As suggested, I will provide some information about myself and my interests related to bicycles. My name is Raymond Niedzwiecki and I live in Palo Alto, California. I have worked in Silicon Valley (a few expatriate jobs in Asia and Europe) for most of my career. I will be 68 years old in a few weeks. I have been riding for exercise since the late 1960's. I have purchased Campagnolo N. Record, Super Record, 50th Anniversary and C-Record groups when they were the newest groups available. I have sold all of the bicycles and parts long ago. I became interested in the pre-1984 era bicycles when I began selling off the bicycle collection of my best friend after he passed away. I currently have a 1983 Cinelli Super Corsa that has had the frame and forks undergo some restoration to the paint and decals. I have accumulated a set of Campagnolo Super Record parts that are NOS or take-offs from display bicycles. The only original parts are the seat post (finding a 26.2mm stem in NOS condition has eluded me) and the handlebars. I am hoping to start final assembly in May. I also own a Colnago with 1st generation C-Record parts ( I believe this is generally off topic and will not be mentioned again. I also own several more modern bikes and enjoy riding all of the bicycles.
My other major interest is wheel building; something I have been doing for the past 30 years. I use a Park TS-3 that has been modified in conjunction with the engineering staff at Park Tool before they discontinued manufacturing this model. I also developed a set of electronic sensors and a display screen that allows me to see the lateral and radial run outs as a single point on the screen. Any change I make to a spoke displays the overall result to both the radial and lateral condition of the rim. I can continue to increase the magnification of the screen as the wheel becomes truer and I can continue to make finer and finer adjustments. I am also old fashioned in that I use a brass washer under the head of every spoke, no matter whether it is a vintage or modern wheel. The hub flanges are less damaged and the wheels seem to last a long time. Is it bad form to use more modern tools when building wheels with 1983 or earlier components?
I will do my best to abide by the rules and not mention post 1983 items if possible. One last question: If a particular frame and fork had a model run from 1983 - 1985 without any changes to the parts, are the 84 and 85 bicycles excluded from discussion.
Raymond Niedzwiecki
Palo Alto, California
USA