The "Most Special" Specialissima 27-700 conversion

What started as a hunt for a Miyata 1000 turned into me scoring an '83 Univega Specialissima frame/fork off of eBay. Bascially a rebranded 1000, made in the same factory, with same tubeset (Tange Champion No.1.) The listing mentioned the non-original fork but I did some research and came to the conclusion that it was off a '90 Schwinn Voyageur. To me, it is superior to the original with mid level bosses (and 700c.) The frame itself is a 27", so I knew there was going to be some fiddling to get brakes to work with it but at least the more difficult end (fork) was 700c. Got the frame about a week or so later and immediately tried some Paul canti's. To my surprise, the backs set up very easily and felt solid from the get go. The fronts needed little filing of the slots to get the pads to line up well enough. Bikes are weird. Anyways, built the bike up that day and here we are.

I've since added a Flite.

Lovely. Like the knobbly tires on there, looking something like a cyclocross cross/hybrid. And you have room for mudguards.

Looks perfect tbh, I'd ride it. :) Bars ID?

Mudguards are on the way.

Surly 1x1 Torsion Bar. Hard to find in 25.4. I think they make a modern version though it's not called the same thing. I probably won't ever let them go.

Thanks mate, looks comfy!

This is so nice! Normally not a big fan of the Paul cantis, but they fit really well on this frame.

Some updates:
Compass Bon Jons EL w/ latex added
Soma HWY1 drops added
XTR Rear mech with 600 compact double and dt shifties
Fenders

Still to come:
2011-14 Campy 11 sp shifter for Shimergo
Bar Tape (prob black caleido)
Proper pics

Really nice, i like the frame colour. What stem is that please?

Top pics, Salsa. Bottom pics, no name. Simworks makes one that looks very similar. I'm a sucker for steel quill stems.

Me too, love the second one. Any idea where to buy?

More updates:
Shimergo complete. Chorus 11 to XTR. Works better than the brand new Potenza on my Miyata.
Updated pics:




Cheers!

great build. like it a lot.

Super nice bike. I would like to try shimergo at some point. Makes so much sense in my world

Super cool!

lovely bike, I would love a frame like this to build a commuter/touring bike but have no idea what to look for.

I couldn't believe the ease of setup with this combo. No cable tricks, I just set the limiters and tension. Barely had to tune it. I like it so much, I'm considering doing it to all of my bikes. You should give it a shot! Biggest thing with this combo is getting 1st generation Campy 11spd (2011-14). They changed the pull ratio in 2015.

Depending on your budget, there are tons of vintage touring bikes out there still. Most of them are good candidates. I tend to look at tubesets so I have some kind of idea of how the bike is going to ride. This one is Tange Champion, basically a Miyata 1000 rebranded, so I couldn't pass it up.

So it is a XTR 9 speed with early campy 11 speed?

That is correct.

So there is two "clicks" on your shifters that doesn't do anything then? How does that work for you? Is it not annoying?

There's really only one that you can only kind of feel. The other one is totally limited out. Even still, you don't actually notice it whilst riding. The shifting is very crisp, so you never feel like you need the mash the shifter past where you think it should be it. I'm not an animal.

Cool.
I do like the XTR rear mech. I'll try it someday when I find a cheap set of 11 speed Campagnolo shifters...

Great looking bike.

Bringing this back from the dead. Still have this rig, still riding it. It's settled into its utilitarian life. I've built a set of Dt350s to A23s for it. It no longer has the campy 11-shimano 9 speed bodge. Now it's got 10 speed DA on paul thumbies with some simworks little nicks. Great bars. Ritchey Max cranks. Oh and I put the Dewalt bag on temporarily about a year a half ago. It's still on there.