Lugged! Steel! Mine!

[dex]

...or "How I Saved $1300!"...or "My, What a Big Headlight You Have!"

I've mentioned that I've been looking for a steel commuter with potential for light touring. I've spent the past week testing various bikes, and was leaning toward getting a Salsa Casseroll. I had a couple of small reservations on the Casseroll--the first was deciding on which size I should get (stumpy legs + long torso = harder to fit than one might first think), and the second was that it was a few hundred dollars more than I really wanted to spend. Not that it isn't worth every penny of that $1500 price tag, because after riding it I absolutely think it is worth the money, just that I didn't necessarily want to part with the extra money.

While lazily perusing Craigslist this afternoon, I happened across a bike that made me perk up a bit. The seller didn't post a size, but looking at the pictures, I made a guess that it was probably in the 50-52cm range. It looked in good shape, and it had a big honkin' generator-powered headlight on the front. Also a taillight utilizing same generator and a rack and fenders already installed.

I fired off an e-mail to ask about sizing and whatnot. Score! The seller told me it was 51cm and in good working condition, even the lights. I managed to get some directions from him, and off I went to give it a look.

It looks barely ridden. Seriously. No chips or fading in the paint, no rub marks anywhere, the decals are completely intact. Even the tires still look practically new. And it fit! I spent awhile talking to the seller to get the backstory on this lovely machine and I felt satisfied that this nice older Vietnamese gentleman wasn't pushing stolen goods off on me. So, I handed him the cash, loaded the bike on the back of my Miata, and brought it home...

It's a Novara Strada, which I assume has always been the REI house brand. Looking at the components--Sugino GT crank, Suntour ARX derailleurs and downtube friction shifters, DiaCompe brakes and levers, Sakae bars and toe clip straps, Araya rims, Suzue hubs--I'm guessing it was made in the early to mid-80's. It's Tange Champion 5 tubing, and there's a Made in Japan sticker on it. So, all pretty mid-range stuff for the 80's from what I understand. But all in really good shape, so totally worth the money I paid for it...at least to me.

I'll take it to a shop for a thorough going-over in the next couple of days. Also, I need to decide if I want to keep the downtube shifters, or switch to barcons...I'm kinda wobbly reaching down to shift. (And I think I want to put the dark red Fizik Microtex bar tape on it. Oh, and probably move my Brooks Finesse over to this bike, because those copper rivets would be lovely with that dark gold paint.) And then it's commutin' time! Yay!

Oh, yeah. Pics...







More pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/dexocracy/NovaraStrada/

[uforgot]

That looks like a perfect commuter! And now you won't be worried about riding it in the rain or on lumpy bumpy roads like you would if you had $1300 more in it. Nice work!

Is that lettering dark red? That red bar tape will be perfect!

[Becky]

Nice bike! And what a great color too!

[DebW]

That's gorgeous and just perfect! I might suggest that if you are swapping handlebar tape, you also swap to aero brake levers with cables under the tape if you are used to braking from the lever hoods. The old-style non-aero levers give you little braking power from the hoods.

[xeney]

Wow, that is beautiful! And I agree with Deb that aero levers would be a great investment. My husband is a big fan of the ones that Soma sells -- I think they are the same ones that are also sold under the Cane Creek label, and they are made by Tektro. If you look around they are sometimes available with the gum-colored hoods, which is great for a retro look. I don't think those are made right now but they might turn up on eBay. These are the levers I mean, but you'd definitely want the silver for that bike!

[mimitabby]

great bike! good for you.

[KnottedYet]

DEX!!!!!! How wonderful! Amazing find!

Oh, yeah, deep red bar tape would be just lovely.

My gold lugged steel bike blows a kiss to your gold lugged steel bike!

Wow, niiiiiiiice!!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

OOOOOOOOHHHHHH nice catch!!!!!!!

Hey you know those Suntour downtube shifters and deraill. are worth a lot these days- people are seeking them out.
If I were you I'd use them for a while- friction shifters are wonderful and SMOOTH if they are properly tuned and lubed, and your wobbly-ness when reaching down will disappear pretty quickly if you give it a chance.
Also, people are looking for those old gum hoods with the cable coming out from the top, and the levers with the little holes along the front. My husband's Rivendell has them:
http://harmonias.com/rivendell.jpg
They are happenin'.

just get the bike tuned up and replace any old cables and brake pads and GO, girl!

It's just gorgeous- love the old gold paint!

[Trek420]

Beautiful! Have you test ridden it yet?

[dex]

Thanks, everyone! Now I'm even more excited about my new bike!

Thanks for the brake lever suggestion. I have some short reach Cane Creek levers sitting in my closet, so I may need to go dig those out and have them installed. Then again, I just saw a picture of the ones with gum colored hoods on Amazon, and they're very tempting.

So far I've only ridden her enough to verify that the fit is going to be workable--so, a little around the seller's neighborhood and a little more around my own. The ride is chock full of smooth and wonderful goodness. And she seems in mechanically good shape, but I'll leave it to someone with actual knowledge of bicycle mechanics to decide for real. Heh.

Other than the brake levers, I want to stick with the components that are on there now, since everything seems to work beautifully. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that the combination of chainrings (48 and 34) and freewheel (13-30) means that the low gear is actually a tiny bit lower than on my road bike. That was my one initial concern, because it's uphill most of the way on the return trip home from work--that's the price I pay for living on a hill so I can have city and water views. (Yeah, it's a rough life. )

And, yes...Gold! A nice, deep, dark gold with dark red/maroon lettering. So pretty. Knott, I immediately thought of your bike when I first saw the pics on the ad. I remembered how I was completely mesmerized by the gold paint on your Waterford the first time I saw her in person. So gorgeous. This paint doesn't have quite the same lustre, but still pretty in a slightly more understated way.

I think I may need to treat myself to one of those big Baggins Country Bags. I've been wanting one of those for ages, but didn't have a bike that it wouldn't look silly on...now I do! And, you know, I just saved all that money! Hah!

[Tuckervill]

I tell ya, I wouldn't change a thing about those brake levers and cables, except to reroute them to in front of the bars. I had plenty of bikes that looked just like that in the '70s (they all got stolen). That's fine living right there!

eta: Oh, and if you find any deep red bar tape, let me know. I have an '83 Centurion with that same maroon accent and the deep red would look great on my bike, too.

Karen

[KnottedYet]

eta: Oh, and if you find any deep red bar tape, let me know. I have an '83 Centurion with that same maroon accent and the deep red would look great on my bike, too.

Karen

Fizik's deep red microtex bar tape is very sexy in person. I'm thinking about switching my gray tape for red now that my Surly has red heart Spokees. The red gel tape is a bit brighter, gotta take my bike in and hold the tapes up to her and see if *she* wants new tape. (it's all about the bike!)

[sgtiger]

Dex, congrats! What a great find!