genejockey 

I have too many bikes. I have 10 of the things, and while I love each and every one of them, there are still too many. So, clearly I need another bike like I need a hole in the head.

But what I DO need is a project. Two times now, I've started from a bare frame, and built The Bike Of My Dreams. In the first case, I wanted an Italian lugged frame made of MAX tubing, with 10 speed Chorus. The second was a mid-90s Litespeed Ultimate, which I built up 3 different ways, finally settling on 11 speed R8000 Ultegra. Both times, it was the frame that drove the process.

This time, it's the groupset. The second iteration of the Litespeed used 7410 Dura Ace - the first Hyperglide cassette, the first dual pivot brakes, the first STI levers, and the world's prettiest crankset, the FC-7410. I loved the Litespeed built that way, but I wanted that bike to be one of my mainstays, so the 39x25 low gear was just not low enough for all the riding I wanted to do on it - hence the R8000. But I still want a bike with the 7410 DA group, which is sitting in a box, carefully packaged for future use.

Okay, so if I'm going to build a bike around what was in many ways a world-changing groupset, it can't be just any frameset. It should be something that says Mid-90s, so not a lugged steel bike built of SL or SP or similar. The 90s saw a lot of changes in bikes - the last TdF won on a steel frame, for example. The advent of CF frames. TIG-welded steel. Oversize, but light steel tubesets. Oh - and it can't cost a ton of money! I have a particular frameset in mind, which I won't discuss till I've obtained one, but I'm also open to suggestions!

jethin

Reverse mortgage or whatever and get a Colnago.

PhilFo 

Full Dura Ace Huffy AeroWind.
If you have multiple grail bikes, maybe branch off into other tinkering hobbies which don't cost a ton and take up lots of space. Manual typewriter repair and restoration is a great hobby.
I have no less than 8 bikes, one of them a large cargo bike. I have a bunch of manual typewriters, maybe 11, all of which would fit in the space that 1 bicycle can occupy. I've also got 7 or 8 working motion picture cameras and an untold number of still film cameras. These things just find me through friends, or follow me home after walking by a thrift store.
But the obvious answer is to find a perfect size Pinarello.

rccardr 

You might want to consider the Kestrel 200SCI or Trek 5500 OCLV. Both came with 7410 at some point.
In the mid 90’s world of mountain bikes, hybrids, and everything in between, those two stood out as true pioneers.
On the other hand, anything looks and works great with 7410. I even have it on my ‘84 Merck Pro SLX.

Hondo6

Perhaps an early-to-mid-1990s 3Rensho?

Trakhak

In the SF Bay area, there are bound to be riders who have aged out of road bikes (or children of those riders) looking to sell complete bikes, often for less than someone else would ask for the frameset.

Also, keep an eye on the "Are You Looking for One of These?" thread. For every Guerciotti with Super Record at $995 (see current Craigslist SF listing), there's something similar going for half that, or even less.

genejockey 

I actually found what I was looking for - kind of. One size too big. But the seller didn't answer his email, and I decided that this bike HAS TO be the right size. But, yeah, I'm watching Craigs List and FB Marketplace.

AdventureManCO 

100% agree

AdventureManCO 

Trademark infringement

PhilFo 

I had you in mind when I wrote it!

nomadmax 

Unique?

Slingshot road bike. Done.

seagrade 

Merlin Extralight Titanium

Fat City Cycles Slim Chance

Davidson Tange Prestige

Bianchi EL OS

Fat City Cycles Slim Chance

Colnago C40

Fat City Cycles Slim Chance

Jeff Wills

Build it with an early ‘00’s Dura-Ace triple group. Rare and cool.

thinktubes 

Steelman Stage Race 853

smontanaro 

Agreed, very pretty group. I assembled one which I intended to use on my custom. The not-very-low gearing was problematic. My intention was to have a long cage 3D printed for the derailleur, then maybe have the DA crank triplized.

Before any of that came to fruition, a 9sp Campagnolo group with Racing T and triple crank feel into my lap. As a result, I now have a 7410 rear derailleur sitting disassembled in a box.

​​​​Shimano seems to have had a "tendency" to make Dura-Ace stuff incompatible with all their other gear. Still, you might get lucky and find some other derailleur with a medium or long cage which will swap into place without a ton of effort. Either route would be "a project."

genejockey 

Oddly enough, the Litespeed came with an 8sp Campy Chorus group with a Racing T crank and FD, but, oddly, a short cage RD.

imakecircles

I'd highly recommend one of the 853 tubed LeMond bikes. I have a Buenas Aires from that era and the handling/ride feel is sublime. There were also quite a few of them made, so they won't be unobtainium.

Mountain Mitch

Try a Condor!

bargo68 

Tesch 101!

genejockey 

My biggest problem is that I need basically a 58 or 59 cm frame. I went through the geometries on my current bikes, and the TT's are all in the 57-58 cm range, with HTs about 150-170mm. That allows me to get the bars where I want them. I am surprised just how few 58-59 cm frames there are out there, compared to 55-56. I already tried making a frame that size work, and much as I LOVED the bike, it looked a bit odd - an 80s bike with a ton of exposed seatpost and a 135mm stem, and then the bars were about a cm too low, even with the stem at minimum insertion. I keep finding luscious bikes and frames that would fit me if I were only 2" shorter. It's frustrating.

The second biggest problem is that on the one hand, there are SO MANY choices, while on the other, for each choice, there are only a few examples - see size problem above. One choice I was looking at, there are only two examples in my size. One is a complete bike which will cost way more than I want to invest, what with shipping and all, PLUS then I'm simply swapping "Dura Ace In A Box" for "Chorus In A Box". The other example is a frameset only, in great condition, with a totally doable price, but it's painted/decaled for a TEAM, not for the maker. I looked into prices for repainting, and they're prohibitive - I'd end up spending more than if I bought the complete bike!

Ah, well. There are worse problems to have!

356geoff 

I have a Claud Butler Colstar if you’re interested message me. I live an hour north of Truckee so maybe getting the bike to you won’t be too hard.

356geoff 

It's 58 cm seat post

genejockey 

It's a nice looking bike, but kind of the opposite of the '90s vibe I'm going for to match the 7410 groupset.

genejockey 

I took your advice. Just found a 1997 Zurich frame in my size, and for a reasonable price, so I grabbed it. It's got the silver to blue fade, rather than the later pseudo-traditional paneled paint job, which I think will work well with the 7410 groupset for that 90s vibe. I'll have to get some hubs, and build some new wheels...

imakecircles

Hope that you enjoy the LeMond!