Bottecchia "Super Commuter"

Very seldom do I buy a bike that's already been restored, but this one was too good to pass up. The previous owner had purchased this Bottecchia as an ugly frame, had it repainted (wet paint with decals and clearcoat, fancy!), and then outfitted it as a fixed-gear "super-commuter" (his words). The "super" part entailed a lot of high-end parts and accessories: a SON dynamo hub and a Phil Wood flip-flop hub, each handbuilt to a sturdy rim; a Supernova E3 light to match the dynohub; ultra-tough Schwalbe tires; Nitto front rack; two Carradice bags; a Brooks saddle; a Paul Components single brake lever; a snazzy chainguard; a wireless cycling computer; and an $80 Wippermann chain! Frankly, I found much of this to be overkill--the owner himself copped to never even using the Paul brake lever--but I figured I could strip things down to a more practical and affordable form and bag a few nice accessories in the process. So I did.

Here's what it looked like when I got it:

I decided that for such a classic-looking frame, it'd be nice to build things up a bit more traditionally. Out went the moustache bars, replaced by a pair of Specialized drops with Suntour Superbe non-aero levers.

 The pitifully weak long-armed side-pull single brake was replaced with a classic set of Mafac Racers. To make these work, I added a Surly chain hanger on the seat post binder bolt. It took some careful filing to seat properly, but in the end it fit perfectly. 

In this photo, near the bottom, you can see how tight the clearance is in the seat-lug slot:

 I also thought it might be nice to have a few gears, so I converted the drivetrain to a 1x6 configuration with down-tube shifters and a bombproof Suntour VX derailleur, ditching the modern wheels in the process.

A set of quill-style pedals with clips and straps to replace the modern clipless ones.

Gold housing to match the Bottecchia decal, and this was as close as I could get to olive twine to match the paint--bright green treated with one coat of amber shellac and two coats of clear.

 And of course I couldn't resist the tanwall tires to offset the olive green paint nicely.

Here she is in full:

Fuji Espree Mixte and Cream Tires

To sleep, perchance to cream... Whoa, wait, I didn't mean to write that. I'm talking about tires here, for chrissakes. Anyway, I can't decide whether or not these cream tires enhance this mixte build or steal all the frame's spotlight. Thoughts, anyone?

My other option, by default, is tan-walled Panaracer Paselas. I think they'd make for a more classic, "tasteful" look overall. I'm just not sure I want to be tasteful in this case. If I were to run Paselas, I could use the original 27" wheels, saving a little dough (whereas the cream Delta Cruisers only come in 700c, requiring a wheel upgrade).

(btw, the gnarly old cork grips are just placeholders until a new pair arrives in the mail, so don't hate on 'em, please)

Update (7/8/13):