '95, shortly before the actual decision to pack up. It was going to be my training bike/spare race bike, replacing an aluminium Fondriest which got written off in a crash the previous season. I get on with Bassos; the geometry isn't far off that of Colnago and the quality is good for the money. From '91 onwards I'd used a Coral (Columbus Cromor) as a winter bike and it was superb. I still have that too!

The upcoming charity ride and the desire to regain fitness have rekindled long-dormant enthusiasm for cycling, and with it my love of Colnagos. When I stopped the C40 had already begun establishing itself as the aspirational frame of choice, but was out of reach financially even if I had been able to justify it! Now of course things have moved on, although I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the C40 only went out of production in 2003 and is still quite a revered and sought after 'modern classic'. After searching for a while I recently satisfied the urge at long last and picked up a tidy AD11 in my size for a good price, and I've already started building it up with used or NOS 10-speed era Record.

Aside from the obvious self-indulgence, the other thing which prompted this is the fact that I didn't have any decent clincher wheels to hand, and I don't want to do the London-Paris on fifteen year-old tubs. With this in mind my girlfriend bought me a set of Zondas for Christmas, but of course these aren't 8-speed compatible so I set about researching how I go about updating everything and that led me to places like this.

My heart says keep the Loto, as it is obviously a nice bike and dismantling it seems such a shame, but the head says there's little sense in hanging on to potentially valuable kit that could help fund the C40 build. After a brief ride on a Time carbon last year, I'm sold on the technology. That thing blew me away; so light and fast even with my unfit 90kg propelling it along!

Decisions, decisions...

Ha! We're in the same boat then. I'm selling my old Colnago Super that I raced on in the early 90s (when it was already old) because I've got a C40 10 speed. I think of the C40 as modern technology, even though it is almost retro itself now (10 years old). I seem to be always at least 10 years behind cutting edge, but I quite like it there.

Nick

Hi
I might be late.
Do you still want to sell your Basso?