# 1987 Basso Gap



## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

1987 Basso Gap; Americana paint scheme; Columbus SL/SP tubing:










$200 eBay find. Got it from some guy in rural Michigan. When I got it, it was covered in 20+ years of dust, grime, gunk. "Been sittin' in the garage for a long spell", the guy said. So when I cleaned it up, other than a few scrapes and nicks in the paint (garage wear), the thing is practically brand new. NO brake pad wear on the rims. The off-white Campy derailleur jockey pulleys (which show grime really fast when used) were still off white! It looks like someone bought it intending to race it, and found out how hard cycling is, and there it sat. 

Anyway, here's the specs:

Full 1987 Campagnolo Athena gruppo, except hubs. Derailleurs; Synchro 2 shifters; Brakes & levers; aero seatpost; headset; BB

Cinelli bar & stem

Selle Italia Turbo saddle

Miche Competition (decent knock offs of the older Campy Record) hubs

Mavic MA-40 rims

Tires were dry rotted Avocet (remember them?!?) slicks, I put on Conti Attack/Force

Bare tape was dry rotted plastic (not Benotto) ribbon, I put on Cinelli cork

No bottle cages when I got it, so I added some in the appropriate colors


WONDERFUL bike!


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

$2 bills?

seriously nice score!


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## Nielly (Sep 21, 2009)

Wow nice bike, looks new in the picture and killer deal! I had Athena originally, it all looked nice and worked well except the brakes weren't the greatest for stopping power.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Amazing find...That sure cleaned up nicely......well done


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## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

More pics:


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## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

Nielly said:


> ...except the brakes weren't the greatest for stopping power.


That is true. I've toyed with the idea of replacing them, but with what? I cannot stand the look of Kool Stop salmon colored pads....


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## Fivethumbs (Jul 26, 2005)

That bike is super cool.


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## TWB8s (Sep 18, 2003)

I hate you

Nice Basso


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## Nielly (Sep 21, 2009)

frpax said:


> That is true. I've toyed with the idea of replacing them, but with what? I cannot stand the look of Kool Stop salmon colored pads....


I never really messed with the pads but when I upgraded to 8spd Chorus I also went with the new dual pivot calipers which, while not the same in the looks department don't look horribly out of place with the alloy finish, but are miles ahead in the stopping department.


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## Kuma601 (Jan 22, 2004)

DAMN! That is a killer deal you hit on! Congrats for such a find! :thumbsup:
Enjoy.


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## Doctor Who (Feb 22, 2005)

You got a deal. Jealous!


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## Richard (Feb 17, 2006)

Amazing that Italian paint held up that well. The gloss is remarkable.

I remember those Gaps. I lusted after the (I think it was called) "Jamaican" color scheme - kind of a "pre-Rasta Rasta."

What an incredible stroke of luck. Four times that price still would have been a great deal. Beutiful bike and, yes, I'm jealous.


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## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

The only thing I'd like to change is the Miche hubs, and get some nice, old Athena 32 hole hubs, and rebuild the wheels with those. Other than that, the bike would stay as is. But I've got other things on my plate, and the Miche's will probably be on there for a LONG time yet.

There is a little bit of rust on the chrome... Italian chrome = THIN! 
And still some nick and scrapes here & there, but nothing to get all twisted about.

But, as I said, it truly is a nice bike. I hardly ever ride it (I know, I know...) as I've got a few others that ore more my "daily" riders. I'll just go into the garage and look at it for quite a while, every now and again...


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## GirchyGirchy (Feb 12, 2004)

Gorgeous!

Some steel wool on the chrome lugs will take the little rusty bits off.


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