Upgrade options to mid-70 campy

dabac said:

Hi guys,

Way back when there was a company who tried to make an all plastic bike, which hardly surprising didn't turn out too well. But some creative souls claimed that if one took the wheels and stuck them in an ordinary frame one got a bike with a comfy ride and decent braking characteristics even in the wet.
Now I have a chance of getting hold of one of these bikes, the 10-speed "racing" version. The price is right, I've got a spare frame I can use and I've been thinking about getting myself a commuter bike for quite awhile.
I don't know which group it is, only that it's a mid-70s campagnolo, so what upgrade options are there, i.e. what other cassettes can I use?

Or should I go for something more radical and graft a new hub onto it?

Here's a pic, although it won't tell you much.

(If you think this is ridiculous you should see the the one with the 3-speed torpedo hub, that one also had plastic handlebars...)

For something as unique as that, I think that you should try to keep it as is rather than upgrade. Modifying it reduces its unique appeal.

No Campy cassette hubs in the 70's only freewheel.

Have to agree with John M. If you buy it, keep it the way it is. Your upgrade options would probably be tremendously limited in any event.

John M said:

For something as unique as that, I think that you should try to keep it as is rather than upgrade.

What it is - is [censored]. The frame is so heavy and flexy that riding it can be an experience you'd rather do without. Besides, I'm not really interested in keeping it as a collector's item. For those of that inclination there are actually bikes around still in their original boxes, (at 8x the asking price...) This one is a bit weathered already...

John M said:

Modifying it reduces its unique appeal.

Ah, you must mean the appeal of "twice the weight at half the rigidity"? 😉

If I use the wheels as they are in the steel frame I have in mind, and stick the plastic frame in a corner somewhere I guess I could put it back in its original state at some later point. Heck, maybe the hub can be switched with reversible methods as well.

John M said:

No Campy cassette hubs in the 70's only freewheel.

Well, that's a bummer. 5 rear sprockets does limit the gearing some.