BUILDING THE PINARELLO TREVISIO

When I purchased the Pinarello, I did so for myself.  I have come to believe that vintage Italian bicycles are among the best in the world.  I bought the Trevisio for me and I wanted to ride the bicycle, as soon as I could.  That decision would mean a full rebuild of this great old Italian bicycle.  But, first the bike would get a complete and thorough check over, followed by the all important test ride.  A test ride that proved to be quite a treat.

With a "safety and does it work right inspection" out the way, the Pinarello and I headed down the laneway.  Each brake was tested, in turn, and found to be fine.  The bike and I turned left, at the street and headed down the block.  Once up to speed, I slowly relaxed my grip, on the handlebars, paying close attention to any hint of the bike's tendency to pull, one way or the other.  The Pinarello proved to be rock stable.  Stable, and light feeling, at the same time, if that makes any sense.  The bicycle encouraged confidence.  It felt a part of me, right from the first day.  The Pinarello test ride was the second best, I have experienced.  The best test ride was on another Italian mount, a seventies something entry level Legnano, believe it or not.

I must admit that the Campagnolo Athena transmission was not working, as well as one would like.  It shifted slowly, and managed to miss a shift, now and again.  I attributed this to two factors.

First, I was told that there were "chain issues" with the bicycle, and this might be what those issues looked like.  Second, it could just be that I don't like Ergo Shifters, or Brifters, as they have come to be know, in vintage circles.  I had tried them one time before, on my nineties something Bianchi Trofeo, and I did not like those shifters, at all.  To that, add the fact that the left hand brake/shift lever housing had been damaged, something I missed, when first inspecting the bicycle, at Fred's shop.  However, I managed to put the poor shifting, from my mind, and focus on how the bicycle felt.  It was a near perfect ride, but something was missing.  Perhaps that "something missing" feeling would be addressed, once the bicycle had been completely rebuilt.

Other than a busted and repaired (sort of) left control lever, the rebuild was an uneventful exercise.  I stripped the bicycle completely, rebuilt the bottom bracket, wheel hubs and head set bearings, and assembled the bicycle, with new cables and handlebar tape.  That's about all I felt was necessary, for the first season's ride.  Anything substandard, that needed replacing would be replaced, at the next rebuild, if there ever was to be one.

Part of owning a vintage road bicycle, is finding that last component needed, to finish the bicycle off, just the way it was intended to be.  With the Trevisio on the road, and that need for the component in mind, I started my search for the correct lever, but was content to use the original one, for the time being.  My search efforts were rewarded, in relatively short order, and for a very reasonable price.  That new, and I mean new as in new old stock (NOS), lever was installed the following winter, along with a set of NOS Campy hoods.. 

Two other items were included, in the add or replace list.  Though the tires on the Pinarello looked to be in good shape, I had a chance to pick up a set of red Michelins, for a very good price.  I had mounted similar tires on my Marinoni Quebec and found them to be quite acceptable.  The Michelins are not top of the line tires, or near to it, certainly not for less that twenty dollars a piece price.  But, they did the job well enough, for the time being, and look good doing it.  I should add that, I have come to understand that running gear makes up a great part, of a great riding bicycle.  Choose the best wheels and tires affordable, when appropriate to do so.  It does make a huge difference in ride quality.  Problem is, I cannot always afford the best.  Anyway...

Surprisingly enough, the wheel set was in excellent condition and the set was of very good quality.  Campagnolo Athena hubs, were laced with stainless steel butted spokes, to Mavic Ceramic rims.  The set was pretty true, "as found", but I did some touch-up, to get them as close to perfect as I could.  I should also add that a second set of wheels, accompanied the Pinarello, when I opened the box.  Shimano 600 eight speed hubs, laced to Mavic Open 4 CD rims was a pleasant surprise to find.  Today, those great old rims are mounted on my Gardin Team Issue and the hubs found a new home through the Ebay adoption program.

As mentioned, the hubs were Campy units, completing the full Campagnolo grouppo, and of newer origin. I honestly don't know too much about Campy's newer offerings.  I do, however, intend to figure out, all I can, about this and that, when it comes to Campagnolo stuff.  Something to write about in the future.  At any rate, the wheel set that was mounted on the Trevisio was a very nice, quality, set of hoops.

Handlebar tape is always an "I gotta replace it" item.  Only one time, have I built up a bicycle, without changing the handlebar tape.  That bike was the seventies something Legnano mentioned earlier. I stumbled across that old Italian bike, at the Dump one day, and decided to build up as a "rat bike".  Anyway...

Handlebar tape is an important item, as far as I am concerned.  It adds considerably to, both, comfort and safety factors, when riding.  Tape, be it the top of the line, pricy stuff, or the cheaper stuff, that I use, always improves both, the looks and feel, of any old road bicycle.  With that in mind, I replaced the Pinarello's tape, but I initially picked a horrible color.  I happened to have a set of red cushioned tape which I installed on the bicycle.  Though tape usually improves a bicycle's appearance, that red stuff did not!  It looked just awful and I prepared myself to spend the balance of the first season hating it.  But I failed miserably.  The tape was that ugly!  A week or so later, I spent another few dollars, to replace the red tape with black, and the resulting appearance of the bicycle was vastly improved.

After the Pinarello, and I, had completed our first riding season together, I stripped the bicycle again - right down to the bare bones.  I rebuilt everything, very carefully, ensuring this time, that I did not compromise in the mechanical department.  The NOS left brake lever was installed and I even decided to install a new set of Campagnolo hoods.  The newer style hood, by the way, are no where near as pricy as their older siblings that fit Super and Nouvo Record levers.  Thirty dollars was all it took, including shipping, to buy and install a new set of Campy hoods.

I mounted one of my Brooks saddles on the Trevisio.  Though the Brooks saddle is, generally, my choice for my personal bikes, I could not find a Brooks that suited the Pinarello.  Even a, brand new, Brooks Professional did not look right.  I toyed with the idea of purchasing a newer style saddle locally, and almost did so.  I scoured the lists on Ebay, to  no avail.  I considered spending the extra dollars to buy an original Pinarello saddle, but didn't.

I finally went to The Old Shed, and took a look, to see what I might have, that would do the job.  As it turned out, I did have a saddle that would do the job, even though I wonder about the period correct qualities.  The saddle I chose, was an Italian Unicanitor and it was in good condition.  Even though it sported a scuff or two, the old leather saddle would do the job.

With the bicycle nearly completed, I decided to install a computer.  Though these modern instruments look miserably out of place on my vintage rides, all but three of my personal bicycles have been fitted with computers.  So far I have not had the heart to install one on my mid seventies 1975 Sekine SHT-270.  Nor has one become part of my 1975 CCM Tour du Canada's make up.  And my Cambio Rino has never had a computer installed, since I restored the bicycle several years ago.  However, there is a new wireless instrument sitting on the shelf, and it is targeted for my Rino.  Or perhaps the Gardin Special, I just finished and test rode the other day.

NEXT - RIDING THE PINARELLO TREVISIO