# Found a Primato...



## mike6108 (Jun 12, 2004)

...on my local craigslist. It's now hanging in my garage. 

A big thanks to zmudshark who took the time to give me some key insight before I went to see the bike so I knew what to look for. :thumbsup: He had posted on his Primato thread that if one ever came up in your size, that you should snatch it up. Well, I just happened to be browsing my local CL on Tuesday and a very brief and concise ad appeared for a Primato. No information other than that it had Campagnolo ergo and did not include pedals. I responded and the seller called me back the following day. He told me it was a 58 (just my size  ), white in color, that he was the original owner, and that it had its share of nicks and scratches.

zmud strongly advised me to snap it up before it got away so I arranged to meet the seller in the early afternoon. It would have been a 2-hour trip to get there, but the seller offered to drive to another town about 30 minutes closer, which saved me an hour of travel time round-trip. There are still some good folks out there! :thumbsup: He was an older, retired gentleman and said he didn't mind meeting up with me.

When I saw the bike it looked like any other bike that has sat around in someone's garage and been neglected. There were a fair number of scratches in the paint, decals had come off in places, and there was an ever so small ding in the top tube. Maybe 2mm long by 1mm wide. It's faint but I could feel it when I ran my hand over the tube. The ergo shifters also had scratches on both sides which indicated that the bike had fallen over at least twice. The drivetrain was also far from clean; however, when I got on to test ride it, I was amazed by how smooth the bike still shifted!

The bike had a complete Campy Chorus 8-speed grouppo on it - I'm not knowledgeable about these older Campy drivetrains, so I had no way to tell that it was Chorus, apart from the original build sheet which the owner produced for me indicating so. (Built by Il Vecchio up in Seattle in June of 1993). Really heavy feel to the shifters compared to my Record 10-equipped Corum. Wheelset was also Campy - not sure if it was hand-built or pre-built from the factory though - silver Campy hubs with Campy Omega 19 rims. Other bits included a Campy seatpost and 3TTT stem and bars.

The original saddle was no longer on the bike and in its place was one of those extra cushy Serfas saddles you sometimes see on cruiser and hybrid bikes. The Specialized Armadillo tires were also not original.

I went through the checklist that zmud gave to me of things that were common to Primatos: EL-OS tubing, flat-crowned fork, gussetted bottom bracket, diamante chain stays, possibility for chromed lugs. They were all there except for the chromed lugs.

In the end, I decided that I could live with the slight imperfection in the top tube and decided to buy it. The seller said he was sad to see it go but could no longer ride it as his current bike was more comfortable and he needed a front suspension fork.

I'm pretty stoked, needless to say.  Pics coming soon after I clean it up...


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## nickb4 (Jan 24, 2006)

Congratulations. You did well by listening to zmudshark and scooping it up right then and there because at the price it was listed for on CL, it would not have lasted the day. Let's see that pic.


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## barry1021 (Nov 27, 2005)

Zmud sent me the pix, it looked bigger than a 58 to my eye, but he also told me what you paid. You done good. Real good. REAL good. 8 spd chorus is the bee's knees.Welcome to the club. Zmud found mine for me. I had two, but sold one to the above Nickb4 (Will ship as soon as I get home Nick, also putting a list of parts together for you), who at last count was up to, I don't know, 127 or so, Nick??


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## zmudshark (Jan 28, 2007)

Glad to help out.

We need to have a meet in AZ for all the Primato owners. I know a guy who has a nice place with great riding out the front door, I think I could talk him into letting us use his place for a long weekend this Winter ;-)


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## barry1021 (Nov 27, 2005)

zmudshark said:


> Glad to help out.
> 
> We need to have a meet in AZ for all the Primato owners. I know a guy who has a nice place with great riding out the front door, I think I could talk him into letting us use his place for a long weekend this Winter ;-)


I dunno, Toomany is in a grumpy mood......

b21


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## mike6108 (Jun 12, 2004)

Yeah, it was a pretty crappy iPhone pic I sent to him just after I bought it.  Figured I would wait and clean it up nice and take some good pics before posting.

I always take a tape with me when I go to look at a bike and when I first measured the seat tube, I thought it was coming in at 59, but I realized I wasn't holding it at quite the right spot. Sure enough, I got 58 on my second go. Top tube measured out at 57.5, so the same dimensions as my Corum.

As for the bee's knees, That was going to be my next question to you guys: what to do with the drivetrain. Try and stick to the 8-speed parts or bring it up to say, '09 alloy Centaur 10-speed. I've been doing some homework and it looks like if I choose to keep the 8-speed drivetrain, I can use 10-speed rings on the cranks and either the narrower 9 or 10-speed chain. Sourcing an 8-speed cassette may be a little trickier though. I've got two other road bikes and one CX bike all with Campy 10-speed so it would be nice to have some added commonality, especially with wheelsets.


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## barry1021 (Nov 27, 2005)

mike6108 said:


> Yeah, it was a pretty crappy iPhone pic I sent to him just after I bought it. Figured I would wait and clean it up nice and take some good pics before posting.
> 
> I always take a tape with me when I go to look at a bike and when I first measured the seat tube, I thought it was coming in at 59, but I realized I wasn't holding it at quite the right spot. Sure enough, I got 58 on my second go. Top tube measured out at 57.5, so the same dimensions as my Corum.
> 
> As for the bee's knees, That was going to be my next question to you guys: what to do with the drivetrain. Try and stick to the 8-speed parts or bring it up to say, '09 alloy Centaur 10-speed. I've been doing some homework and it looks like if I choose to keep the 8-speed drivetrain, I can use 10-speed rings on the cranks and either the narrower 9 or 10-speed chain. Sourcing an 8-speed cassette may be a little trickier though. I've got two other road bikes and one CX bike all with Campy 10-speed so it would be nice to have some added commonality, especially with wheelsets.


 Well I don't subscribe to the "one more gear is better" theory, but having all your bikes the same makes sense as well, and of course the centaur will look great on it. I would think if its in decent condition, that the 8 spd would be in demand, its hard to find. Either way, you can't lose IMO.

b21


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## zmudshark (Jan 28, 2007)

FWIW, Ribble has 8 speed cassettes in stock for under $45.


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## Guest (Jun 19, 2009)

barry1021 said:


> I dunno, Toomany is in a grumpy mood......
> 
> b21


No he isn't.


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## nickb4 (Jan 24, 2006)

You have a quality grouppo with ergo on the bike right now in the Chorus 8. Why don't you just keep that on for a while and see how you like it.


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## zmudshark (Jan 28, 2007)

toomanybikes said:


> No he isn't.


b21 is a bit 'off' lately. 

Just sayin'.


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## SystemShock (Jun 14, 2008)

Mike, wow, that's quite a find. How much did you pay for the Primato? 
.
.


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## mike6108 (Jun 12, 2004)

Anyone interested in seeing a few pics?  

I spent the better part of Saturday afternoon cleaning it up. I didn't go all out though and remove every component to get at every nook and cranny. Picked the low hanging fruit first so it would look presentable. The only component I've changed from when I picked it up is the saddle. I couldn't stand the over-sized gel thing that was on the bike so I put on an Arione, which is my preferred saddle. Not sure if it really fits the look of the bike but it will do for the time being.

So what do y'all think? I'm going to put on some Nitto Noodle bars since they just really work for me. (I know I know, they're not Italian, but I really like the transition I can get to the hoods with the Noodles.) Black bar tape or white? Black saddle or white? The tires also need to be replaced so I was thinking of going with a set of Veloflex Paves with the gum-colored sidewalls.


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## mike6108 (Jun 12, 2004)

A few shots of the frame details...


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## mike6108 (Jun 12, 2004)

Campagnolo Chorus 8-speed...


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## mike6108 (Jun 12, 2004)

Campy Omega 19 rims and Internazionale hubs. Spokes are Wheelsmith.


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## mike6108 (Jun 12, 2004)

Campy headset and seatpost. 3TTT bars and stem.


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## nickb4 (Jan 24, 2006)

That looks nice. The white polished up very well.


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## zmudshark (Jan 28, 2007)

Very nice indee.

I'sd go with black tape and a black Regal. I really like the Prorace Eleganza from PBK for tape.

Keep a close eye on the seat tube BB area. It looks like there may be some separation there. I don't mean to alarm you, but watch it closely.

If you are planning on sending it to Cyclart, they could evaluate it for you.

At any rate, you done real good on that one. You could pay for a repaint and still not have into it what it's worth!


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## mike6108 (Jun 12, 2004)

Thanks zmud. I see what you're saying about the area at the BB/seatpost. I'll look at it again when I get home tonight.

I'll give the black Prorace Eleganza tape a try since I'll be ordering the Veloflex tires from PBK as well.

Anyone have a nice 120mm stem with a 26.0mm clamp they'd be willing part with? De Rosa pantographed would be nice.  The 130mm TTT stem on the bike is a tad long for me.


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## barry1021 (Nov 27, 2005)

*OH wow*

It's in great shape, minor scratches, it should clean up great!! I have similar paint on mine (thanks Zmud), it was a De Rosa factory repaint, but i paid "SLIGHTLY" more than you did!! It looks like it could be paint crack at the joint that Zmud refers to. I have Noodle bars on my Merckx fixie and they're great, but try turning those bars a little before you swap them out, it might works as well for u. If the 8 spd works well, i would stay with it, it's a fantastic looking bike and build IMO, all original. The second one I bought came with DA 8 spd and I swapped it out onto my custom Strong, I think 8 spd is a great gruppo for campy and shimano.Congrats

b21


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## zmudshark (Jan 28, 2007)

I have a 120 3T stem, just not sure if I have it here or left it in AZ. I have a feeling I may have left it there, because all my 26.0 bars are there.

Be prepared to pay well over $100 for a pantoe'd one. I'm kicking myself for not bidding on this one last week:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170342379247


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## mriddle (Nov 16, 2005)

*Great looking bike!*

I recently purchased a 94 Primato in 57 that is currently at CyclArt. So far all I have is the frame/fork and a Record headset. So I need a lot of stuff but I'm not yet sure what to go with. The pictures of your bike are very helpful.

Yes for sure w/the gum walls.

Enjoy.


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## smokva (Jul 21, 2004)

I'm tempted to get an steel De Rosa myself.
What do you guys think what would be better...blue Neo Primato or orange Sanremo?


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## nickb4 (Jan 24, 2006)

I like the color of the Neo Primato more than that of the Sanremo and the Neo Primato is NOS versus a used Sanremo that may have been raced professionally. So, if you are very particular on frame finish that should weigh into your decision.

The Sanremo has the gusseted bottom bracket shell that is much adored on these forums (and I'm included as one who likes that feature). I also like the internal cable routing of the Sanremo. The BB shell would definitely sway some here.

A couple of other things that should help in your decision: I don't see a fork mentioned with the Sanremo nor is the tubing mentioned. Does it come with a steel fork? If not I go with the Neo Primato. And you have already been disappointed with one flexy DeRosa, so check on the tubing and compare versus Genius of the Neo Primato to see which one may be more towards your liking.


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## boneman (Nov 26, 2001)

*Nice*

Actually, seeing all these De Rosa's is killing me.....


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