Scapin Number 2 (colour may damage retinas)

Caveat - I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing

So, I have moved to the land of Pinarello (Treviso) but my budget can't even stretch to one of their jerseys, let alone a bike. So, owning a Scapin already (which is still in the UK) - similar to the image below - I thought I'd have a look on Subito (the Italian equivalent to Gumtree) to see what came up.

Lo and behold, I found one of these:

Like my other bike it's also Columbus Genius, so very light. After a relatively painless train journey, I now have it in my apartment. I will probably just strip it, clean it, grease it and rebuild it but I figured I could maybe replace some of the parts whilst I'm at it, if they are glaringly out of place. I have a feeling they will be. Examples: Ritchey Scuzzy Logic headset; woman's saddle (Selle Aspide glamour); Look pedals (I prefer track pedals); Ambrosio red rims. The drivetrain is a mix of Shimano (what I think is 6500 Ultegra) and Dura Ace. In an ideal world I'd replace all the Shimano with Campagnolo but I can't afford to do that and it's a ballache. I'm pleased it has the Scapin branded carbon fibre fork, plus a 3T Mutant stem, also with Scapin branding. I quite fancy putting slighter fatter tyres on, because the roads here are a mix of smooth concrete and crumbling cobbles.

Any suggestions? Better photos to follow once I've given it a clean (it was apparently hanging in the owner's house for 5 years).

Scapin are fairly local to Treviso I think. Definitely in the Veneto region.

Hmm, based in Piove Di Sacco, which is closer to Padua. Still, not too far from Treviso.

I didn't realise they were as local as that! An old bike repair chap came out of his shop as I wheeled past, he was interested to look over it. He actually adjusted the brakes for me as he felt the pads were a little far from the rim. Lovely guy.

Right. A tiny bit of progress. It's bizarre how difficult it is finding track pedals in Italy, considering how many Miche/Gipiemme/Campagnolo ones I see for sale in the UK. It's been a nightmare. In the end, I bought exactly the same ones that I have on my bike in the UK.

I also chucked some Sram bar tape in to get free shipping.

All my tools are in the UK so this is clearly going to take ages. Anyone have any ideas on some suitable rims to replace these godawful red Ambrosio ones?

Well I've managed to get the pedals on and I gave it a clean in a local car wash, but it's still absolutely caked in old grime. I'm going to strip it down.

FYI buying tools in Italy is difficult

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Feel free to ask me anything if you need any help or suggestions, I was born and grew up in Montebelluna (TV).

Nice Scapin!

Cheers Breso, yes Montebelluna is very close but I've yet to visit. Working 6 days a week so no time yet to venture out much. Hopefully at the end of the month with the innumerable national holidays I'll get a chance.

As I'm stripping this down, is it worth replacing the headset? The 1 inch threadless options are more than limited; it seems Ritchey have the only reasonably priced ones available (either a new Scuzzy Logic or a Ritchey WCS Logic). I'd like a Chris King but that isn't going to happen.

Cane creek 40?

I didn't realise these even existed! Thanks - I spent hours reading about the various 1 inch threadless headsets and I was looking for an alternative to Richey, but couldn't find anything. Cheers for the heads up, I'll see if I can track one down in (or at least available in) Italy.

Tange do a technoglide one as well.

I had a look online, I prefer the look of the Cane Creek (plus I can get it for ~€40).

In other news, the guy in the Pinarello store took pity on me and gave me a load of tools, so I started stripping the bike earlier. I'm convinced the headset is the original one so will replace it. The cables, brake pads, chain and a few other bits will have to go as well. The wheels are so heavy compared to the Campagnolo ones on my other bike; I don't think the Ultegra hubs help.

OK, apologies for my ignorance but which of these headsets do I want?

The bottom one.

....and make sure you get one that fits your frame. Does it have a 1" or a 1 1/8" steerer tube?

@andyp thanks, I would have ordered the wrong one. Like a muppet.

@Carabo cheers, it has a 1" steerer tube. I have finally dismantled everything so the clean-up and replacement begins now. I used a fucking wooden spoon to hammer the crown race off, if that gives an indication as to the level of professionalism being shown.

Frame and forks are currently with Matteo at the Pinarello workshop having the Cane Creek 40 headset fitted. I've spent the last week stripping everything down, cleaning and re-greasing until the apartment stinks and my hands are shredded. Waiting on some Autosol but hope to have the majority of bits built up this by weekend. Buying any kind of polish/tools/cleaner/equipment in Italy is absolutely horrendous; I ended up buffing the frame with hair conditioner. Photos to follow.

OK I lied; no photos because the damned bike isn't fully built up. I've hit another snag. The rear hub cones (Shimano Ultegra 6500) are borked. The poor bastard in the Pinarello garage has stripped the hubs and despite the bearings being OK, the cones are most certainly not. He's been through everything they have in stock and there are no suitable replacements.

So: does anyone know what on earth I can do about this? Sack off the rear hub and get a new one that's compatible with 9 speed Shimano? Is that even possible? This is proving very frustrating now.

these bits are a pain to get hold of nowadays. there is a rear axle/cone kit on amazon (us) for 35 dollars, but they are getting rare. a local shop once managed to get a set of 5500 front cones (same thing as the 6500) from shimano, but it took ages..

the left cone can be replaced with a generic miche/misc. one and you can transfer the metal shield onto the new cone. the left one is not so special, so you might be able to replace it with something more common. the shield transfer method is also applicable for the front ones, but you might have to get a machine shop to shave a bit off the outside of the cones for the dust shields to fit... (don't throw them away as they are needed to seal the hub)

second (more sensible) option would be to build a wheelset that lasts.. shimano's cup-and-cone design is very good if you meticulously service the hubs and don't go out in bad weather.. cartridge bearings ftw.

I would love to but I don't think I can justify it on this bike - I've tried to recycle as many parts as I can and really just want something to use now the summer is on its way.

With that in mind, is it an option to replace the Ultegra 6500 rear hub?

just get a pair of novatecs at the same price.. i know they don't say shimano on the shell, but novatec is really good quality and it has cartridge bearings. far superior in my opinion (not necessarily in quality, as the cup-and-cone system is not easy/cheap to produce to a high standard, but in the long run [several years of use] you'll be able to swap the bearings easily and will have endless options, eg. enduro, skf, etc.)

Oh I'm not bothered about it saying Shimano on them (or in fact anywhere on the bike). I think the Novatecs might be a good solution. An old boy round the corner had a look this morning and has managed to improve the existing ones quite a bit, but I don't really want to build the bike back up knowing the cones on the rear are shot.

Question is: silver Novatec hubs, or black?

This is a great project. I like the retina singeing paint job. Yellow or red tape would be good, embrace the colour!

if you are going for those exact hubs, i'd say silver. if you'll get a newer design, go for black - it would go well with the seatpost and the new headset. may i suggest a new black stem? :)