Unnecessary Bicycles with Fibreglass: Softride Qualifier 650, Look 496 Tri, Colnago Super, Velo Orange Neutrino

496 is dope af

Cant wait to see the black group in place

Earlier this year (before i stumbled into my saeco build) i thought about doing exactly the same thing

Thanks all for the kind words. I don't want any trouble! I only wish to build my silly bicycles very slowly and in peace.

My primary road bike has 2012 Athena 11-speed, so I was thinking it would be nice if the Look could also be 11-speed so that the two could share wheels, cassettes and chains, of which I already have a bunch. I'm kind of anal about drivetrain wear and the idea of drivetrain components bedding in together from fresh simultaneously, so along with the non-two-tone chain rings I was already also going to buy a new cassette and chain. But with Centaur 10 cassettes and Record 10 chains not being materially less expensive than their 11-speed equivalents, it seems a bit of a waste to buy into 10-speed, especially when I already have 11-speed inventory.

Instead, I have been thinking about this: if I were to get a Potenza 11 rear derailleur, a post-2015 Record/Chorus 11 right lever body, the matching hood and some 11-speed chain rings, could I make this work? The illustrations for the Record 11 and Centaur 10 lever bodies make it look like the lever blades are cross-compatible, so if possible I'd also want to use a matching Centaur Carbon blade to make things look slightly less weird. Basically:

1. Is a Potenza 11 rear derailleur compatible with a post-2015 Record 11 lever?
   
2. Are post-2009 Campagnolo lever blades interchangeable?
   
3. Will the combination of 10-speed front derailleur, 10-speed crankset and 11-speed chain rings yield at least passable front shifting?
   
4. Is this something I need to ask in the Campagnolo thread, or is that thread more focused on the concept of Campagnolo than the execution?
   
5. Would it even be worth the money to do this?
   

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I did some reading yesterday and apparently mixing Potenza with Chorus and up is a no-go due to differences in derailleur spring tension. The claim is that it works initially but drifts out of adjustment, which is something that I can believe if springs are involved. Obviously, then, this necessitates a matching set. There are still 11-speed Chorus and Potenza shifters and derailleurs out there for sale, but even looking at the used market and some-assembly-required shifter options, I don't think I can get either setup to cost less than two times what I paid for the whole Centaur groupset, which kind of feels like a lot for a quality of life upgrade.

Another thing I encountered during my research is people from the early 11-speed days wanting to upgrade their existing 10-speed setups to 11-speed, like I am trying to do. This post indicates that it's possible if you do a little mod to the derailleur, but the attached images are long dead. So I went down to the basement to grab my 10-speed derailleur to follow along with the instructions, and when I was trying to figure out how grinding down the threads on the cable clamping bolt would help with this situation, it occurred to me that the method outlined is intended for pre-2009 10-speed.

I went back downstairs to get my NOS backup Athena 11 derailleur, and:

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I think they're exactly the same. As far as I can tell they have identical dimensions. The Centaur weighs 10 grams more, but it's also painted, and the jockey wheels are probably a little thicker. The spring tensions also seem to be the same (the Athena is maybe a touch stronger, but it also has never been used).

Therefore, the new plan is to obtain a set of 11-speed Athena levers I found in Ontario that I'd been weighing up buying anyway for spares, and then change the lever blade out for the carbon one from the Centaur shifter. I will also see about also potentially swapping the paddle, but I've got to be honest, it looks difficult.

https://youtu.be/i5mzR8-rh8M

I hope it all works.

I am, as ever, waiting for parts to arrive. Some things have started to come in, including the Athena shifters and the Stronglight outer chain ring. To my relief, I don't have to grind any of it down because it's close enough in thickness to the original (and Centaur Carbon cranks don't have the weird design that first-gen Athena Carbon did) that the mounting face for the hidden bolt is not a problem. What is a problem, though, is that the Centaur Carbon chain ring bolts (FC-RE303) don't fit because the bolt holes on the chain ring are 8 mm in diameter rather than 10. I'm not a hundred percent sure yet because the small ring is still in Germany, but I suspect that it has threaded bolt holes and consequently I need the FC-SR200 bolts, which are a painful $35.

On a different topic, this is the one bike that I actually ride. It is a complete, fully functional bicycle with no parts missing or in transit. I am planning to make a few changes, so I wanted to document it in its current state.

Frame: 1982 Colnago Super 52 cm
Fork: Time Club
Groupset: Campagnolo Athena 11 (53-39, Chorus 12-29, Record chain)
Wheels: Velocity A23 20/24, BikeHubStore SLF71W/SL211, Sapim CX-Ray
Tires: Hutchinson Sector 28 mm
Saddle: Bontrager Aeolus Elite 145 mm
Seat post: PMP SB.14 Titanium
Handlebars: Ritchey Classic NeoClassic 40 cm
Stem: Thomson X2 100 mm
Headset: Campagnolo Record Threadless
Pedals: MKS Urban Step-In A
Miscellaneous: Arundel Stainless bottle cage, Knog Oi Titanium bell

It weighs 19.5 pounds as pictured, including practical pedals, bell, sealant and Hexlox.

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Best Colnago I’ve ever seen, they usually do very little for me. Nice work

Super nice and clean build on the Nago

wouldride

So so nice

@Matisse @e54 @Dexter Thank you!

Just stumbled upon this thread and I love it all.

If by any chance you ever get tired of those Spinergy wheels (or the HED ones), I would be happy to take them of your hands. I used to have a pair, but I sold mine as part of a complete bike. Still think they look great in my Kestrel though.

Hi Stephan, I'd be willing to part with the Heds. I'll send you a message.

Hi,
Did you changed the original saddle clamp of your Softride? If so, would you mind sharing where you got it, or the brand name? I have Softride TT frame that has no saddle clamp, and I'm searching to find one.
Thanks.

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not sure of the diameter but looks like the old style enve saddle clamp kit might fit in there

Hi,
Thanks for the information, but this will not work. It should be like a circular wedge going inside the seat mount. I wanted to ask Fibreglass what did he used, seems like he changed the original saddle clamp and replaced it with something like the Specialized Venge clamp. Something like this will work, but not sure about the circular wedge diameter. Thanks again.

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Hello! I did change the clamp. I'm using a clamp assembly for the Giant Contact Switch seat post, Giant part number 150000028 for 7 mm metal rails or 150000048 for 9 mm carbon rails. I got it at my LBS.

If you're not able to find that, the people in the Softride Facebook group report having success with this Bontrager part or its J&L clone. I don't have experience with either of those because the Giant part works well for me, and I prefer it in theory because it has a longer support area for the saddle rails.

Hi,
Thank you very much for the valuable information. I’ll search for the Giant, and if not I’ll order the Bontrager clone from J&L. Actually the photo is from J&L but for the Specialized saddles. I’m also searching for a 650 fork to start this winter project. Stay safe.

Hi,
If you still have the original saddle clamp that you've taken off from your Softride Power Curve,
and have no use for it, I would like to purchase it.

I bought the J&L clone recently, but it doesn't secure tightly the 7mm saddle rail. The Giant saddle rail for 7mm is currently not available at Giant websites, only the clamp for 9mm are available. All my saddles have 7mm rails and buying another saddle is not practical.

Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.

I have less than one week's worth of evenings and weekends to build this before I take it away on a trip.

• The drivetrain I have planned is somewhat ambitious and I really hope it works.
  
• I have never set up hydraulic disc brakes before.
  

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What’s the trip? Lovely thread, bonkers.

A neutrino and a fast build; an excellent content combo.

Typed out a hilarious comment about holy excess steerer tube but then checked just in case it was a twenty so I didn’t look stupid. Hahaha, now nobody will ever know…

Unfortunately, as a result of 'being an adult' with 'responsibilities and obligations', I wasn't able to get as much done on this over this weekend as I'd have liked. I did indeed cut the steerer, but only enough to fit every spare 1 1/8 inch spacer I own - by my math, I think the bars should be high enough with this setup, but every Neutrino on the internet seems to have about a foot of spacers beneath the stem, which has me a bit spooked.

Speaking of the stem, I am quite pleased about the way it has worked out. Every other one of my bikes has a -17 degree stem due to vanity, which sadly is not a possibility with this frame. In my view, the only other acceptable option is the stem being parallel to the top tube, which I have achieved here by using Photoshop to inspect photos of other size small Neutrinos and thereby estimate the angle of the top tube. There are not very many -4 degree stems on the market, but the Zipp SL-OS is one, if you use it on a 1 1/8 inch steerer with the ±2 degree shim that used to be included with it.

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Thank you! I'm just driving out to Vancouver to see some friends. There will be some cycling, but it's not the main point of the trip.

-17 strm would look weird on this; looks good like that. Impeccable photoshop skills.