General: 84' Ciocc resto-mod build (pics working now)

dura-ace 9/10-speed chain



el cheapo grande Shimano Sora crank, works for now



upgraded to an Ultegra SL crank with sealed outboard bearings (way better than cartridge setup)

also finally installed Ultegra 6600 front derailleur







upgraded to 42cm Modolo Flash handlebars (freebie!!)







dura-ace SLR brake cables



ultegra SL SPD's, Gaerne time trial carbon cleats



finished



well almost, I need to strip it back down, touch up the frame and re-do decals and clearcoat. clearcoat your restorations people!!!! over the decals!!! i'm learning the hard way, but it all works out because now I get the opportunity to film myself assembling it.

wow, awesome build. Totally clean and classy and a BEAUTIFUL Italian bike.

Beautiful restoration man. Big thumbs up for sure.

yay!

Ironically enough, I came across a guy giving away a near complete ciocc bike on craigslist today.

http://velospace.org/node/20829

I believe this is a 1984 as well, but I'm not sure. Can anyone offer pointers on where to pin point this information? I've looked through a few catalogs I discovered through relevant posts at bikeforums, but haven't found anything conclusive.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Nice find.

The Designer's I have found don't have Ciocc pantographed into the bottom bracket. Your fork also looks a little different from mine.

That may be a Ciocc SLX, which is F-in awesome if it is.

Wow, SLX Ciocc frames are VERY sought after by collectors, I would almost trade with you if I didn't already finish mine lol.

You may be able to save the chrome, using the heat-wrap method I did. There is a special tape it's like 2500-degree resistant. Perfect for an oven.

Find some paint remover spray, most auto parts stores carry this. It's a can and the spray is like a foam. It's designed for car paint, it will annhiliate Krylon spray paint. See how much chrome there is, if memory serves me correct the SLX frames had metric shit-tons of chrome on the rear stays all the way up to the seat posts, hit it with the paint remover and see how much chrome there is under there, if there is a lot and it looks rescuable I would ask about this tape and see if you can get it taped off. When I did my restoration I had the tape applied and kept my original chrome. Partial chrome after spraying is gonna be a BITCH, most of these frames were factory-dipped first then sprayed. Some Ralieghs are notorious for being completely covered in chrome once the paint is removed.

Don't spray it until you remove the paint off those rear stays to see how much chrome there is, and if you're going to re-do the chrome, chrome first then spray it, I got really lucky and my chrome was still salvagable and after a few hours buffed out to an almost mirror-like finish.

bottom bracket shouldn't be too hard, as long as the threads are good, it should be a 70mm Italian thread.

if the chrome is rusted through to bare metal in some spots, it will need to be re-chromed. it's not something that can be touched up. Chrome before you spray / powdercoat. very important.

Before you chrome though, check under that paint anyway. If you want to get as close to original have a look at a few of the SLX frames here on this site. Some have fully painted stays, some have the partial chrome mine has, others are chrome all the way up to the seatpost.

send me some high-res pics of the chrome on that rear stay, including damage. let me have a look at it before you spray anything.

viper7990@hotmail.com

Between the fork and the rear stays that would look really good. problem with the blue bike is it's a Designer, you have a late-model SLX I think. thru-frame cabling didn't come until the late 80's for Ciocc.

If you sand paint off of it you may see the original color. Mine was white. also look for overspray inside the frame, rare on the Italian frames but mine had traces of white in the bottom bracket and seat post binder.

i'm about to go ride my Designer now :D

It may be a Ciocc Enemy, they used the SLX tubeset.

Does it have a raised Italian flag on the top tube, or what would appear to be three blocks?

WOW I'm gonna have to try that with my fork the next time I have it apart to touch up the frame and clearcoat. My Ciocc pantograph has the same problem.

Posted By: j-doggWOW I'm gonna have to try that with my fork the next time I have it apart to touch up the frame and clearcoat. My Ciocc pantograph has the same problem.

Do you suspend the whole fork in a vinegar/baking soda bath, or do you brush a moist paste onto the affected area?

Forget about that (although I'm going to thieve your idea); what's up with the coppertone brake caliper?

This thread also discusses an alternative to white vinegar and baking soda, which is to use citric acid powder and water instead:

http://bmxmuseum.com/forums/viewtopic.php?pid=941258

I had a hard time finding citric acid powder locally. Whole foods wanted 15-20 bucks for small containers of it packaged as a nutritional supplement. A local pool store sold it as ascorbic acid (for cleaning rust from pool pumps apparently), and wanted 50 bucks for 2 pounds.

I ended up getting 5 large shakers of it from a local kosher foods store that sold it as 'sour salt' for 10 bucks. You can also get it online in bulk for pretty cheap if you google around. I figure I'll test that out on another old beater frame I have laying around

Posted By: sfbee

Forget about that (although I'm going to thieve your idea);what's up with the coppertone brake caliper?

There were a couple of (definitely not stock) grand compe brakes on the bike when I got it. I'm guessing the owner that put them on there was color blind!

They are wicked cool, although they won't match up well with the Ciöcc (never forget the umlaut!).

I picked up a '71 Raleigh International frameset this weekend, repainted in a sort of 7-Up bottle metallic green. I saw your brakes, and started musing over whether it might be possible to copperplate the set of Mafac Racers I got to go with it.

Copper and green; City of Lost Children colors...

Posted By: sfbeehis thread also discusses an alternative to white vinegar and baking soda, which is to use citric acid powder and water instead:

http://bmxmuseum.com/forums/viewtopic.php?pid=941258

One of the guys who talks up citric acid powder mentions that it's used in making beer (possibly as a disinfectant?). It's possible that it might be available from homebrew suppliers. Fortunately, I have a homebrew supplier less than a mile from my house. I'll check into it.

That thread also recommends #0000 steel wool, which is part of my usual technique for light corrosion/discoloration. I use #0000 with Simichrome or Simichromelike mild abrasive polishes (Maas, toothpaste).

That is a beautiful bike! I recently got a late '80's Gitane Team Professionnel with Reynolds 531P tubing. Just got the frame only. I'm hoping it comes out looking as nice as your bike. Of course it won't have period correct parts for now but at least I'll get to ride it...

Did you get the decals from Cyclomondo in Australia?

Just got word from the powder coater that they found some bondo on the top tube after sand blasting the frame. He said there isn't a dent, but it has a straight 4-inch crease directly on top of the top tube, about 6 inches from the seat tube. Gonna pick it up tomorrow morning and take it to a shop to determine if it's structurally sound enough to ride, but I'm not feeling optimistic :(

Reading through this whole discussion then hearing the frame has a crease on the tt, I feel like I did at the end of Requiem for a Dream.

Looks like it's not as bad as I expected. I'm definitely going to need to keep an eye on it, but I don't imagine it will be a problem in the foreseeable future

It was actually pretty hard to capture pictures of the crease, but the following should give you an idea of it's size/location:






I'm going to take it back up to be powder coated tomorrow. Hope to have more refined pictures up soon :)

I'm not aware of any local frame builders, and I'm sure it would be pretty costly to do so. The crease is pretty darn small, and hard to notice unless you're looking at a particular angle. I could be (and usually am) wrong, but it doesn't look like the extent of the damage isn't bad enough to cause catastrophic failure. I dropped by the shop I frequent here, and they seemed to think it'd pretty safe to ride as well, so I figure I'll just paint it and take my chances.

I'm wondering how it occurred. There isn't a dent surrounding the area, but rather just a simple crease. My guess would be a front end collision, but I really don't have any idea. The guy who gave me the bike wasn't the original owner, nor had he ridden it, so I don't think he would know what caused it either. Any ideas?

Nope... not a single other dent on the frame. The fork is also in good shape, which pretty much eliminates the front end idea as well, since anything front-end related that could have caused that crease would surely have mis-aligned, if not totaled the fork.

It probably is something along the lines of overtightening a clamp, or clumsy shop/storage tom foolery. Obviously whoever noticed it, and bondo'd it up when re-painting it. Perhaps whoever was painting it goofed up in their shop, and tried to cover their tracks..

Yea, I wanted to chrome it before taking it in for the powder coat, but the shop I took it to turned it down, saying they wouldn't be able to chrome it due to the vent holes drilled in the fork, chain stays, and seat stays. I don't quite understand why they wouldn't be able to plug those up during the chroming process, but I'm guessing he had a good reason

SOME SLX frames were completely covered if memory serves me correct.

They have to be able to do that unless the bike was chromed from the factory then holes were drilled.

The chroming process involves dipping the entire thing in a liquid metal several times, maybe they are afraid it will get into the frame.

Shop around for chrome plating if you want this done right and as close to original as possible.

Maybe you could find someone to tack-weld the vents shut for the chroming process then after the chroming is completed you can drill the holes back out.