sweet. trip plus nova special x.

[mister]

going to portland oregon for a few days. should be fun. got a loaner bike lined up.
just won a serotta nova special X on ebay. it should be here shortly after i return. i think it will be a very reasonable price after i sell the unwanted parts on it (fixie conversion).

from what i read, these bike were off the shelf non-custom frames.
it's a 58cm bike. not sure if short or long but the listing said tt was 55cm and seat was 58cm ctc...i'm guessing the tt measurement is wrong.

the angles look pretty steep, can anyone tell me about what they may be?
head/seat angle and rake?

:bike:

[rounder]

I have one and mine is also a size 58 that I bought from a shop in 1992 (it had been hanging up unbuilt for about a year). The standard geometry measurements for a size 58 are (1992 catalogue) -

Size 58 cm
Head tube 57.0
Head angle 73.5
Seat angle 73.0
Chainstay 42.0
Rake 4.3
Drop 7.0
Stand over height 85.7

I like my bike. Hope you enjoy yours. Good luck.

[mister]

cool. thanks for that.
not sure what year this one is just yet.

did you mean top tube was 57cm?

[rounder]

Yes. Top tube was 57 cm.

[stephenyi]

I think I was watching that eBay auction for the serotta and thought about bidding but I decided to pass because of the 55cm top tube. I purchased another serotta fixed conversion from the same seller and I was quite pleased. Are you going to keep it fixed?

[mister]

no road parts are going back on.
campy SR and NR mix.

[rounder]

I went with newer campy on mine (posted awhile ago).

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=28002&highlight=nhx

[mister]

that's a great looking bike rounder.

so i just got back from portland. weather this time of year is killer...good enough to make a man want to move there.

i'm thinking the nova i'm getting is mid 80's.
it'll get campy nuovo and super record parts because i have all that stuff already.
i'd like to use some newer parts but that'll take time because i have to figure out what to use.
i'd like to have some integrated shifters but really only care for 8 speeds or so and would like to keep the vintage campy cranks...

oh yeah, it should be here on birthday unless UPS reschedules...tomorrow is gonna be a good day.

[MartyE]

I've got a 89 Nova special (serial number confirmed from 'the big book' )
and yes basically off the peg frames. mine is 53cm square and is I believe
73% parallel.
I'm running almost period correct campy 8 speed on it. Bike rides like a dream.

Marty

[mister]

yeasterday was my birthday and the bike arrived too :D .
lugwork is even better than i thought it would be.
serial # is 74xxx and the toptube does measure 57cm instead of the 55cm listed in the auction :cool:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/2849751462_4de7e60266_o.jpg

i have campy SR cranks brakes and FD, NR rd, SR hubs.
i want to do something like 8speed rear hub and brifters and hopefully use a chain that will work with both an 8 speed cassette and the existing cranks with SR rings.

anyone know if the chorus 8 speed cassettes will work with a SRAM PC850 chain?
will the corresponding brifters be hard to get?

[mister]

here is a quick snapshot.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3029/2861265592_5c3998c55b_b.jpg

been riding the bike for a few days now and it feels pretty nice.
handling is just right, it's stiff and it climbs well.

[ejh]

very nice. I'm the orignal owner of an 1986 nova special. still rides great with 7 speed D/A

[kong79]

I've got an early 90's Nova Special X purchased off e-bay a few years ago. Mine is red in the front fading to white just like yours.

[mister]

oh so early 90's?
the decals are the same as mine. the seatstay caps, the point on the seatlug, fork crown. pretty much looks like the same bike but purple vs. red fade.
i measured my fork rake at 40mm, so i think geometry is 73.5* head with 40mm rake and 73* seat tube angle.

i think my serial number is 70140, is your close to that?

[kong79]

Mine is 57 top and seat. I've never measured the angles. My serial is #61048. I contacted Serotta with the number and they said it was an early 90's frame, but couldn't tell me exactly what year. Love the bike, probably too much. I started riding in the mid 80's and by the early 90's I was a total nut for anything cycling. In 1990 Serotta came out with a Davis Phinney special. It was an off the shelf steel frame made from Columbus SLX and came with Ultegra components in Serotta racing colors, red and yellow. It was my first real lust after bike. I darn near ordered one even though I would have been divorced. Anyway, my guess is that the Special X is probably the same bike, different color.

[mister]

the davis phinney, judging from the catalogs was racier. steeper (74*) head and seat angles. i wish mine were that...man o man.

check the '89 serotta catalog.
http://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/

actually, the early 80's serotta criterium frame would be so sweet.
steep angles and short rake fork. perfect.

[kong79]

Cool link to the catalogs! The one I saw was in Bicycling magazine (I think) that would have come out in mid 1990. Like I said, it was in Serotta's racing colors of red and yellow, and maybe I don't remember right, but I could have swore it only came as a complete bike with an Ultegra gruppo. But hey, I'm getting old and have forgotten more important things than that.