Campagnolo Mixed Group - SR and NR

Grabbed this off the Los Angeles CraigsList the other day. The seller was a former bike shop employee and this gear was covered in grime, but had very little shop wear. Grime can be your friend, as it often protects components from the elements and buffers against abrasions. Plus, I just love bringing out the chrome polish and restoring the original luster of old Campy gear. 


Collection included SR and NR brake levers and one set of calipers, SR crankset with extra set of NR chainrings, spare pair of Campy skewers, extra Campy brake pads, Zeus high flange hubset (haven't polished them up enough to see if they are the Gigante Road or the Criterium), SR seatpost, extra left crank arm, Cinelli Giro de Italia 40cm bars, Cinelli 120mm stem, English thread BB, two complete headsets, Cristophe toe clips and straps, SR front and NR rear derailleurs, shifters, Campy Superleggera pedals (at least I hope they are; the Super Record with titanium spindles were lighter, but prone to failure). 

Campagnolo Brake Hood Repair

This has not been road-tested. Just made this repair this morning and am giving it 48 hours to fully set. I kind of like the "scar" this created. :)

There were some colorful words spoken as soon as I realized I'd ripped this.

Any gel-type super glue should work fine. I'm fairly certain that I also bonded a small part of the hood to the lever. I'll worry about that at a later date.

I held this tightly for at least 90 seconds.

It was still holding tight an hour after being glued. I'll create another post as a follow-up after I road test this thoroughly. 

The Art of Bicycle Storage

This is not a "real" problem. It's an inconvenience, and I have to keep reminding myself of that whenever I feel the need to complain. Having too many bicycles and not enough space is like complaining that you simply have too much gold to fit into your purse. No one, except another collector, should give me any sympathy for this. 

That being said, space IS becoming an issue, and I'm actually enjoying finding creative ways of storing my bikes. I found a cool Web site that has many bicycle storage solutions. You can visit that HERE.


I've got several hanging from their wheels, propped up. 


What ways have you found to store your bicycle(s)?

1985 Centurion "Cinelli" Equipe

Even with a microfiber cloth lining the shop stand jaws, the Equipe logo disintegrated. :( Lesson learned, and WHY didn't Centurion clear coat these decals?

Test ride of this bike HERE.

I've decided to concentrate on collecting unique bicycles, for now, anyway.

This Centurion certainly qualifies. Popular "expert" opinion estimates the number of stock Equipe bicycles may be as high as 50, but probably fewer, and this one is pretty darn close to stock. The brake levers are not stock, as the original, Universal AER levers were replaced at some point with Modolo Speedy levers. I've got an eBay search for the originals, so it's only a matter of time. Just put the Dia Compe 204 hoods on the Speedy levers and they fit perfectly.

The original Cinelli seat was falling apart, and I have another Cinelli Volare on a different bike that I'll swap over as time permits.

The Ofmega Sintesi pedals are long gone as well, replaced with period-correct (well, within a year or two) Campagnolo Chorus pedals. [6/30/13 Update - I bought a pair of NOS Ofmega Sintesi pedals and installed them on the bike. They work well, but the bolts for the toe clips are a real pain to keep tight.]

I'll let you read up on the history of the Centurion Equipe HERE on the Cinelli Only blog. The owner of the site, Angel has good info there and is restoring another variation of the "Equipe" which you can read about HERE. 

How does it ride? Smooth, stable, tracks like an arrow and is ready to jump into action when needed. The component mix, except for the brakes which don't stop worth a darn, is excellent, and the frame is light and responsive. Sew ups are such a joy to ride on. More on that in an upcoming post.

Enjoy the pics above and see more HERE.

Test ride of this bike HERE.

Touring Bicycles and Such

"Touring Position" Graphic borrowed from zombikombi1959 on Flickr

I KNOW this site is all about racing bicycles, but I love this poster and had to share. Plus, it's my Web site, so I can do what I wish. :)

Seems we used to see many more touring cyclists, especially in the summer, loaded with gear and heading up or down the coast here. Not sure if that's the case in other areas of the country, so chime in and let me know your impression.

Eroica Cicli - Italian Vintage Bicycle Restorations

Just stumbled across the Eroica Cicli site and am really enjoying reading up on their restorations and treasured classic bicycles and parts. Enjoy!  http://www.eroicacicli.com/

Typographic Bicycle

Learn the parts of a bicycle the fun way. Borrowed this from HERE. Click on image to enlarge.

1984 Guerciotti

I bought this nearly ten years ago and had Jim and his team at CyclArt in Vista California repaint it with a Category Two finish. I'm very pleased with the results. I't been ridden 12 miles since then, but all that is about to change as I start rotating all my built-up vintage bikes into my weekly rides. I know - it's a crime not to ride these classics, so arrest me. :) 


I have a 1984 Campagnolo Super Record rear derailleur and an era-correct Super Record crankset to put on this as well, so I'll get around to that in the next few weeks. You know, it's a shame when the handlebar tape fades over time and not from use. This bike deserves to be ridden, and it will be. Looking forward to it. 


The Campagnolo Cobalto brakes are in perfect condition - calipers as well as levers. Love those brakes. 


I identified the year from a 1984 Guerciotti catalog I found HERE. Bulgier.net is a great bicycle catalog resource. 


All high res pics HERE. 


Look for my next post regarding the Cirque du Cyclisme in Leesburg, VA. I can't wait for that bike show. Much thanks to Dale Brown and everyone involved in putting on this yearly vintage bicycle show and rides through the beautiful countryside. 

1983 Medici Pro Strada

This Medici didn't have the original fork; it came with a newer white one. So I took that fork off and put the chrome Columbus fork on from my 1984 Batavus Professional. This looked great, but didn't quite fit. The fork was just a tiny bit too short for the head tube; thus the headtube locknut didn't fit. 


I stripped the parts off of it and am keeping the frame while looking for a chrome Columbus fork that will fit. The other problem is that the frame has a shorter top tube than I'm used to. The frame is a 58.5cm center to center seat tube, but the top tube is only 56.5cm. 


If anyone is interested in purchasing the frame as-is *without the fork (that went back on to the Batavus), shoot me an email - vintageracingbicycles [at] gmail.com.


The frame is in very nice shape. Only a few blemishes and the paint really shines. These were made here in Southern California by what was essentially a spin-off of Brian Baylis's frame factory. You can read Brian's story HERE.


More photos of this Medici HERE.