New York Bike Exchange

   I assume that because the weather has finally made its permanent break out of winter’s grip, people are looking to hit the road and interest in my bicycle projects has been sparked. Not only have completed bicycle builds been leaving my shop, but potential customers have been asking about future projects and have even suggested certain brands and sizes on which they might like to see me work.

   While looking through craiglist, I came across a relatively inexpensive vintage Colnago in attractive dark green paint. I contacted the seller, who explained that he was selling the bike because he needed the funds for another bicycle that he wanted to buy. With the help of some additional pictures and details, I determined the components on the bike were mid-upper level Campagnolo Athena (think Shimano Ultegra as a comparison), which made the bicycle more desirable.

   The late 1980s Colnago Sprint could probably be considered more of an entry-level product from the company, but as most aficionados would say, it is still better than most bicycles manufactured at that time. And really, anything Colnago has collectability!

   I decided that because the weather forecast looked favorable I would drive up to NYC to see the bike and take the opportunity to do one of my favorite rides from Ft. Lee, New Jersey, across the George Washington Bridge, down the Hudson River Greenway to Battery Park and back. I packed up my Colnago C-97 (staying with the trip’s overall theme) in the back of our car, along with some snacks and a change of clothes for the trip into the city to meet Edgar.

   The temperature was pleasantly cool, and I was moving well along Riverside Drive. I chose to take this route into Manhattan because, not only is the Greenway in poorer condition north of Riverside Park, but the street is nearly empty inbound during the late morning/early afternoon weekdays. At 108th Street I cut across to do my traditional three laps around Central Park. I am always surprised by how hilly the loop road is, but other than the ride back up to the bridge, the rest of the route is pretty much pan flat.

   Making it back out to the Greenway, it seemed to me that the dedicated bike lane was dirtier than usual, but I attributed it mostly to an accumulation of all of the winter’s snow removal chemicals that just hadn’t had the time to wash away. A few weeks of occasional spring rainstorms would clear that up!
   Nothing beats having a dedicated bike path with its own traffic signals, and although most pedestrians stick to the actual sidewalk, you do have to pay attention for the occasional space cadet that wanders into your path, totally unaware of anyone else's presence. Yes, there are a lot of things to catch the tourist's eye, so you have to be a bit understanding.
   Feeling pretty strong, despite the usual early season form (or lack thereof), I made my way down to Battery Park to catch a glimpse of the Staten Island ferries and Lady Liberty way off in the distance across the water. It always amazes me how congested it can get down there, no matter the time of year, but I am used to the weaving through the crowd and cars. 

   During last summer’s trip with Sue and Colin, we had made the mistake of getting off of the Greenway too soon on the return leg. Our intent was to avoid the incredibly steep pathways at the base of the bridge and try a more gradual approach on Riverside Drive. We found the outbound traffic was heavy and the roadway was dangerously tight for cycling safely, so remembering the experience, I tried a different route.

   I used a cycling-friendly access point that weaved up from a playground at 158^th Street to Riverside. There were a couple of stiff climbs which I found a bit difficult with nearly 40 miles of hard riding already in my legs. I didn’t remember that part of the route being so bad last summer, but I suppose it had something to do with the more relaxed pace at which I had done the ride with my family.

   When I returned to the car, I found that I was about a half hour ahead of schedule, so I had plenty of time to clean up, change clothes and eat something. I was grateful for some extra time to reach Edgar’s high-rise apartment on 59th and scope out a good place to "park". I put the word in quotes because I was warned about the difficulties of finding a space, and that I would probably just find a temporary spot in front of his building to pull over and put on the hazard lights!

   A few minutes after I stopped, there was a light rap on the passenger side window, along with a friendly face mouthing, “Glen?” Edgar was just returning from work and had seen the Cannondale stickers on the car, plus my bike in the back and had made the rather obvious assumption. I rolled down the window, and he told me it would just take a minute or two to bring the bike down.

   Because the paint scheme itself was unique to any examples I could find online, and because I’d been fooled before by listings with nice pictures, I was a little worried about how the actual paintjob would appear “in person”. I was happy to find that if the Sprint was repainted, it was done extremely well, with none of the pooling of paint in the engraved areas or around the edges of the lugs, like I’ve seen on some poorly-done frames. However, there were plenty of bicycles custom painted by the company, and it certainly could have been the case with this bicycle.

   Although this particular bicycle had the word “Sprint” engraved on the top of the bottom bracket, the frame didn’t have some of the signature details of other Colnago frames, such as the company’s trademark ace-of-clubs cutout on the underside of the bottom bracket or the Colnago name engraved on the top of the seat stays or the sides of the chainstays. The fork fortunately had the “C – club” logo on the crown and there was also a club engraved on the top of the downtube to completely alleviate any worries that I might not be receiving “the real thing”.

   Edgar and I chatted for a bit about some bicycles he owned and what he was currently considering for purchase, before I slid the Sprint into the back of the car with its Colnago partner. I was unfortunately on the back end of rush hour and had some traffic to deal with on the way home.

   When I had a chance to look things over in my shop, I was pleased overall with the condition of the bike. It has some nice touches, like a sparkling Cinelli stem and handlebars, plus the Campagnolo aero seat post with the classic shield logo. There are some paint areas that I’d like to touch up and some of the chrome is a bit rusty, but the bicycle should clean up nicely. Well-ridden bicycles are going to show some signs of age, no matter how well you look after them!

   I have ordered some new white Cinelli bar tape to go with the Selle Italia Flite saddle already on the bike. I also noticed the front brake was missing the cone-shaped nut and had an acorn-shaped version in its place. This Campagnolo part is extremely hard to find and probably very costly if you happen to come across one, so I’ll try to find something reasonable as a stand-in.

   This bicycle should take very little time to turn around, so I expect to have a set of pics of the finished bike next time!