CAAD7 R3000 or Team Replica

[Mosbo]

Hi there,

I have recently purchased an old CAAD7 frame to build up. It's one of the raw aluminium frames, so based on the vintage catalogue's it looks like it's either a 2003 R3000 (blue/yellow decals, dura-ace) or the Team Replica model (red/yellow with Campagnolo) of the same year.

Not super important, but i'm just keen to know which it originally was. Might sway my decision as to what groupset to build it back up with ;-)

The frame itself is bare, so stickers and serial/barcode have been removed. I'm currently in the process of polishing it all back up.

All that is left that is somewhat useful is underneath the bottom bracket it has the following numbers:

795945NG01562
3IRH7E 56

56 is the frame size but I can't tell from the other 2 numbers which model this may have been.

Any ideas?

 

[black lightning 1987]

The Team Replica came with the SI crank, which I believe was BB30. The R3000 came with DA bottom bracket, so would have had a threaded BB shell.

 

[Mosbo]

Awesome thanks black lightning 1987! I had wondered if that would have been the case but couldn't find any documentation on BB spec for the two bikes. Mine is threaded so looks like it would have been an R3000!

Many thanks again.

 

[black lightning 1987]

I have 2003 R1000 frameset here waiting to be built up, just like yours except size and paint. Although the 9s are kind of looked upon as the most desirable of the USA made road frames, I don't think the 7s give up much to them. Don't know how prices run on 15 year old parts in NZ, but mid range Campagnolo in that period is pretty nice stuff. I probably have a complete Centaur group if you are interested.

 

[Mosbo]

Hmmm that’s definitely perked my interest! Got any photos of the group you can share?

You’re right that campag stuff is generally pretty expensive here in NZ as it’s not common here.

My original plan was to build it up us a bit if weight weenie. Aiming for 15-16lb.

But I’m a bit torn as to what group to go with. I already have a sram red chainset and could go all sram easily, which will definitely way less but cost a fair bit, but I love the idea of going old skool campag as well. There’s a dura-ace di2 group available here pretty cheap too so can’t decide!

Let me know what you have and what you’re after for it and I’ll think about it!

 

[black lightning 1987]

I have lots of Centaur stuff, so just grabbed some that was handy. There are other options for derailleurs, cassettes, cranks. This group is period correct except for the later BB and RD. 172.5 crank, 39/53, new 12-25 cassette. Calipers have one 50 mile ride on them. I will try to remember to bring the scale home from the shop and get a total weight. Also need to sort out how much money I have in the parts.

 

[Mosbo]

Thanks so much again! Don't spend too much time on it as i'm still not sure what I really want to do. Do you have any Chrorus or Record 10spd stuff or just Centaur mostly?

 

[black lightning 1987]

Bits and pieces of Chorus and Record, mostly cranks, BBs, calipers and derailleurs. Nothing approaching a matching group.

 

[Mosbo]

Ok I think I have made a decision on what I want to do, well sort of. I still have 2 options. I've decided to flag Shimano as I already have that on my other bike (CAADX) and i'm keen for something different. Di2 would be nice but probably too much faff for an older frame, and too heavy with the battery.

So i've figured out I can get mostly SRAM Red stuff, except downgrade the shifters and brakes to Force or Rival for little weight difference. This will give me a 15lb bike quite easily, even without going tubular or super lightweight/expensive on the wheels. I picked up a NOS 10 speed Red cassette on Ebay just yesterday for a good price so that's a good start. The rest of what I need would be shifters and Derailleurs. Combined with the Cassette I think i'll be spending roughly 350-400 USD in total (so that's for Cassette, Shifters and both Deraileurs). I already have the crankset which puts me at < 500 USD for the full group.

However, I still think the Campag stuff is super nice and despite the weight increase would match the bike perfectly. My fork is just raw carbon (with some lacquer) so the whole silver/black carbon look would match perfectly. If I went Campag though i'd be looking for 2007+ gear. Not an era-match for the bike I know but it's a lot closer than what SRAM 10 speed would be! And arguably a much better match. I'll keep the SRAM Red crankset as i'm probably going to switch out the chain rings anyway so it won't have such a super modern look.

According to the catalogue https://www.campagnolo.com/media/files/035_293_Catalogue_groupset_Campagnolo_2007.pdf even with Centaur i'd still easily get a 15.8lb bike and if I can get cheaper than the Red stuff I can probably spend more on lighter wheels to compensate!

So, if you have any 2007/8 + Centaur/Chorus/Record Shifters, Derailleurs or Cassette i'd be keen to know your price? There is a 2008 Centaur rear derailleur that's just popped up here on the main NZ Auction site (TradeMe) so i'll watch that. I think the Shifters with the black carbon levers (even if just fake carbon) will be hard to get here though.

Let me know, and again, really appreciate your help.

 

[black lightning 1987]

I have new Centaur Ultratorque cranks circa 2008. I have a black rear derailleur with the new logo but not sure of the year. Have a new pair of 2009 carbon Centaur Ultrashift levers but it will take big $ to get me to part with them. Cassettes vary with the year, some are all loose cogs (heavier), some have cogs on an AL carrier. The one I posted in the pic has two biggest cogs on a carrier. There may have been earlier or later cassettes with more cogs on carriers. There was also a range of years when Centaur had all steel cogs. I'd guess the weight difference isn't much but the large steel cogs can cut into the freehub body much more than the cogs on carriers do.