Opera Leonardo 2003 (i think)

wynne

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I owned an Opera bike before and regretted selling it. I did some big endurance events on it and it always felt fast and composed. I like Opera bikes because they don't say Pinarello on them (and thus dodge more recent city banker/Team Sky associations), but still have that magnificent pedigree.

I always liked the look of the early 2000s Operas. A friend in my cycling club had a Palladio (ti/carbon) when it came out and i thought it was one of the nicest looking bikes i've ever seen... but well beyond my budget then.

Anyway, recently i've been bashing around on a disc-braked carbon road bike and whilst it's fast and functional i do miss the zing of earlier rim-braked bikes.
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So... When i saw an ebay listing for a Leonardo a few weeks ago i decided to bid. The seller didn't list any dimensions so i asked them to measure up. While he was very helpful I wasn't totally confident in the measurements i got back - didn't quite tally with the geometry charts i could find, but i figured it seemed about my size.
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Anyway i took a punt and won the auction for £327.56. I finally got to collect it from Cheshire (from East Sussex!) last week. I was totally amazed by the condition of it - almost new.

I'm not a fan of Shimano, so i have sold the 10 speed Ultegra and the Dura Ace wheels, which has pretty much covered the cost of my purchase. 😀
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I set about stripping the bike down and setting it up Sram red/force/rival 1x11, Campag super record brakes, some nice modern Mavic Open pro ust wheels i built, and a selection of Thomson and Easton kit i had to hand. It's looking much more my cup of tea and, i think, still in sympathy with its 2003 vintage. Just waiting on a chainring to arrive.
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Can't wait to take it for a spin - if it ever stops raining.

Rich
 
I like it a lot, nice build. Some deeper section carbon rims with some nice silver Hope/King hubs would look stunning on it. 😜
 
Thank you. I have my eye on some austrian-made xentis deep carbon rims we've got lurking at work - just want to check the bike feels right before any big expenditure.
 
As I scrolled down, after you said "I'm not a fan of Shimano", and read something about Pinarello pedigree earlier, my mind was fully primed to see something Italian.😃 I was fully expecting to see some Campagnolo bits! And then I looked at the components and saw Sram. I my face was like this: 😐

Nothing wrong with that [first] red crank, I have one myself.

As for sram overall, I'm not quite sure that it's that different to shimano though is it?😕
Both industry giants.

FWIW, I think shimano is alright. It has its place. Nothing wrong with it. I prefer campy for road though, shimano for mtb.

I don't really get 1x for road bikes.😢
 
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