Roberts track

well done gaz. very classy. when will it be hitting the track?

proper bike that

Well.... Obviously I am itching to get this thing out there and to rag it around in the manner in which it was intended, but at the same time some of the components I've ended up with are just in too good a nick (and too goddamn expensive, frankly!) to risk getting all trashed up in a silly accident, etc.

When the summer arrives, I imagine I shall be taking a slightly modified version of this bike to the track: The saddle and pedal set-up will almost certainly never see more than the politest poserish action, and will get replaced by an old Rolls (a personal favourite of my ass), and some modern clipless pedals (the same ones as whatever I get for the road bike), for when I'm just excercising... the handle bar and stem will probably be replaced by an A1 / Criterium version, partly due to the cost of the pista parts, but also because I think the seat-to-bar drop will be too steep for me anyway. (Hopefully still with white Benotto, though!)

Not sure about the cranks... They are totally spotless as well. bla bla.

I'm actually still considering getting Roberts to re-do the paint so it's totally pristine, and just keeping it as a collectors item / wall-hanger... Or even selling the frame and saving the hyperthetical respray money (and then some) to get something ludicrous:

or a laser.

(yeah, like fuck)

Come rain or shine I have ridden my Cinelli superpista religiously for the last few years & I loved every minute of it !!!! Its now ready for a rebuild :)

you cant spend a grand on a bike then hang it on the wall! you have the thrash that fucker........or just left it as it was and used it............

This'll be my pub by 2014.
(when I've nicked buddha's superpista).

thats more like it......... i doubt it will get that ruffed up(hopefully) on the track..........its a a super build, ride it.

+1 for laser

very nice bike!

and +3087643542 on the laser. damn, if i knew where to get one (or even just a supercorsa pista..), i'd already be cutting both of my kidneys out..

That's the problem with having a showroom bike. You can't trash it around as much.

Mine's a mixed mut. Flaked orig paint and chrome w/ NOS Gipemme Pista chainset. Would be a nightmare to scratch that.

Lovely bike that Gaz! Now where's the finished build?

Finished build coming soon (well, in the next couple of months hopefully).
Then I'll take some nice photos, post them everywhere I can think of on the internet, stick it all on ebay, retire to the tropics and get into some other ballbag-crunchingly expensive hobby, like yachts or cocaine, etc.

Didn't they reissue the Laser recently?
What became of that?

The new Laser looks like shite. You should shop for the real deal! Cocaine sounds ideal.

+1

new laser's no laser. apart from the frameset at least.. (i'm talking about the reissued 30 track frames) i think they were made by the same guy who did the originals.

found a red original in indonesia a while back. pretty battered and for a shitload of cash, so i'd say first the cocaine business and then the laser.. there's no other way. as there's nobody selling one either..

"Yacht racing is like standing in a cold shower in your best suit tearing up £50 notes." i'd stick to sweet fixeh skids...

collectors item... respray

collectors would want original paint, resprays not so much

Even if it was done by Roberts to the original spec?
(serious question)

I guess it doesn't matter, tbh.
When I say collectors item I really just mean mainly for gawping at.

And as far as that's concerned, spotless paint would be the cherry on the cake for me.
You know what I'm like about paint, Ben!

..maaaayne..you only get patina once. also, used means that your just as inclined to use the fecker because it is used. trash it up. ride the fuck out of it. then don't even respray. think about it.. a 70 quid roberts track. cherry red too! ride it!

Even if it was done by Roberts to the original spec?

Even if done by Roberts. No one here is drooling less because of a couple of chips on the chain stay. If you respray it it's a respray, It will never be NOS again. And never original paint again.

I see it like this. Original paint is another original component that tells others interested in the marque how it was exactly back in the day. Provides a guide for other people to respray/rebuild. I'd be much prouder/able to show off good/ex original paint than a mint respray.

In 30 years you'll see the sense. Like owning an orig paint Hetchins now.

^^^this

How about NOS decals on a patinated frame?

Fair enough, Ben. If you put it like that than I begin to understand. Although I do think it seems to have more to do with fetishism than understanding the marque if we're talking about re-doing it exactly the same as it was.

Either way, all this seems like more than enough reason not to spend any more on this project which is fine by me! : )
If I really want better paint, I guess it would be better to look at different frames and find something from the same period in better condition. Seeing as this frame was such a bargain, it would be fairly easy to upgrade without even spending that much more...

I would never be 100% sure i was getting the same paintjob either. Different people/process?/colour/etc...there's an art to it and the original artist is not the guy you'll get this time.

Don't you dare touch that paint!