Just bought myself a Master Olympic frame and fork off ebay over here in Australia.
Have been keeping my eyes open for one for a few months now.
Unfortunately it has a small dent in the TT which I am assured is not structurally a problem.
Turned out I know the seller from another website and a mate of mine knows him very well and has vouched for the condition of it.
Next step is to start the hunt for Campy parts that are complimentary.
Anyone have suggestions for a wheelset??

Nice Frame, I've got the same one with Force Carbon forks.Do you know when the frame was made? Good luck with the build, post a pic when you have done.

Nice Frame, I've got the same one with Force Carbon forks.Do you know when the frame was made? Good luck with the build, post a pic when you have done.

No definite idea.
Seller just listed it as 90's which is no real help.
I should have it in my hands by the end of the week and perhaps the serial number will reveal something?!?!?!

that looks very nice and you probally already know about this one on eBay.com.au at the moment. Anyway good luck with the build and the early Shamal would be a nice addition to the build

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Vintage-Colnago-Master-Steel-Road-Frame-Campagnolo_W0QQitemZ190089010047QQihZ009QQcategory Z7298QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

that looks very nice and you probally already know about this one on eBay.com.au at the moment. Anyway good luck with the build and the early Shamal would be a nice addition to the build

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Vintage-Colnago-Master-Steel-Road-Frame-Campagnolo_W0QQitemZ190089010047QQihZ009QQcategory Z7298QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Yep
That was the other one that was available from the guy I bought off.
I grabbed mine as Buy it Now from him for $550 shipped to me.
Will be looking at Shamal but also Mavic Open Pro's laced to ??? seem to be a strong contender.

Have a look at the link..where in Australia are you?

http://www.yellowjersey.org/cherchi.html

Have a look at the link..where in Australia are you?

http://www.yellowjersey.org/cherchi.html

I am in Brisbane.
Only problem I have seen with ordering rims from OS is that the shipping costs are a killer.

I saw that one - you got a great deal there - I have seen Master Olympics go for over £400. I have one too - dressed in full brand new 10 sp DA (including hubs laced to openpro CD), wanted campy and half tempted to redress in campy but problem is I am really tempted to ride it just to compare DA with record which I have on my other frame (Look carbon/alu logged). Also this bike needs chromeand polished alloy - lots of it and both top campy gruppos are black so might stick with DA. Anyway have to make a decision by 15th when I will be taking it for its maiden voyage.

Anyway going back to your wheelset dilema - you have to decide on traditional or modern look 1st, personally I think a bright shiny traditional looking set would compliment the frame. I really like the WHITE INDUSTRIES LTA Road Hubset - 24F/32R - not sure about the quality but looks are spot on given the price (around US$300) I'd imagine them to be good quality - sun also do some bright polished alloy rims again not sure about quality but they would look uber cool on your frame. Of course you could always go chorus/record with open pro's - (I have both hubsets BNIB).
80951
80952

Double post.

I saw that one - you got a great deal there - I have seen Master Olympics go for over £400.

They seem to be unloved over here.
I have now seen 3 of them sell for $500 Australian or less


Anyway going back to your wheelset dilema - you have to decide on traditional or modern look 1st, personally I think a bright shiny traditional looking set would compliment the frame. I really like the WHITE INDUSTRIES LTA Road Hubset - 24F/32R - not sure about the quality but looks are spot on given the price (around US$300) I'd imagine them to be good quality - sun also do some bright polished alloy rims again not sure about quality but they would look uber cool on your frame. Of course you could always go chorus/record with open pro's - (I have both hubsets BNIB).

Yeah I am swaying to the traditional looking wheelset.
I am even considering Velocity high polish Deep V rims laced to something or another.
I actually know where there is a set of Suntour Superbe Pro hubs but I would like to run at least 9 speed so this is probably not really an option.
Scored myself a C-Record Aero seatpost off the seller as well for another $80 Australian.

Master Olympics was introduced the year after Fabio Casartelli won his Gold Medal at the 1992 Olympics Road Race. We all know that he died in 1995 on the decent of Col de Portet D'Aspet (TdF). I still have the advertising for it. I can scan it for you.

Master Olympic was in production for only a couple of years (approx.) because Colnago wasn't licensed to use the "Olympics" for branding. So Colnago changed it to MasterLight.

So this frame is kind of special. I wished I have one ... I have the original Master from the mid/late-80's.

I am in Brisbane.
Only problem I have seen with ordering rims from OS is that the shipping costs are a killer.

Free plug time. Give Ray Appleby a call, he is in Hobart and has all soughts of stuff laying arround from this era. His shop is 3 levels high and has a basment the size of the Bronkos dressing room. He loves the steel bikes and I am sure he could help. If he is not in ask for Scott!

Master Olympics was introduced the year after Fabio Casartelli won his Gold Medal at the 1992 Olympics Road Race. We all know that he died in 1995 on the decent of Col de Portet D'Aspet (TdF). I still have the advertising for it. I can scan it for you.

Master Olympic was in production for only a couple of years (approx.) because Colnago wasn't licensed to use the "Olympics" for branding. So Colnago changed it to MasterLight.

So this frame is kind of special. I wished I have one ... I have the original Master from the mid/late-80's.

OK, so that means that this frame is from somewhere between 1993 and 1995 or so?!?!?!
Would definitely be interested in a scan of the advertising if you would be willing to email it to me at ssm6168 at gmail.com.

Cheers

Found out today that the Master Olympic was originally supplied with Chorus groupset.

I'd like a copy of the ad too please. my email is toonraid at yahoo.com

sweet find! post some build pics when you're done. lucky you :D

"FTR" and "toonraid", I will pm the advertisting to you shortly (busy day at work yesterday).

The Master Olympics is rarer than I thought. Olympics is only offered in the 1993 Colnago Catalogue. But in the 1994 catalogue, the Master Light is offered, along with the 1st introduction of C40. So the Olympics is offered for only one year - lucky you.

The way to tell a genuine Master Olympics vintage, it should have:
(1) Colnago rear dropouts with "clover" stamped. This was introduced in ~ 1992/1993. Before that, Master has Campagnolo rear droputs.
(2) At the seatpost lug, the seat-stays are brazed on top of the lug with "clover" stamping only. In ~ 1995/1996, Colnago introduced a seatpost lug where the seat-stays are inserted into the lug with "C" and "clover" stamping.

Now I really like to have one.

81279

Here is my 1993 Master Olympic. It has the colours of the then Ariostea team, which was the predecessor to the famed Mapei team. Anyway, I still have the bike and it had the very first generation Record ErgoPower 8-Speed with all the quirks :) Mine has the straight Precisa fork. I don't understand why you have a curved fork. Nevertheless, your black frame is a true beauty!

Double post.

Interestingly I have seen a couple of pics from other people with curved forks.
Unfortunately mine is curved as it is not original.
I will keep my eyes open for a Precisa though.
I have ogled your bike on a number of occasions.
Very sweet.
What wheelset is it??
Wheels for mine are my biggest area of confusion.

Oh.. the wheels are original to the bike. Regular Record Hubs laced 3 cross to Campagnolo Omega Hardox Box rims and DT double butted 15/16 spokes. It still uses period appropriate Vittoria Corsa CX tubulars. Don't really take it on bad roads because its hard to find CX tires these days. And the cost of tubulars! heh

Your frame is just stunning. I can't keep taking my eyes off it!!

Hmmmmm, looking at that close up of your fork leg makes me wonder if my fork maybe is original?!?!?!
Ii have not asked but thought that perhaps it was an add on due to the curved leg.
the crown looks similar though.
Oh well, I should find out on Monday hopefully.

I have been looking at tyres and CX 25s just had a great review in cycling weekly (UK) vs Michelin and Conti 4000s here is what they had to say about them. Although I am not sure if its a clincher or tubular as they make a reference to both!
-------------------------------
The legendary Italian firm of Vittoria has vast experience with oversized tubulars, and with 13 victories in Paris-Roubaix knows how to build a tough tyre. The proven Open Corsa CX is no exception, and the current Evo model is the best yet. This now comes in the tested 25mm format, with the same Corespun K290TPI Polycotton carcass and SiO2 Kevlar-enriched tread and a respectable quoted weight of 245g.

This is a truly luxurious tyre, with a floating ride quality at 7bar that must be experienced to be believed. Although thin and supple, the Evo is tough enough for the foulest conditions. Flint-laden Surrey lanes have inflicted several cuts but no flats so far, suggesting a very resistant carcass. The rubberised sidewalls don't shrug off muck as well as the others. The tread is thin, and expected life may be as low as 2000km. Definitely a special occasion tyre, it is perhaps the ideal clincher for the Ronde van Vlaanderen or the Paris Roubaix randonnee.

Well she is here and is even nicer than I would have hoped.
Big, black, sexy steel (with some very attractive pink and green accents).
Would have liked to have taken some pics for you all but my wife took the camera to work with her.
The frame can do with a good bath and perhaps some polish but other than that is in great condition considering its age.
The dent in the TT is far smaller than it appeared in the photo's and can possibly be hidden with just paint.

Well I did a lot of soul searching and checked around on pricing and availability and came to the conclusion that for the money and the look that I was hoping to achieve (no carbon), that SRAM Rival was the way to go.
Have ordered the SRAM and it will hopefully show up in just over a week.
I am still playing with stem, saddle, seatpost and bar options but have a mate who has a Cinelli bar and a SLR saddle (my favourite saddle) that he wants to offload for cheap.
I am also playing with the idea of running a quill stem adaptor to allow me to use an aheadset style stem.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=81915&stc=1&d=1174074207

If not I have a very nice Cinelli quill stem that I can use:

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w84/trs_album/Master%20Olympic/MasterOlympic009.jpg

Some other pics for those interested:

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w84/trs_album/Master%20Olympic/MasterOlympic006.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w84/trs_album/Master%20Olympic/MasterOlympic005.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w84/trs_album/Master%20Olympic/MasterOlympic001.jpg

The Ksyriums will not be staying on it though and the bar is my track bar just for an idea of how it will look. Unfortunately the Record Aero seatpost is too short so I will be needing to find something else.

New SRAM Rival kit showed up today.
Must say it looks the part.
All polished alloy and no carbon fibre crap.
Definitely works in well with the old school Colnago too.

Big surprise was that the brake levers came with not only the cables but also the housing too.

I am afraid that I will probably be breaking some unwritten law about building up old Colnago's but I had started thinking that someone would tell me I had built it wrong no matter what I had done. So I have decided to build it up to be sympathetic to the original bike but with modern parts.
Just waiting on a stem, seatpost, bars and saddle to show up from Pro Bike Kit and she will be rideable.

Don't worry about that - I went with full Dura Ace kit for my Olympic and it looks fab - campy only do carbon look on their high end gruppos so had no choice as it would have looked awfull on a classic chrome frame. I also have the exact cinelli stem and bars that I am thinking of intslling in place of the 3ttt, not ideal as its not as polished as I'd like it and a bit heavier too - also have a modolo Q stem which is nice and shiny but a tad on the chunky side.

I have actually decided to go with a Pazzaz quill adaptor and will be running an ahead stem.
I am looking for an alloy Cinelli Neo stem and bars. So far I have found the stem but no bars in my size.
In the meantime I have just grabbed a Prorace stem and bars from Pro Bike Kit so that I can ride this baby.

totalcycling.com has them in 40/42/44

Congratulations on the nice bike. :)

Hey FTR - an identical frame to yours went for £412 yesterday on ebay here in UK (thats over US $800), some nice detailed pics on listing for comparison - item number is 300096636406 - he is got a tecnos as well which looks nice so check out his other items.

Hey FTR - an identical frame to yours went for £412 yesterday on ebay here in UK (thats over US $800), some nice detailed pics on listing for comparison - item number is 300096636406 - he is got a tecnos as well which looks nice so check out his other items.

Interesting
Does not look to be in any better or worse condition than mine.
Some scratches and signs of loving, but no actual damage.
Another interesting thing is that the lugs around the headtube on that one are chromed while the ones on mine are painted.
Also I did not get the Precisia fork with mine.
Still I paid almost half the price that one went for. :thumbsup:

BB should be here this week and I will be able to ride mine finally.