pimp my ride - gazelle champion mondiale ab '92

hi all,
just became a member due to a growing interest in cycling - and the nature of my bike (mentioned above) perfectly fitting the title of this forum.
i'm from germany though living in the netherlands - and recently rediscovered my thing for cycling. my dad gave me this gazelle around 10 years ago- and last year i finally took it out again. got it fixed where needed, and wow-how little that was amazed me given the ages on this one. took it for rides twice a week and am hooked.
now, don't laugh, but in this part of nl there are pretty impressive if not very long ascents. the road worldcup took place here this year.
anyways, there are a few things i'd like to improve, such as replace the cassette and the crank set. a third dial in front would be great.
also, i was wondering if it was possible to install the newer gearshifting on the steering vs those on the frame, or as i have a touring steering (which i dont really use) -all the way upfront. budget shouldnt go beyond 200euros, so can anyone help me in identifying the options and spare's that i need? help is
greatly appreciated.
cheers,
mats

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting your Gazelle. It sounds to me like you have the perfect opportunity to build a bike to the specification you would like. Your 200 euros could be used to get a nice (steel!) Frame, and this will give you a nice project. It will take you longer but you will retain the bike that got you interested and have the experience of putting something together to your exact specification. Just a suggestion of course!

welcome welcome, that gazelle looks to be a very nice little project to get started. i'm unsure of prices in EU at the moment, but if it was me and i wanted to make some changes to the bike, the only thing i would need is to buy some new sti shifters, drop bars and stem combo, a couple of new shifter cables and some beer!

I'm sure there are a few guys on the forums who would be more than happy to help you with how to put it back together.

Good luck with the "pimping"!

hi,
thanks for answering-will check for those spare parts you mention, but wont replace the frame . just love this old-timer and want to keep it kind of this way. my idea is to make it a bit more 'comfortable' with more gears and more convenient to shift.
thanks,
mats

As said above, new bars would be first on the list. The stem looks too short for a frame of that size as well. Maybe try indexed down tube shifter first unless money is no object?

well, budget is set to ca 200 euro, so maybe i can get some good but used sti shifters plus cables as well as some more spare parts (drop bar, cassette and crank set) for that. maybe even ultegra here and there. now, i currently still have the original shimano 600 on the bike. 7 dials in the back and 2 in the front. what are possible issues when wanting to put in a cassette with 9 and a crankset with 3 dials?

regarding the stem-you are right - it does seem short and i guess the one benefit of the current steering bar is that it compensates for this shortcoming. i'm 190cm, and since i do want a drop bar - i guess the stem will have to be extra large-or is that impossible?

thanks,
mats

Hi,

I am new to this as well, i have posted about numerous problems and they have been collated in my build thread -
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=228672
This might help you out.

I have bought quite a number of bits and pieces from RB and further afield. There is a Dutch website which i have bought items from that were reasonable in price - if you want the details send me a pm. You also have ebay there, look for vintage bike parts.

You bike looks great as it is but as you say it may not be practical for what you need it for.