Modernizing a classic titanium bike - Litespeed Tuscany Ultegra

Over the last couple years I've developed the hobby of fixing up old bikes, usually with the fairly basic goal of getting something nonoperational back on the road. All of that started with my first restoration - of a 2001 Litespeed Tuscany frame I found on Offerup at a bargain price.

I've mountain biked since I was a kid, but only recently got into road biking while spending a summer doing a research exchange in Austria. I bought a cheap $300 rennrad ("racebike") and road about 1000 around Villach over the course of the summer. When I got home all I had in terms of road bikes was an old, heavy steel Fuji Touring bike. For the next year or so I started casually looking at faster options on Craigslist or Offerup until I found the following: 

Despite not riding road bikes at all when I was younger, I was surrounded by all sorts of bikes and well versed on what was good quality. I remember seeing those bright yellow Litespeed labels and thinking that they had a lot style. More recently, I learned all about the advantages that titanium offers. 

When I saw this 58cm Litespeed Tuscany frame on Offerup shortly after installing the app I jumped at it. The seller was flaky and hard to nail down to a meeting, but I was persistent and ended up following through on a $200 offer. He said I was lucky because he'd received a lot of interest (apparently over the last year with an inability to follow through on the sale?).

The decals were in worse shape than they appeared in the photos, and I learned you can order replacements directly from Litespeed, so I decided to remove them. Removal took about an hour - I held up a hot iron just above the frame, and scraped the partially melted decals right off with a credit card. Despite the classic look of those bright yellow Litespeed decals, I ended up liking the raw titanium look a lot more:

Next, I found a matching, period-appropriate carbon Litespeed fork on eBay ($60). I made the classic mistake of assuming the steerer would be long enough if it had been pulled off another Litespeed, but it turned out to be a really close fit. I had to buy a new, low-stack headset to make sure the bike was safe.

I started collecting assorted parts from closeouts and bargain bins at both Backcountry.com and Planet X: including an FSA seatpost, Easton stem and bars, and Ultegra brakes. I found a cool, vintage looking stainless steel water bottle cage in a cardboard box at a LBS parking lot sale. I found the like-new, though fairly low spec, wheels (Alex A-Class) on Craigslist for another $65.

The bike was really starting to come together, but obviously lacked a drivetrain and some key pieces of finishing kit. I started picking up pieces as I saw them come available online, and ended up with a mostly Ultegra setup along with Shimano 105 brifters. I had recently received a Brooks B17 saddle and decided to move it to this new bikef or the time being, and I bought some matching black Brooks Cambium rubber bar tape. The final bike appears as below:

Final Expenses

Total cost: $1,010 ($1,050 with tax and shipping)

Frame: $200 (Offerup)
Fork: $60 + $8sh (eBay)
Stem and handlebars: $25 + $4sh (Backcountry)
Seatpost, spaces, brakes: $75 + $17sh (Planet X)
Headset (low stack): $37 + $5sh (Amazon)
Front derailleur: $40 (REI)
Rear derailleur: $50 (Nashbar)
Bottom bracket: $13 + $7sh (Ribble)
Wheels, tubes, tires: $65 (Craigslist)
Shifters and cassette: $208 (Chain Reaction)
Bar tape and brake cables: $37 (Amazon)
Chain: $17 (Bikedirect)
Crankset: $142 (Merlin)
Pedals and seat: on hand

An early ride from the North Park, San Diego area to Sunset Cliffs.