CT1 Makeover w/ Background

Last Spring I determined to buy a new ride. In particular, I needed a ride that 1) provided a body position I could find comfortable for ultra distances, 2) “smoothed out” road vibrations to minimize fatigue, and 3) addressed some nerve problems I was beginning to experience (ulnar neuropathy). As someone who must agonize over every significant purchase, thus begun an exhaustive search for my perfect ride. Within a few months I had narrowed my choices to:
- Time VXRS (so French: too expensive but worth it)
- Moots Vamoots (Smart and sensible and aesthetically flawless)
- Ridley Excalibur (shy girl with glasses that blossoms into a beauty?)
- Calfee Dragonfly (comfort, quality, and performance)
- Look 585 or 555 (just because)

So after investing too many hours that I didn’t have to research my perfect ride I bought a…..

2003 Colnago CT1.

I was on a business trip in NY early this fall and saw an ad on this very website for a frame in my size and the seller lived 10 miles from my company’s NY office. Well, a little 3-minute shakedown ride to assess fit and I was sold. What the heck. It’s Ti so it HAS to be comfortable. Right?

Well, I couldn’t be more pleased. It isn’t quite as smooth as the Time, but the body position is less aggressive which is good for my purposes. Nonetheless, my new ride wasn’t perfect. I continued to have nerve problems despite a lot of bar phat gel and the east coast gearing (53/39 x 12/23) was making my knees cry out on long rides in the east bay (mostly climbing). So, being able to rationalize with the best of them (a. I need a compact crank, b. Campy makes the best shifting compact, c. I am changing my bar and stem, d. I don’t want to waste time remounting my Dura Ace if I am going to eventually end up swapping out for Campy soooo.... the only rational thing to do is completely rebuild the bike with a Campy group.

In addition, since I had exactly zero extra time in my life after working, exercising and spending time with my wife, I decided to buy a mini shop set up and do the build myself - my first foray into wrenching.

The results:

I can only say one thing: "SWEEEEEEEEEETTTTTT!!!"

Thanks G2H,

I took off for a break-in spin right after I took these photos and I am really pleased. This is the first Campy setup I have had on my own bike (I'm a DA lifer) and, when I have borrowed friends bikes with Campy, I have always found it to be stiff and "harsh" shifting. I am thrilled to discover that this group performs extremely well. It is as smooth as my DA setups. Not at all what I had expected. My knees are thrilled with the better gearing from the compact and this compact shifts every bit as smoothly as my DA 53/39. I am also loving the wing bar though I still need to fine tune the bar tape configuration. My ulnar nerves are ever so sensative. ; ) It seems as stiff during hard pulls outr of the saddle as the ITM bar I had on it previously.

jgrantv10,

Wow, your bike looks great. It sounds like you put a lot of thought into it. You did a nice job.

Thanks,
Tshirt

Thanks T-shirt,

It was a lot of fun. I must say I'd love to build up another bike for kicks, perhaps a fixie. After seeing photos of 55/Rad's chrome Pinarello, I am getting inspired to fix up an old classic.

I notice you didn't put bar tape on bar top. Why is that?

Can I ask what type of pedal u got on?

" ulnar nerves "? Does that cause a numbness in the hands? BTW, I notice you originally started cycling in Davis in the 80's! Did you know a Sean Wilson from Davis? He was a buddy of mine back then.

Happy Holidays.

Funny you should ask. I actually thought long and hard about whether to leave the flat portion untaped (a common practice and more attractive IMO) or to just tape the whole thing. Turns out, I just ended up running out of tape. Decision made.

I think i will retape it and cover the flat portion as the bare carbon is a bit slick when riding with forearms draped over the bars (aero style).

Those are speedplay X/2 pedals. I have been using them for many years and my knees love them. If you want to save 20g, you can pony up $130 more for the Ti X/1. I'll stick with stainless.

Hey G2H,

Yes, your ulnar nerve runs down your arm to your hands and through a gap between bone and connectove tissue called the "ulnar tunnel". Lots of riding can cause the tunnel to "smash' your ulnar nerve resulting in sysmptoms ranging from minor tingling in the outer haly of your hand to total numbness (which makes reaching for you water bottle an adventure, let me tell ya).

Yeah, I started riding some time ago, but didn't move to Davis until 2002 for my wife's grad school. She graduated last year so we are back in the East Bay. Sorry, never ran into Sean. A lot of strong cats in Davis.

Tell me more about this ulnar nerve. I've got a numbing/tingling on the thumb and forefinger at times...all the time, especially if I left my head up and look forward. Just started after thanksgiving...bummin' me out.

[Edit: Moved to reply to intended post.]

That's too bad. You have my sympathy.

Many factors contribute to numbness. The ulnar nerve runs throught the ulnar tunnel which is nearer the wrist than the fingers and below your pinkie and ring finger. Trauma to this nerve usually results in numbness on the outside half of the hand. Your experience sounds different. Nonetheless, for more info, check the unterwebs. You might get something from these exercises: http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/sma/sma_ulnarneu_rex.htm.

You should also do a search on this forum as many people have written about hand numbness. In general, the following remedies have proven to work for someone:
- Change your hand position often on the bike (a good idea anyway).
- Wear padded gloves (you'll note that most will have padding strategically placed in "nervey" areas.
- Try fatter bar tape (perhaps even gel like bar phat).
- Check your position on the bike (you may have too much weight on your hands).
- Check the pressure your gloves exert on your hands when riding (I have several friends who cut out the "crotch" between the thumb and forefinger of their gloves to eliminate pressure that causes numbness of the thumb).

Good luck and don't let it get worse. Nerve damage can take a long time to heal if it gets acute.