# Cosa Extra reborn - S&S retrofit



## txzen (Apr 6, 2005)

For a biking trip through the French Alps this summer (more on that later), I purchased a Corsa Extra on craigslist for a few hundred. The guy who sold it to me clearly had more bikes than his significant other wanted him to, and he was grudingly getting rid of it. He basically made me promise that it would be ridden, and ridden hard. 

I sent the bike to Steve Rex in Sacramento for an S&S retrofit. They were simply amazing to work with. Very cool guys, and the craftsmanship and eventual buildup was first rate. I can't recommend them enough. They really did some nice extra touches with the paint. Decals are all cyclomondo from Ebay, and are gorgeous. Though I personally like the Team Panasonic paint scheme, I had another look in mind. The script Merckx decal set is for an earlier version of the frame, but I thought it fit the build better. 

The bike is built up with a mix of Centaur and Chorus parts. I decided that the quill stem was the only proper way to complete the bike, and not being able to find a NOS Deda in black, Salsa it was. This dictated matchy-matchy bars and seatpost. I'm actually really pleased with all the Salsa bits, the ingenious little cam device on the post makes micro adjustments of saddle tilt easy. 

Of course, needing to keep the black aesthetic, I went with the black Veloce skeleton brakes. Frankly, I can't see any difference between these and the classic Chorus ones on my other bike. In fact, all the Centaur bits are really gorgeous for the money. 

After having issue with broken spokes on fancy Campagnolo wheelsets, I decided to go bulletproof and classic - particularly since this is a travel bike, and I didn't want to be caught up in the Alps looking for a bizarro Campy $40 spoke. DT1.2 rims, sane 34 3x Record rear, 32 3x White Industries fronts. 

It's a bit of a pain to protect the paint in the S&S case - perhaps a Ti frame is the way to go - but on the other hand, my bike is a conversation starter from the top of the Galibier to the Ventoux. 

It rides like butta - a really nice bike. I have an MX leader that is certainly a bit more stiff, but I was surprised that even in a 63, this is no wimpy whippy steel frame. Very plush, great soul. 

Before:









After:


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## txzen (Apr 6, 2005)

*Detail shots*


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## barry1021 (Nov 27, 2005)

Sweet re-do. can you really fit a 63 into an S&S case? I thought there was a limit-I have a 56 which I havent learned how to pack yet/

b21


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## cannibal (Dec 3, 2004)

well done, really, really nice work in terms of finished product. You mentioned frame doesn't feel whippy in 63 cm size. Just curious, does it have a chain stay bridge?


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## kjmunc (Sep 19, 2005)

My first thought when I read your post and saw the first pic was "oh my god he cut up a perfectly good frame in my size!", but I must say that you have totally redeemed yourself. 

I love the paint job and it looks like those guys had a great eye for detail. I love the matching yellow tips on the fork and stays. Excellent job!


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## zmudshark (Jan 28, 2007)

Very nicely done. I love the new, black parts on the white frame.


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## txzen (Apr 6, 2005)

Thanks for the comments!

It does not have a bridge. 

It does fit in the case, pretty well, actually. I was a little concerned given that as you get to ~61cm it gets dicey. Merckx geometry? Dunno. Goes in just like the picture (have to take the crank off, of course). It's still a little hard getting the handlebars just so through all the spokes, and the lid has a little bulge, but it works. 

I had real reservations when it came to chopping time. Seemed like sacrilege. But, I ride it quite a bit these days, and other than the two big couplers, it's just another Merckx.


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## cannibal (Dec 3, 2004)

thanks for the reply,
I remember my corsa extras (slx) from the late '80's didn't have a chain stay bridge. My weight coupled with out of the saddle efforts would cause the chain to rub on the front derailluer, a sign of frame flex to my limited knowledge. I'm curious why Eddy didn't automatically install chain stay bridges on all the frames he built at that time?


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## txzen (Apr 6, 2005)

I had that problem with my first real road bike - a Miyata 912 (triple butted). Quite annoying. 

Frankly, I was a little worried about it with this frame, since I built it up before ever having ridden it. It is a little more...springy?...perhaps than my MX Leader, but I've noticed no real issues out of the saddle hammering. I'm 185+ lbs.

One thing for sure is the wheelset is the stiffest I own, and I think mates nicely with this frame. I really notice the increased confidence and control on fast decents.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Very very nice. The original color of your frame is one of my favorite color schemes, but your respray is very nicely done. I also like the Salsa stem, particularly since you are going with black components.

Do you mind telling us what it cost to add S&S couplers? How much for the respray?

I'm not sure if I could ever add S&S couplers to my Corsa 01 since it has ovalized tubes.


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## txzen (Apr 6, 2005)

The original paint was really in pretty good shape and the Panasonic scheme was always one of my favorites as well. Given the welding, a significant repaint would be necessary, and so I sort of went a different direction. 

It's not cheap. The couplers have gone up in price to $450. His paint guy's name escapes me - a well-known and well-regarded guy in Modesto. It was $510 for the paint, with clear coat over the decals and the unexpected detailing in contrasting paint. It's a white pearl metallic, and it's gorgeous in person. If your paint is in pretty good condition, you can probably just touchup/repaint the areas affected. 

I'll vouch once more for the work done by Steve Rex, he clearly does a fair volume of retrofits and knows how to do them right - http://rexcycles.com/.

I think there is some leeway in tube shape, particularly with steel. 
http://www.sandsmachine.com/bp_bil.htm#Tubing%20profile.


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