Motobecane Grand Jubile’- After
Posted: May 22, 2021 Filed under: Before and After, Restorations and Refurbishments, Road and Touring | Tags: Motobecane bicycle, Motobecane Grand Jubile Leave a commentI ended up given this old Frenchy a chance. Sure, it ate up some parts and a whole lot of time – probably more of both than the bike is worth – but as always, it’s hard for me to know when to quit. If the paint had been beat up the decision would have been easier.
Beyond the bits, the bike now has a few new decals, both on the frame and on the Ambrosio rims.
1984 Gios Torino- After
Posted: May 20, 2021 Filed under: Before and After, Restorations and Refurbishments, Road and Touring | Tags: 1980's Gios Torino, Campagnolo Super Record, Gios Torino, Restored Gios Leave a commentI actually put the bike together two months ago but there were a couple small issues I wanted to address before I photographed it. During that time other projects came in and out, plenty worth mentioning, but I kept thinking, “Don’t post anything else until you’ve put up the Gios.” So nothing else got posted. Dumb idea.
Anyhow, here she is, ready to go out into the world and get dirty and scratched up.
Who am I kidding?
Here she is, all ready to be displayed in the shop.
P.S. I just noticed the “before” photos in the November, 2020 post had gone missing. They’re now reloaded in that section.)
1983 Woodrup- What to do, what to do
Posted: January 15, 2021 Filed under: Before and After, Road and Touring, Vintage lightweights | Tags: 1980's Woodrup, bicycle restoration, Woodrup, Woodrup bicycle Leave a commentNormally I’d build this recent arrival up with Campagnolo Nuovo or Super Record. That being said:
A: I don’t have a complete NR or SR group hanging around,
B: This particular Woodrup is a light touring model with eyelets, rack mounts, etc. so a standard racing group wouldn’t really be appropriate anyway.
If I really wanted to put Campy on it I’d thus have to hunt down a triple setup and that’s never an easy or inexpensive option. My current plan, which will likely change 19 times between now and when I actually start, is to outfit the bike with a nice period Suntour touring kit: Mountech derailleurs, Suntour barcon shifters, and maybe a beefier set of side pulls. The Sugino AT crank won’t need to be changed because they’re already period-correct and of great quality, but most everything else will have to go.
1977 Nishiki International- After
Posted: January 8, 2021 Filed under: Before and After, Restorations and Refurbishments, Road and Touring | Tags: 1977 Nishiki, bicycle restoration, Nishiki International Leave a commentThe bike is back up and running. Even with the narrow bars and short stem the International isn’t a bad fit for me. I am also surprised by how stable yet peppy it is. Maybe it’s because I’ve been test riding a bunch of Raleigh and Schwinn 3-speeds of late, but the International is, dare I say, sporty.
Highlights of the bike in my mind are the rebuilt wheels with those shiny stainless spokes, the high polish on the brake calipers (I don’t often go to that extent) and the NOS gold bicycle chain. I wouldn’t dare put a gold chain on a new bike but it’s perfectly at home next to the gold on the Suntour freewheel.
Gios Torino Professional- December Update
Posted: December 11, 2020 Filed under: Before and After, Restorations and Refurbishments, Road and Touring | Tags: Gios Torino Leave a commentI received photos of the Gios, all painted up and ready to come back to Reno.
As always, Jim Allen did a great job.
1984 Gios Torino Professional- Before
Posted: July 8, 2020 Filed under: Before and After, Restorations and Refurbishments, Road and Touring | Tags: 1980's Gios, Campagnolo Super Record, Gio Torino, Gios bicycle Leave a commentI’ve always wanted a Gios, I think because of the beautiful blue paint. If it’s not called Gios Blue it should. I also have a thing for the coins in the fork crown, a Gios-specific touch.
I got a least part of my wish when this early 1980’s Gios showed up last week. It was blue, but no coins, as this Gios had the sloping fork crown. No matter. I’m wasn’t gonna be picky.
It’s previous owner obviously rode and loved the bike for years, so much so that it was pretty used up. The Gios had a combination of worn original parts, worn replaced parts, and finally, positively dead parts. The Silca pump had cracking into three separate pieces- dead; The rims were a mismatched set of Ambrosio and Mavic- both dead. The brake levers had been replaced and then worn out- wrong and dead. In other words, a great, though rather large project. I couldn’t be more excited. Who cares that it’s going to eat up $500 in parts and untold hours in the shop stand.
As far as the paint goes, we’ll see how Fluff responds to a potential refresh. I don’t remember having perpetrated any major acts of insurrection lately; I might be able to talk my decidedly better (and less compulsive) half into a Jim Allen paint job. If not, the bike will get a refurbishment rather than a restoration, meaning that I’ll replace the non-original parts and give it a good solid cleaning and overhaul, just no new shiny Gios Blue.
The Sovereign of England
Posted: March 24, 2020 Filed under: Recent Acquisitions, Road and Touring | Tags: 1970's British Bicycle, 1970's English Bicycle, Sovereign bicycle, Sovereign bicycles of England, Sovereign England 1 Comment“Ok, gang. This is the interactive portion of our show, where folks chime in to share their knowledge on a specific topic.
Today, our discussion focuses on Sovereign bicycles of England. We’ll be discussing their history, their legacy and anything else we can glean from the you, the general public.”
So, seriously if you know anything about the brand please chime in. I’ll post updates as info comes in.
In the meantime, here a Sovereign. It looks to be a mid-1970’s bike and is sitting with its original Shimano components and a mix of other period-correct bits. It was built with Reynolds 531 tubing so I’m fairly confident it wasn’t just some production job that some company slapped their name on. Hell, it says “hand made” on the head tube decal so there’s more to this story than I can currently find.
I received the bike from a gentleman named John Peterson here in Reno. It was hanging in his garage above a Citroen 2CV, which I didn’t get. At the time I didn’t take any notes or even ask any questions because A: As per usual, I was excited about the score, B: The 2CV had me all discombobulated with its beautiful 2CV-ness, and C: I honestly thought I’d be able to come home and read all about Sovereign bikes on the intergalacticweb. Uhh, wrong. (bad bicycle collector,,, baaadd!)
There is info about the Sovereign model made by Free Spirit (blecch!) and more than a few hits for a more modern edition made by Pashley. No Sovereign as a brand or manufacturer, though. Not that I could find.
I’m pretty darned good at online research which likely means I’m experiencing the Dunning-Kruger effect and that I’m simply awful at it so, again, I’m reaching out to you, my loyal readers. If either of you knows anything, here’s your chance to shine.
And now, without further ado, the Sovereign.
1977 Colnago “Export” (yes, that’s actually its name)
Posted: March 22, 2020 Filed under: Recent Acquisitions, Road and Touring | Tags: 1970's Colnago, Campagnolo Gran Sport, Colnago, Colnago Export, Italian racing bicycle Leave a commentSpring has sprung here, nestled against the Eastern Sierra, and with its return out come the winter projects to show their lovely selves.
To be fair, this Colnago “Export” wasn’t much of a project as Mike, its previous owner, did a magnificent job caring for it. All I had to do was hunt down the correct pedals and seatpost and it was off and running.
Speaking of component bits, the Export has a mix of Campy Nuovo Record and Gran Sport which I believe is how it was spec’ed originally. …And though it’s a step down from the Colnago “Super” it still has that stunning Colnago candy red paint which simply lights up in the sun.
I’d once heard that the majority of Italian racing bikes made during this period were sold in America. If that’s true, weren’t most Colnagos exports? Just wondering.
One last note: As I was perusing the intergalaticweb I ran across this website.
https://www.steel-vintage.com/colnago-export-classic-road-bike-1970s-detail
That Colnago sure looks a lot like this Colnago, like as in, the same one.
<Queue music from Disney’s “It’s a Small World” ride. >
A huge and grateful thank you to Mike Savage for giving (yes, giving!) me this wonderful ride.
2002 Della Santa ★Corsa Speciale
Posted: October 29, 2018 Filed under: Road and Touring | Tags: 2002 Della Santa, Campagnolo Chorus, Della Santa Leave a commentThis DS was commissioned by its original owner in 2002 and found its way here in 2014 where it joined the semi-official Della Santa museum. I say “semi-official” because Roland doesn’t have much use for bikes that just sit around. He builds them to be ridden and scoffs at bikes that are mere garage queens. You can thus imagine how he feels about a gaggle of them.
He also doesn’t consider his bikes art in any sense and tends to go off on people who nerd out over his framebuilding. You know, people like me. Knowing him for 34 years and living within a mile of each other, he’s had many opportunities to make his opinion clear, but that doesn’t make me like him or his bikes any less. Probably more, in fact. Thus, the semi-official museum that exists without his blessing.
…And now that this particular bike is out and sitting here with me, maybe I’ll honor him by taking it out for a ride this afternoon. It’ll no-doubt be like riding rolling art, after all.
1964 Carlton Catalina- Before
Posted: May 29, 2018 Filed under: Before and After, Restorations and Refurbishments, Road and Touring | Tags: 1960's road bicycle, British bicycle, Carlton, Carlton Catalina Leave a commentThis nice old Carlton showed up last week. Already pretty clean, the “Before and After” transition won’t be as dramatic as some, but that’s not to say it’s ready to go. It’s missing tires and most of its decals, the grease in the bearings is petrified, and the original Brooks B15 saddle has lost most of its color and suppleness. In other words, it’ll still be in the work stand for 8-10 hours.
Based on workflow I’m guessing it won’t be ready for it’s “After” shots for about a month. If you like Carltons it should be worth checking back, though.
Buzz Bomb Bicycles 