Hello

I bought a ‘Cavallo Marino’ late 80s/ early 90s steel racing bike frame from a chap on Ebay and am just about to get it resprayed. On the downtube it has 2 braze ons for what I assumed to be shifters. BUT… either side of the headtube at the bottom it also has 2 angled braze ons – 2 small hoops which look to me as if cables might go through them. If I am fitting a modern groupset which ones if any can I get rid of?

I will try and attach a link here but will probably fail.

Frame Photo

Also, what is the plastic thing called on the underside of the bottom bracket which acts as a cable guide, and how do I order a new one that will actually fit?

Thanks for any help.

The loops are for the gear cable outers from the STIs. The braze ons are for the bolt on barrel adjusters. Or you can use it with down tube levers.

Not seen it in that combination before TBH, but it looks like as ghosltymachine said, the outers run through the eyes, and terminate at barrel adjusters which fit onto the downtube shifter braze-ons. I guess it stops cable rub as normally you’d just run the cables straight to the barrel adjusters.

If you wanted to de-clutter it, file off the shifter braze on’s. It’s relatively easy as there will be a thin layer of brass which is soft between the braze on and downtube so you can see/feel when you’re down to the tube. Then install some less conspicuous barrel adjusters in the headtube eyes, I have these ones on mine.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ritchey-cable-tension-barrel-adjusters/

Take the under the BB bit into a shop and they should have one that fits, there’s a couple of different types, like most things a Shimano and a Campagnolo, but it doesn’t necessarily follow on from the rest of the groupset, or luggs etc.

“The loops are for the gear cable outers from the STIs. The braze ons are for the bolt on barrel adjusters. Or you can use it with down tube levers.”

It’s a bit odd, because those braze-ones are neither threaded nor stopped, and might possibly be for adapters as thisisnotaspoon suggests. I’m wondering if they might actually be for full-length cables to the mechs*, and if the plastic guide isn’t original? Surely they’d be a bit pointless if using downtube STI adapters?

And if it actually is a ‘late ’80s’ bike, then it wouldn’t have any STI related braze ons anyway. Plus more likely to have a 126mm rear dropout spacing I think, rather than 130mm.

* For use with stem-mounted shifters:

They only take the outer to prevent cable rub, it’s not an end stop. That’s why they have no thread or anything. They probably aren’t strong enough to take a barrel adjuster of any sort either. Not without bending or dropping off after 3 months. That’s what the other bosses are there for. STi was launched in 1990. So late 80s/early 90s matches.

It’s also a fairly decent frame and is *unlikely* to have used stem mounted levers. Another possibility is that it’s custom and the owner has used bar end shifters. There were still a few guys doing that late 80s/early 90s. Much less common after the mid 90s. When STI type shifters were everywhere.

What you have is a pretty standard setup. Leave the the rings, they just keep the cable from wearing the paint on the headtube. The downtube shifter bosses can either be removed and replaced with an STI boss like this :

or you can leave the boss and fit an adapter like this :

second option is simplest. Doesn’t require any frame mods.

Second option is what I did for the thick end of 20 years. Until I bought a bike built for STIS.

Also had a hand full of frames with the rings on them too.

Well the combined singletrackworld knowledge base has amazed me again. Thanks guys.

The headtube guides do look like they are sized to take a cable with housing and have no threading.

It’s a 130mm rear end. Also it had the rider’s name painted on so may well be a custom frame.

I paid 245 pounds for it which to me doesn’t seem much for a Neuron frame, may be due to the fact it is a niche manufacturer.

I think I will keep both braze ons as it seems to be a slightly unusual arrangement and therefore I feel it should be preserved. I just wish the ‘Cavallo’ decals weren’t quite so duff looking… can’t wait to see what I can come up with on ‘Word’ to replace them!

I have a slightly older Bob Jackson / Merlin frame – it has similar loops which work when you have bar end shifters, but I don’t have braze ons for levers, only 2 cable stops where they would normally be.

leave it as it is and use the cable adjusters suggested by Shand. It’s a nice old frame so deserves some parts to make it look so.

“I paid 245 pounds for it”

😯

Wow. Have to say, that seems very expensive even for such a nice frame.

If I am fitting a modern groupset…..

What are you doing about wheels?

Curious as I have a Paugeot Optimum and the groupset on that is pretty worn out after over 20 years of use.

Half torn between stripping and putting a modern groupset on, but then realised it’s an old freewheel cassette and narrower hub spacing and it all started looking expensive. But then getting retro groupsets started looking expensive.

Well, lesser quality vintage (it’s hard for me to think of the 90s as ‘vintage’) frames with a big name on them go for a good bit more than that on Ebay, and that did include postage from Italy so it seemed ok to me. And you know…. where n+1 is concerned any thoughts of money are irrelevant…..

Yes, vintage frames are going for increasingly larger prices, as there’s currently a bit of a craze for them (fuelled mainly by hipster/trendy types). Which is mad, because the number of really nice frames I’ve seen that have just been scrapped, would make you cry. 😥

allan…. to be honest I have no idea about the wheels. From a purely visual point of view I always think black groupset and wheels look best with a white frame but I am not really prepared to spend the required money on carbon rims. I will certainly not be getting vintage parts, the prices are mad.

Some 80’s bikes had 130mm rear ends, and even if they don’t they can either be cold set, or just bent out to fit over 130m hubs.

This is my CB (it’s for sale too). 130mm rear so just used a new 5800 hub. Still using downtube shifters though.

As another thought, it’s possible the frames been re-finished at some point and the head-tube eyelets added then to add STI compatibility. Although in that case I can’t see why they’d not remove the down-tube bosses at the same time.

Although in that case I can’t see why they’d not remove the down-tube bosses at the same time.

You need something for the outer to finish against…. and the standard for many many years was to use the bolt on stops with built in adjusters. As you kept the potential to use down tube levers if you ever wanted to.

As for groupsets, get something sensible and within budget from shimano for drivetrain/brakes then a nice spindly classic looking crank from somewhere like Spa Cycles or SJSC and a pair of something like H plus Son TB14 in chrome for a classic box section look.
If you have a poke round in Spa or SJSC you’ll probably find plenty of period looking (chromed basically!) finishing kit too.
Might even be able to find some chromed “period” brakes instead of shimano.