Colnago Competition 'Art Decor' Build

Hello again,
It may well be a familiar story to some of you, the slide down the slippery slope from 'utility cyclist' to fully fledged 'lycra jock' obsessed with Strava and 'slaying the k's' after work each day and every weekend, and for me, hasn't taken long. I can pin-point it to starting in August last year when my favourite sea creature purchased me a TORM jersey for commuting in. It was followed by some Castelli Bib-tights for Christmas and the rest is history. Lycra just felt right! Problem was that my new found love of distance riding and touring isn't really suitable to my eclectic collection of bikes (Tandems/Dutch Bikes/Postal Bikes/MTB etc) so I made the decision some time ago to purchase a road bike. Not wanting to rush into purchasing any old bike and becoming one of the cycle-to-work scheme massive', I sat back and observed the scene for a while and decided that a Burls Titanium Audax bike ticked all my boxes. That was until last week however when I had a massive craft beer induced hangover after seeing Megadeth at the Brixton academy the night before.
I was actually after some parts for my other, and now concurrent, Hobbs of Barbican build when I in inadvertently stumbled across my latest project.
I am now the proud owner of this Colnago Competition 'Art Decor' purchased from a fellow forum member. I think it's pant droppingly beautiful and you can imagine whoever painted it attending one of Berlusconi's bunga-bungs parties.
I really need to invest in some sort of device that stops me logging onto my PC when drunk or hungover.
Between the frame and the forks, It has the word Colnago' no less than 16 times, potentially more, I lost count.
I would love to do a period style restoration but want to build it up quickly as the need to go faster/further/longer is growing stronger by the day whilst summer is here. I want to be able to keep up with my mates in the Kent lanes and not have to be chasing them whilst riding one-up up Toy's Hill on my 5 speed 70's tandem.
Could I get away with building this up with a modern Campag Athena or Record groupset? Is this sacrilege? I know nothing about roadbikes however the thought of waiting for period parts to come up and a slow build is depressing. Here are some pics of it and yes, I know my skirting boards could use a dust....

[URL=http://s926.photobucket.com/user/7VEN_bucket/media/BJH%20Tribute/486fc836-58c9-40af-9e3c-2434f90d87bb.jpg.html][/URL]

modern Athena or Record would look great on it.

*Could I get away with building this up with a modern Campag Athena or Record groupset? Is this sacrilege? *

It's your bike you can do what you want with it. Doing a 'period' restoration might be enjoyable if it's an end in itself but all this talk about sacrilege and the rest is just bollocks. One thing is certain; modern parts work better. My Colnago may be period correct but I'd swap the 8 speed out for 11 no problem if I could afford it.
Don't let other people's snobbery, one-up-manship, OCD and mental health issues disguised as taste put you off doing whatever you want with your own bike.

but I'd swap the 8 speed out for 11 no problem if I could afford it.

With an OLN of 130, would 11 speed fit? #knownothingaboutroadbikes

^^ The last line of the above statement could be applied to a wide number of threads on this forum.

With an OLN of 130, would 11 speed fit? #knownothingaboutroadbikes

Yes, it would.

Yes, it would.

Thanks, then I think my mind is made up.

Fixed, no brakes, mismatched wheels, a fugly Brooks and pedals with straps? That would be my choice too.

Sounds like a plan........not....... :)

Lovely frame.

IIRC 11-speed Campagnolo can give problems on some frames in relation to the chain clearing the seat stay in top gear, but I think with skinny / straight steel stays there'd be no issues.

Don't let other people's snobbery, one-up-manship, OCD and mental health issues disguised as taste put you off doing whatever you want with your own bike.

Hi, you must be new to Current Projects!

+1 to Wigan will, repped. A nice 10/11 speed groupset would look lovely on that. Bear in mind that campag 10 speed replacement parts are alot cheaper than 11 speed and if your not racing etc makes very little difference indeed.

Also, dont buy campag cranksets that are labelled 'power - torque'. They necessitate the purchase of various stupid/expensive tools to fit/take off and arent as good as the 'Ultra-Torque' ones

I sometimes check in to see what Dammit has been weighing or what new place he has found for a battery, but otherwise, no.
Though I was intrigued to discover in a thread that swapping one pair of wheels for another now counts as a 'project'. Which must make new handlebar tape an adventure and fitting a different saddle on a par with Operation Overlord.

It's really just a place for showing off, but a lot of us are into that and it seems to work alright.

This frame is a wonderful thing to be showing off. I think a black Campag groupset and some understated black wheels and finishing kit (Thomson perhaps) would really make the colour in the frame stand out.

IMHO .. Athena and period finishing kit. Take a look at this Shifter bikes build as an example of what I'm thinking.

http://www.fyxomatosis.com/index.php/gallery-of-bicycle-builds/classic-bicycles/1065-the-iceberg

It's just a bike, build it up with anything that works and will make you smile! Saying that, I think Campag and Colnago are inseparable (sorry Tommmm, I'd go with silver). Modern looks good and works better than old. Above all, ride the bloody thing.....

Couldn't agree more about the wankery of some 'period' builds and my Gios is probably the worst offender on here! In my defence I've had it and 90% of the parts from new and it's a comparatively rare frame which for no clearly defined or logical reason 'should' be restored. It will be ridden, not hung on a wall.

Ignore the snobs, enjoy your bike!

Wow, that is some frame! At this point I wouldn't worry about the new/old controversy, just build it up and ride it!

Even the Colnago/Campag thing is a bit snobby isn't it? Unless you happen to like Campag of course. I fitted out my old steel frame with SRAM Force. The levers work very well with classic shaped bars like the Cinelli Campione Del Mondo.

Toys Hill is one of the reasons I went with modern 10 speed (& compact) rather than NOS. 34/25 is a lot more fun than my old first gear of 42/23!

*Could I get away with building this up with a modern Campag Athena or Record groupset? Is this sacrilege? *

It's your bike you can do what you want with it. Doing a 'period' restoration might be enjoyable if it's an end in itself but all this talk about sacrilege and the rest is just bollocks. One thing is certain; modern parts work better. My Colnago may be period correct but I'd swap the 8 speed out for 11 no problem if I could afford it.
Don't let other people's snobbery, one-up-manship, OCD and mental health issues disguised as taste put you off doing whatever you want with your own bike.

doubt i'm the first to rep this

oh and lovely paint job to the OP. enjoy the build and more importantly the ride

and reading the rest of the page, ben beat me to it :)

Also earned it from me. Very wise comment. But that and PhilPub's comment about snobbishness stand out like sore thumbs!

Looking forward to seeing this develop. A guy came into my work the other day with a Colnago Mapei frame which was one of the nicest bikes I have ever seen. Poor thing was being ridden without a top cap, no bar ends, and 1 1/8" spacers wobbling around on a 1" steerer. I hoped that fixing it for him and my obvious lust would inspire him to give it to me, but I think he knows what he had and will be trying to cash in soon.

modern Athena or Record would look great on it.

+1.
A carbon crank arm would look delicious next to that special paint job.

It's just a bike, build it up with anything that works and will make you smile! Saying that, I think Campag and Colnago are inseparable

Nonsense, there are very strong Shimano ties to Colnago.

Not saying that this frame wouldn't look better with Campagnolo though. I agree, Centaur or something would look great.

I think a silver groupset would work very well with dark paintjob.
whichever you like, just from visual point of view (huh)

Thanks for your opinions everyone.
I think I'll go for a modern Campag Record build however after seeing Fox's Pearson built up with SRAM Red and the rave reviews that SRAM seem to be getting at the moment, could be tempted to go down this route.
In other news, where can I find these bits that attach to the downtube bosses for the cable stops?
They wouldn't come with the groupset would they?