Fausto Coppi K14 2002 Giro d'Italia Colour Scheme.

[Illaveago]

I picked this bike up yesterday from a very nice chap.It was advertised in needing some TLC. I said that I would restore the bike and keep it.

I bought this bike as I was looking for a Fausto Coppi K14. I already have a K28 which has turned out to be a very nice bike to ride and thought that I would try a model higher up in their range, at the time I didn't know that the colour scheme was that of the winning rider of the Giro D'Italia 2002, I just happened to come across the actual bike on the bay for sale and thought that it looked like mine, the actual winning bike is a KXR8.

The first thing to do when I got it home was to give it a wash and see what needed doing. The most obvious was to find a rear brake caliper and to sort out the leaking rear tyre. I fitted a Campagnolo Record caliper that I intend to use on my Pinarello for now. The puncture was next, it turned out to be a tiny pin prick of a hole and was soon fixed.

A road test was next. A ride over to my brother's should be a good gauge of how it rides as it is one that I usually do. It is nice and smooth to ride despite the tyre pressures being 100 psi , I normally ride lower pressures. It seemed to go well but I couldn't check the speed as I couldn't see my Garmin. I also found that I couldn't change up out of the lowest chain ring, it is a triple clanger. So 11 miles covered and just a minor problem to fix. The bike feels really smooth and fast.

 

[biggs682]

That's a nice looking bike.

Those assessment miles are always good to compile a list of jobs to do

 

[Illaveago]

Carbon fibre front forks, Columbus Altec tubing, Campagnolo Zonda wheels and hubs, Shimano 105 brakes and gears. Shimano 105 triple clanger.

 

[Illaveago]

Oh, I have read on other sites that the welds of the K14 and some other models have been finished to a higher standard and haven been ground down to a smooth finish, they have been blended into the rest of the frame really well. My K 28's welds still show through the lacquer but have been done well and look nice.
The paint finish has been done to a high standard and it looks like the colours have been sprayed on rather than using stickers. The rear triangle is painted in a white pearl and the front se ton of the frame a bright metallic blue. There are a few nasty corrosion areas which I will have to sort out later.

 

[Illaveago]

 

[Elybazza61]

That's very nice, bit rough looking bar-tape though

 

[Drago]

Columbus Altec is a rebranded 7005. Not as easy to work as 6061, so probably a pricy frame in its day.

That looks alright, a bit bigger and would suit me.

 

[T4tomo]

Nice, that should tidy up well. Matching tires and sorting out the stem are obvious jobs!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Defo needs new bar tape to replace the tatty stuff currently on. Otherwise looks a nice bike

 

[Illaveago]

Looking at pictures of the various Fausto Coppi models, specially the aluminium framed ones you get the impression that they are all similarly framed. I was a bit shocked that this model has round and oval sectioned tubing. I assumed that it would be like my K28 in what I would term inflated triangular section so that it has slightly rounded sides as opposed to the K3 frame which is made up of hollow cheeked triangular section which looks similar to that on the KXR8 frame. So that has been a bit of a discovery for me.

 

[Illaveago]

Columbus Altec is a rebranded 7005. Not as easy to work as 6061, so probably a pricy frame in its day.

That looks alright, a bit bigger and would suit me.

Yes. I think I read on another site that just the frame and forks of the K28 would have been about £500 and the K14 about £800. By the look of how the paintwork was done with all of the colours masked out, airbrushed and finally lacquered and polished it would have cost more.

 

[biggs682]

Nice, that should tidy up well. Matching tires and sorting out the stem are obvious jobs!

Yes matching tyres always look better

 

[biggs682]

It will be interesting to hear what you think about the ride quality seeing as alloy frames are meant to be harsh

 

[Illaveago]

The original bar tape was underneath the blue tape.

I have got to discover why the left ST I won't move the front changer onto the outer chain ring.