1971 Italvega Nuovo Record - Final Pictures

I'm not sure why this bike took so long to finish - There was a delay after the ebay buyer nightmare with the Specialissima, although the second purchaser ended up being such a nice person I'm sort of glad it happened the way it did.

Then there was the Univega Mixte project in October, which was a lot of fun, but also put this bicycle further down the list...

Then there was the 1971 VW Westy Bus I picked up for a project... then sold.

Anyways, I'd been taking a break from Bicycle projects for a bit, until I came across an ad on craigslist for a 1976 Lambretta LD 150 for which the seller was willing to accept a nice road bike in trade. I contacted the seller, and we struck a deal for a trade for the finished Italvega in exchange for the Lambretta. This gave me an incentive to finish this project and would give me my next project in one swoop, and it would be another Italian bike!

The frame, once again powder coated at Triple - A Powder Coating in El Monte California, was beautiful. I pantographed the edges of the lugs in gold to bring out the pastel green powder, and to accentuate the chrome frame. 

Although this bike originally came equipped with a Campagnolo Nuovo Record rear derailler, I was unable to use it on this build; I upgraded the bike to a modern 8-speed cassette, and the vintage derailler just wasn't able to stretch far enough to cover the cogs. This wasn't a surprise, but it would be a nice thing to find a convenient supplier of new wheels that are set for 5-6 speed rear hubs. I like using new wheelsets on these builds for safety and reliability, but it does often complicate the use of an original drivetrain to do so.

I found a Campy seatpost, and equipped the bike with a new Brooks B-17 saddle. Cables were switched to aero, and shifting is controlled by period correct Campagnolo friction bar end shifters.

The original Stronglight crank is beautiful, but gave some tuning headaches - the two rings are spaced just widely enough that my modern new chain kept slipping between them. The purchaser wanted to pick the bike up today as he was visiting from out of town, so unfortunately tuning the chainring will fall to him. A proper fit may be achieved by potentially using narrower spacers between the rings, or possibly a wider chain.

I really loved having this bike around throughout the year, and look forward to the next build!

Here's the Lambretta LD 150 I received in trade for the bike. Very little rust or damage to the body. A very cool project, and a nice variation in my usual hobby focus.