1979 Rondinella

[squirrelchaser]

I got this cheap as it has paint issues but it's quality made it too good to pass up .
I bought it off the original owners husband who told me it was built for 26" wheels with canti's . In the later 80's with the disappearance of quality 26" road tyres the bike was changed to 700's and the canti bosses removed . This is the main paint issue .
I thought , initially , that with such bad scarring and grubby general appearance it would be a no brainer to just have it repainted . It still has definite attractions . However , upon close inspection it's grubby general appearance seems to be due to and accumulation of old and yellowed wax which when scraped off reveals quite vibrant and well preserved paint .

I've never tried any kind of serious paint restoration and have sometimes found that resprays can leave the end result a bit soulless .
This is the rabbit hole I now find myself in .
To paint or not to paint , that is the question . Weather it's nobler , in the end , to preserve patina{??} and take aim at a sea of bubbles .......Or just get it painted .
To do it , and the attention put into it's construction justice , it would need wet painting by someone good . It's a straight forward frame built precisely and cleanly and powder coating finishes can be a bit bulky which could hide it's best features

 

[squirrelchaser]

Just for comparison a pic with about 3 hrs of thumbnail scraping of wax .

 

[grantoury]

Onto a sea of bubbles, banzai! If you wanted my opinion, anyway. That frame has some lovely details.

 

[squirrelchaser]

So for now , until I make up my mind all I can do is a dry build to see what components I might be missing and how best to finish the spec .
I have the wheels and a TA Cyclotouriste chainset . I was going to try using Nuovo Record at the edge of its range . I want to use 32 - 46 t chainrings to a 13-26 freewheel which gives about 33" as the bottom and 93" as the top .
The brakes are tricky as I'd like to use centre pulls but the clearance is pretty close . I have a pair of Mafacs and a single Universal that I'll look at . If they are too long I have some Record calipers that will work .
In the short term {at least} a Nuovo Record pin with a B17 on .
The bars I'm very unsure of but I have a nice Biba stem .........

 

[squirrelchaser]

Onto a sea of bubbles, banzai! If you wanted my opinion, anyway. That frame has some lovely details.

That's where I'm leaning . I can scrape away at leisure , for free , and have lost nothing but the end of a thumbnail . If it doesn't work out , paint it .

 

[vcballbat]

So for now , until I make up my mind all I can do is a dry build to see what components I might be missing and how best to finish the spec .
I have the wheels and a TA Cyclotouriste chainset . I was going to try using Nuovo Record at the edge of its range . I want to use 32 - 46 t chainrings to a 13-26 freewheel which gives about 33" as the bottom and 93" as the top .
The brakes are tricky as I'd like to use centre pulls but the clearance is pretty close . I have a pair of Mafacs and a single Universal that I'll look at . If they are too long I have some Record calipers that will work .
In the short term {at least} a Nuovo Record pin with a B17 on .
The bars I'm very unsure of but I have a nice Biba stem .........

The shorter reach Weinnman 610 centre pulls could work. The original paint looks great especially if it's going to be a rider

 

[squirrelchaser]

The shorter reach Weinnman 610 centre pulls could work. The original paint looks great especially if it's going to be a rider

Yes , I was thinking 610's are plan c if all else fails .
They've got to be riders , I think . Even the tt bike !

 

[squirrelchaser]

Onto a sea of bubbles, banzai! If you wanted my opinion, anyway. That frame has some lovely details.

I do very much want your opinion m'lud .

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

I have some.

 

[squirrelchaser]

I have some.

610's ?