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Thanks - Here they are installed.

I just violated my All-Camp rule. Ok I also did it on the wheels. The Vitus I'm building originally used friction shifters. I'm doing a conversion. These are $11.09 on Amazon.com The Campy version is $60.00 The Campy version has the neat little springs but come on. Richard Newton

I have friction shifters on my Raleigh. I enjoy shifting that way but i don't need 2 bikes with friction shifters. Keep in mind that I'm riding in Florida and the largest elevation change on my ride is 11 ft. And, that is a bridge going over a canal. Texas must be similar. Keeping that in...

I found a great shop in England. They're helping with all of this. It's a shop called Wiggle I've pretty much decided on a Campy Chorus 11-25 for the rear. They suggest that I use a 53/39 crankset with 172 crank length. I'm 5'10" Any thoughts on this combination? Richard Newton

That's a nice looking bike. I got my tires mounted the other day. Now it's time for a crankset and a rear cassette. I would like to do Campy Chorus but I have no clue as to the appropriate gearing. Help! btw - I ride in Florida - we have no hills. Richard Newton

I'm back finally. I've started my Vitus build. Here more information on my blog.

It's time for a new build here. I'm finally getting around to my Vitus. My wheels arrived today. I've added a detailed list to my blog. I'm really open to suggestions here. My next step will be the brakes. Richard Newton

I've done this often enough with cars that being upside down is no surprise. The good thing about bikes it that you can do almost all of the work yourself - which is the really fun part. The Raleigh is as close to an accurate restoration as I intend to do. The Vitus 979 is going to be...

I love your bike. Here are a few photos of mine. Richard Newton Bike Restoration Blog

I paid $35 for this bike. Now that it's done I totaled my bills. They cam to $1,155. I'm really upside down in this restoration but that's no surprise. Richard Newton

That's a really good question. I have no answer. This is the way my shop installed them and they used all the parts I gave them. Anyone have a suggestion here? Richard Newton Bike Restoration Blog

I think the lead photos here answer my question. Am I correct to assume that you run the entire white cable through the top tube? In other words you don't strip the white sleeve off the cable? Richard Newton

Keep in mind that we're talking 2 colors plus the original decals/stickers here. I wanted to use paint but the cost of doing it in paint would have been $1,100. That was from Airglowin Georgia. I still think paint is better but not that much. I wanted to clear coat over the decals. I think...

Here's a detailed list of what my Raleigh cost. Richard Newton

The Raleigh has Michelins. I don't like them as much as the Continentals. They just don't have the ride quality. They do look good though. Richard Newton

I finished my Raleigh a few weeks ago. I just got around to adding up the expenses. It's just over $1,100. $600 was in powder coating and decals. I did now go cheap on this bike. I wanted a good looking bike. I did use a lot of high quality used parts on this bike though. New might have cost...

A few more pictures. Richard Newton Bike Restoration Blog

It's done. I've ridden it for about 50 miles. It's very very different from my Bianchi. This is the Dutch made Raleigh Grand Prix. The best I can do with the serial number is that it's a 1974 to 1976 version. The Bianchi is a 1998 model. The Raleigh feels huge. Ok - it is. It feels like...

It's done. It only took a year. I've ridden it about 10 miles. It needs a little more adjustment to the shifters. I'm also getting use to the down tube shifters. Richard Newton Bike Restoration Blog

I finally finished this project. It turned out better than I envisioned. Richard Newton Bike Restoration Blog

Beautiful. That bike is an inspiration.I just purchased a Vitus 979 frame. It's going to be a few months before I start my build so I'm thinking about components. Here's my bike restoration blog. You can see I've gt too many projects going at one time. The Bianchi is my daily ride. The...

Nothing so dramatic here but my Raleigh frame is done. I had the Bicycle Clinic in Jacksonville Florida powder coat the frame in the original colors. Here it is. This is what it looked like before. I'm now getting the bike back together. The problem is the frame looks so nice I...

Now this is beautiful.

Cyclart seems to be a good place for painting as well. I'm impressed with the fact they understand the difference between show quality and original paint. That's a huge deal to a lot of people. I'm asking for show quality which is pretty far from original quality. I want my bike painted the way...

Paint Update I have a plan. The bike is going to the Bicycle Clinic in Jacksonville FL. Also, Airglow finally got back to me. He apologized and all but I still have questions. Now to the price. I gave Bicycle Clinic and Airglow the same specifications. I asked that the bike be painted in the...

It's The Bicycle Clinic I'm impressed with The Bicycle Clinic. They got back to me with a price quote in less than an hour. They'll paint, decal and then clear coat the bike. They'll even redo the chrome on the front forks. The total will be $500. Richard Newton Bianchi Blog

Given up on Airglow Airglow turned out to have a nice web site and not much else. No one bothered to return my calls or my emails. Obviously not the sort of place you want working on your bike. I'm going to try a place up in Jacksonville Fl called the Bicycle Clinic. If they don't work out...

This is amazing. It's so simple it's a wonder it took so long. The vid is just over 3 minutes. Richard Newton Bianchi Restoration Project

1969 Restoration Project This is an interesting project. It's you basic low budget project. You don't always have to spend thousands of dollars on your bike. I'm still waiting to hear back from Airglow about painting my bike. They don't seem to be very interested. I'll give them a few more...

Very Nice Richard

I like that look. Thanks. Since this is a lower end Raleigh I would have no problem do it. Also, should someone want to paint it at a later date they could. I really wouldn't be altering the bike. http://www.cyclofiend.com/cc/images10/cc789-3CRW_3415.jpg I also really like what this owner...

The Airglow site looks great. I'm hoping someone here has actually dealt with them. Also, check out this vintage bike site. Some beautiful lugged steel bikes. Richard Newton

Painting I'm on a quest to find a painter. I decided to go with paint rather than powder coating. I could give you a lot of reasons but it all comes down to paint just looks nicer. I'm not talking any old paint job though. I want Pebble Beach quality. I want a clear coat over the proper decals...

Another Motorcycle I added another Bianchi motorcycle to the page. I've never seen one in the United States. I wondering if they were ever imported to the states? Richard Newton

Polishing Our old bikes have a lot of aluminum. That means we have to keep polishing. Actually in my case I had to start polishing since no one polished anything in the last several decades. I've restored enough vintage race cars to know a little bit about polishing. the main thing is to...

It's Back It took about five weeks to replace the rear hub. That was no fault of EA Bicycles. I spent a week trying to find an original Campy hub. Then I spent a few weeks roaming around Seattle and Portland while the new hub sat in my mailbox. Here's the latest blog entry. Richard...

Some really good suggestions here. Thanks. I'm just going to be shipping a bar frame and bare forks. That means the box can be a little smaller and I only have 2 items to secure. I really like the foam idea and the tubing ideas. You've been a great help. Richard Newton

Bianchi Eros I just added an Eros to my Other Projects page. As usual, you're going to have to scroll down. Here's the link. Richard Newton

Bike Shipping I'm going to have to ship my bike for painting. Anyone have experience doing this? I'm just sending the bar frame and front forks. That way the box can be a lot smaller. Here are two companies that handle shipping. I'm sure there are more. ShipBikes.com BikeFlights.com...

Expense Report It's time to talk about something your should never talk about when you restore a bike or car. Money. The smart people never keep receipts nor do they ever total the bills. I'm not that smart. Here's here I am right now. Bike 120.00 New Seat Post...

My new hubs were on my doorstep when I arrived home for the Seattle trip. I'm only concerned about the rear hub but I had to buy them as a pair. I dropped them off at EA Bicycles this morning. Richard Newton Bianchi Restoration Blog

There'a an old saying your post brought to mind. "You can never pay too much but you can buy too soon." I spent some time today talking to the folks at Elliott Bay Bikes. They do beautiful paint. It seems that to have someone strip and paint a bike is now close to $1,000. That includes decals...

Portland Visit I stopped at a shop here in the Portland area to look at some older restored bikes. They had a couple of nice older Bianchi bikes. I did get a chance to compare decals and stickers. Some of their bikes had stickers applied on top of the paint. Others had the stickers placed...

My Raleigh Grand Prix has different wheels on the front and back. They both 27 x 1 1/4. I have a feeling this may be the original wheel. Am I correct? Thoughts? Richard Newton Bianchi Restoration Project

Epoxy Clearcoat I've used powdercoating before. I'm ok with it and I understand it. It's just been a few years now and I assume it's gotten better. Is powdercoating at the point where it's as good as a 2-part urethane paint. I'm thinking of painting the bike and then clearcoating it. I know...

Raleigh Grand Prix This one is coming along nicely. Right now I have it all apart and most of the parts have been cleaned. It's one of the Dutch Raleighs. Richard Newton Bianchi Restoration

Restoration? I'm thinking this bike shouldn't be restored. This is a conservation and preservation project. Richard Newton Bianchi Restoration

Here's the bad hub. This is just one reason why it makes no economic sense to restore a bike. I paid $120 for the bike. I've got over $500 (at least) in the bike at this point. When I'm done with the hub I'll have at least $1,000 in the bike. And it's still not painted. None of this is...

I just got my Raleigh Grand Prix. It's not in as good as shape as your bike is. I've actually stated working on it. I do silly things like clean up my brake calipers. Richard Newton Bianchi Restoration Blog

Great looking bike. Thanks for sharing. I was hoping to have mine painted shortly. This rear hub thing has slowed me down. The other thing that's slowed me down is an old Raleigh from the 70's. It's interesting to see the difference between an Italian bike and a British/Dutch bike. Richard...