April 30, 2024
The Salem Bike Club does a spring ride each year around the central Willamette Valley called the Monster Cookie Metric Century. I’ve never ridden it before but I am pretty familiar with the roads in this area and it is a good place to ride. This year I thought that I would give it a try.
November 11, 2023
Timing is everything and the proof is in this acquisition of a lovely Raleigh frame and fork. It was offered by an acquaintance of mine but only for pick up in southern California, and it just so happened that I would be in that area in a couple of days. I contacted him and it was all set! Even though he had several interested parties he said that he would hold it for me, and at a ridiculously low price!
(more…)November 19, 2022
The notion of a debutante, that of one whom “after a period of maturation and refinement is being presented to society“, is a good analogy for this bike. Though in this case even as the subject is a bit more mature, she is still “coming out” after her restoration!
September 5, 2022
It is sometimes a tough call to decide on how to finish an old bicycle frame. You can choose almost any kind of treatment from a “rat bike” to a museum quality finish and get a satisfying result within that theme. In general I usually prefer to keep things as original as I can and to be honest I don’t mind quite a bit of authentic patina, but this one was going to be different.
March 13, 2022
I’m trying to find the right category to classify this bike as and I haven’t quite got it yet. Retro Italian gravel bike, vintage all roads rider, old school adventure bike, Strada Bianca speciale? All of these come close but in the end it is probably just a Franken-bike.
November 15, 2021
A few years back when this bike was built I was looking to create a nice vintage rider, an all purpose machine that would be both versatile and a little sporty. At the time I lived in the high desert and contending with rain was almost never an issue. Now we spend much of our time in the Pacific North West where conditions couldn’t be more different. It was time to revise the Lygie to be more suitable for it’s new locale.
October 25, 2021
Here is a bike that is not one of my own but turned into a project for me anyway. Owned by a family member but neglected for many years I decided it was time to resurrect it.
September 28, 2021
When this bike came to me it was a sad sight. It had not been heavily used over its previous life and does not appear to have been stored outside, but it was incomplete and had been treated callously by previous owners. Regardless of that it seemed to be sound mechanically and the blemishes to paint and other metal surfaces could be softened with a little effort. The logos and other original graphics were still relatively intact so I chose to preserve the frame “as is.” Once altered “originality” can never be regained, and having a few imperfections on a 35 year old frame is not unreasonable.
(more…)December 2, 2020
Here are couple of pics of how things are going so far on this vintage gravel bike winter project:
November 2, 2020
Vintage bicycle components are often wonders of simplicity. They were designed to do a specific job with lightweight, reliability, ease of use and often with a little bit of style. Sometimes when you are trying to get more versatility out of a bicycle you must also work to expand the capability of the components. After all, the complete bicycle can only do what it is possible for it’s individual components to accomplish. Following is a summary of some of the modifications I have undertaken to adapt these otherwise unremarkable components into more functional versions, so that the complete bicycle it is greater than the sum of it’s parts.
October 13, 2020
These days, even with the many categories of bicycling that are now currently popular, it is still easy for vintage cycling enthusiasts to see their projects through the narrow lens of a “period correct” view. That perspective can limit what a project bicycle could become to whatever they did “back in the day.” If we consider where cycling is today then we have many more options as to what a bicycle can be. Randonneuring, gravel biking, cross bikes, touring and commuting are all disciplines which are gaining in popularity while traditional road racing has entered a kind of decline. In deciding how to build this Girardengo I will adopt a broader view of what a bicycle can/should be. To re-interpret a classic bicycle with the possibilities of today in mind!
September 2, 2020
This Girardengo is an early to mid-60’s intermediate level frame and probably just the sort of bike that a beginning racer might ride. Not top shelf but still good enough for local competitions and a pretty good performer overall. A bike like this would have been the envy of many aspiring young bike racers on a Saturday morning back in the day!
August 3, 2020
Sometimes it is hard to categorize a unique type of bicycle. This Girardengo in all likelihood began life as a proper Italian city bike, probably 5 speed, with fenders and an upright riding position. Not a race bike by any means, rather a very civilized and practical means of transport. I have however re-invented it into another category altogether!
July 1, 2020
What exactly is a Condorino? Well in the direct translation from Italian it means little condor. However, in the world of bicycling it is a reference to a unique style of handlebars most often seen on Italian city bikes. The resemblance to a bird wing like shape of the bars is the reference. The “condorino” handlebar is a uniquely Italian concept with Bianchi, Legnano, Torpado and others having offered this style of bars on their city bikes over the years. To me it offers a sportier upright riding position than the more common swept back style of bars do. Not often seen in the US they are also a quite comfortable riding position even though they may be a bit narrow for some tastes.
June 22, 2020
Well, it took about 6 months from when I initially inquired about this bike to actually receiving it. The process was somewhat delayed by the pandemic but continued to move forward regardless. I have to say that in the end it was worth the wait!
April 20, 2020
My information page, the Girardengo Barn has prompted many people who are seeking information on Girardengo bicycles to contact me, hoping to get more information on the marque. Occasionally some of those who come seeking knowledge on their intended project end up not following through with the plan to restore the bike and move on to something else. That is the case with this frame which was offered to me as a result. This is the Fourth Girardengo bicycle to find it’s way into my stable!
February 15, 2020
After a fruitless effort to identify the marque of this bicycle I have decided that it should not remain a no-name bike. Lacking its true identity I can at least give it an alias, or perhaps a stage name. Bicycles have personalities of sorts and any name should reflect that. To give it a signature to display on the down-tube seems only proper. A few of the naming criteria for me are as follows: First, that it be Italian, offers a complimentary image, and should reflect something about the character of the machine. Italians bikes are often unique to the region in which they are manufactured, in the case this bike the Piedmont region of northern Italy. That makes this bike Piemontese in origin and would also make a fine label for this bike. Hey, I think I just invented a bike brand! (more…)
January 26, 2020
This is the second post in a series on the creation of my recently ordered Battaglin Marosticana.
My Marosticana on paper.
To order a bicycle from Officina Battaglin the first step is to find out who you are, or more precisely what your measurements are! To get to the proper end result you must start with the basics.
December 22, 2019
Officina Battaglin is the workshop founded by Giovanni Battaglin, the legendary cyclist who won both the 1981 Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana in a span of just 48 days! In 1982 Giovanni began producing bicycles in his home town of Marostica in Italy. He produced bicycles for several major racing teams who realized many victories through the 1980’s and 90’s. However, the bike industry is always hungry for new technologies, and so in the late 90’s the workshop started experimenting with lighter materials like aluminium and carbon. Sadly, as demand for steel bikes diminished, the company shuttered the factory where these fine steel frames were built. The equipment sat unused and the skills of the craftsmen who built them began to be lost!
After a time, Giovanni began to reflect on the state of things and asked himself if “saving weight was the only thing that mattered?” After 12 years of professional bike racing and more than 30 years as a bicycle manufacturer he recognized that something was missing. So, in 2014 he decided to go back to brazing custom custom steel frames and dusted off the old machinery that was still in the workshop. With the revived Officina Battaglin brand, he returned to his roots, and resumed production of the exceptional racing frames that had made his name known all around the world.
Giovanni’s son Alex now manages the workshop in Marostica, Italy where they build custom steel bikes to each owner’s specifications, with comfort and craftsmanship as their hallmark. Each frame made features custom geometries designed by Giovanni Battaglin himself, is finished beautifully and bears the founder’s signature. It’s the place where the legacy of Giovanni Battaglin is being revived as the only maker of Italian steel bicycle frames that is also a Grand-Tour winner.
The Marosticana
November 17, 2019
Here is another Girardengo example which was recently acquired and then set aside for the future. It came as the frame only, without any components or fork. Mounting holes for badges on the head tube as well as the seat tube are typical of an early to mid 60’s Girardengo. There is no frame number at any of the likely locations so that adds a bit to the mystery.
August 21, 2019
Sometimes it takes a while to get where you are going, and so it was with this build. I had gathered all of the parts that I wanted to use on the bike pretty quickly but the time to put it all together just never materialized. Finally over this past winter I was able to get a start on it and by Spring it was ready to go!
March 9, 2019
I don’t really shop for bike projects anymore. I have several underway currently and others seems to just appear out of thin air. This frame came to me from an individual who had visited a page that I maintain, “The Girardengo Barn.” He was apparently in a similar situation and needed to offload this project to someone else. Call me a sucker but I took on the challenge!
November 27, 2018
A 1973 Lygie came to me recently in pretty decent shape. It is just the frame and fork but it has the makings of a modern classic, as soon as I figure out what to do with it! This new acquisition does raise the question of how many bicycles one person needs but I will not attempt settle that issue now. I will just put this one in the queue and think about silly questions later!
October 15, 2018
This is a bike that you dont see everyday! The frame was built by Lino Messori of Modena Italy in 1984. Examples of his bikes are hard to come by as is information on the marque. Only about 150 bikes exhibiting his name were ever built! I acquired this bike as a frame and fork about 10 years ago. It languished in my bike room for several years before I decided to get it back into riding shape. In addition to the restoration work it has become a bit of a research project for me. I have some leads to follow and hope to be able to provide more information on the builder in the future.
May 6, 2018
Percy Thornley Stallard was literally born into cycling, being delivered in the back of his fathers bicycle shop in Wolverhampton England in 1910. Surrounded by a life of cycling, he began competitive racing at the age of 17 and rapidly made a name for himself with the Wolverhampton Wheelers Cycling Club. By 1933 he was selected for the World Road Race Championships in Montherly France, and again in 1934-1938 by which time he was Captain of the team. In 1939 the race was cancelled due to the outbreak of war in Europe and this early chapter of his life ended.
February 7, 2018
Here is a mid tier Miele road bike that I acquired recently. It came walking into my local bike shop for a consignment sale one day while I was there. The shop owner wasn’t really excited by the opportunity so I jumped in to help everybody out!
October 26, 2017
June 25, 2017
As it came to me this bike was equipped with a Campy sport level 2 x 5 drive-train. For this year of bicycle that meant that it had a rear hub spacing of 120 mm. That is not a problem if you are going to use the original components in building this bike up. But….. I wanted to give this Atala an update and I just happened to have a Campy Veloce 9 speed gruppo laying around. Of course the spacing for a modern 9 speed hub is 130 mm so that is not going to work, right?
July 26, 2016
Not every bike has achieved it’s finest expression right out of the box, and so it is with my Bianchi L’Eroica. After several hundred miles of time in the saddle (including Eroica Hispania) I have come up with a few changes that I will make. Not that any of it will improve the performance of the bike, which is already great at this point, but just to add some style points. After all, can a classic bike ever really be too classic?
April 1, 2016
I originally discussed this bike in a post last year after I first heard about it, Preview of the Bianchi L’Eroica. I determined that I wanted to get one as soon as they became available and put my local bike shop onto the job of tracking one down. After a few months of phone calls and inquiries my Bianchi arrived in January of 2016. It appears to be the 17th bike in production based on the serial number, and is certainly among the first to arrive in the US.
The Utah Randonneur 