To John Dunn, and Classic Rendezvous:
Why my Pinarello is now a display piece: ("How can your bear not making more memories with that bike??")
I have ridden my restored Pinarello a few times, but the frame is very soft and I just can't jam on it anymore. Also, my position has changed, and I can't bend over as far as I used to, either. So, I enjoy looking at the Pinarello for what it was.
To compensate, my new vintage 1990 Tomasso has virtually identical geometry, but with a 1cm bigger frame size, a taller Nitto "Pearl" stem, and higher 3ttt "Morphe" handlebars, I've managed to get a high enough handlebar to ride comfortably.
I've also included a few modern pieces of hardware on the Tomasso that tremendously help me make up for my physical imperfections: My right leg is 7mm shorter than the left, and it's virtually impossible to shim that distance on old style Campy SL "black" pedals. I use Look pedals on my vintage bike (not quite heresy; they came out in 1986, I think) and by putting a 5mm shim under the Look cleat and a 3mm Spenco pad in my shoe, I make up my shorter leg's discrepancy.
And, the last nauseating detail: Since my left arm is longer than the right (by 1 or 1.5 cm) I use modern hidden cable Campy brake levers, but with the old style calipers. Since I don't have a cable coming out of the top of the lever, I can ride with my left hand placed further across the top of the lever, and even out the stretch between my two arms.
So, I'm 90% vintage. But, "A man's got to know his limitations!" (Clint Eastwood)
regards,
Andrew Gillis