Legendary Builders, Little-known Stories - the Finale

   Again, a project update before getting to the title subject. I visited my brother-in-law Jay earlier this week, and we spent a little time in his shop, checking out some techniques to improve the shine on the Wilier frame. He first showed me one of his motorcycles and pointed to some parts that he had spent a lot of time on, polishing up to a nice finish, but he had not been careful to wipe it down consistently, and the metal has pretty much reverted to the original state from moisture. Lesson learned by us both!
   Jay asked where a good "test spot" on the frame would be, and the bottom of the top tube immediately came to mind. This area was in bad condition, and it wouldn't be as noticeable if something went wrong.
   He used a combination of 400 grit sandpaper, then 2000 grit, making sure to change the rubbing direction 90 degrees when switching papers, in order to remove the scratches from the previous step. Next we used a power drill with buffing wheel and the reddish brown rubbing compound.
   The 3-4 square inch area looked really good, and Jay put a little Mothers polish on to complete the shine. I think the frame is going to be spectacular when finished, but is going take some effort. We entertained the idea of saving myself the work by showing a prospective buyer "the spot" as a preview of what can be done, and then sell it to him as-is!

   I also had a customer drop off a used tandem bicycle - kind of a mountain bike-style machine. He recently purchased the bike, and it was in real need of a tune-up. I still don't like GripShift, and the adjustments involved were complicated by the long cable lengths that don't respond as quickly. The rest of the work was fairly standard, except for some very out-of-true wheels that rubbed on the brakes pretty hard.
   What I really wanted to mention about the job was that the fella removed the seatposts and saddles to fit the bicycle more easily in his vehicle, and he left the parts at home. I had nothing onto which I could mount the bike into my wall clamp! I was forced to rig this "fancy" suspension system of rope to hooks in my rafters, so that I could spin the gears and check for smooth operation:

   Reynolds, known worldwide for its production of top-quality steel bicycle tubing, got its start in 1841 as a manufacturer of nails. When John Reynolds’ son Alfred became interested in bicycles, as did many people in the 1890s, they attempted to solve the problem of joining thin, lightweight tubes without weakening the joints.

   Their proposed solution seemed radical at the time. Externally the tubes produced were the same diameter throughout, but inside the walls were thin in the middle and thicker at the ends, where they needed to be stronger. The “butted” tubes they invented were a major breakthrough for the industry!

   Many people are aware of the collectability of vintage Schwinn bicycles, such as the Phantom, Hornet and Stingray, as well as the Paramount racing bicycles. The company was THE dominant force of the American market for nearly a century! I don’t want this to become an article on Schwinn, so I’ll leave it to you to read about the mismanagement (how do you miss out on the 10-speed “sport-bike”, BMX and mountain bike trends all in a row?!!), anti-trust lawsuit and labor issues that led to the Chicago company moving production overseas, and eventually its bankruptcy.

   Back in the early 20th century, when automobiles and motorcycles prompted a decline in the bicycle industry, Schwinn was one of the few survivors, bought up smaller companies and expanded into motorcycle production. I had no idea that by 1928 Schwinn’s motorcycle division was third in the country, only behind Indian and Harley Davidson!

   Scott is a relative newcomer in the production of road bicycles and mountain bikes but puts out some world-class machines. There is no doubt that the product that started it all was the clip-on Aero Bar, first used to devastating effect by Greg Lemond on the final stage of the 1989 Tour. Company founder Ed Scott was originally a manufacturer of skiing equipment and invented the tapered aluminum ski pole. It is quite understandable that the wind-cheating position, achieved with Scott Aero Bars, was inspired by a downhill skier’s tuck.

   Mario Cipollini’s tremendous effect on the marketing of Cannondale bicycles in the late 1990s is well known, but few realize how important of a role he played, pretty much doing the same thing, for Specialized. The company had made a name for itself with the Stumpjumper, the first mass-produced mountain bike, but was looking for a presence in road racing’s pro peloton.

   In 2000 they signed a deal with the Festina team, but this was really just a shell of the team that had been ejected from the 1998 Tour de France. Although this was probably a good thing in retrospect, the squad lacked any star power, certainly nothing like that enjoyed at the time by Trek (Lance Armstrong) and Giant (Laurent Jalabert).

   The company signed a groundbreaking contract with the Aqua e Sapone team, who had a small budget, but managed to sign Cipollini. The year proved to be the pinnacle of the flamboyant Italian’s career, as he went on to win Milan-San Remo and the World Championship Road Race in Zolder, Belgium, both aboard an S-Works E5 frame. Specialized owner Mike Sinyard certainly appreciated the profile boost provided by Cipollini but also noted the important feedback given by the sprinting legend during the bicycle’s development.

   I realized, even before starting to read the segment on Trek bicycles, that most of the company’s success would be tainted by the performance-enhanced successes of Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador, most of which has since been stricken from the record books. Of course not everything Lance did was a bad thing, as he had raised a lot of money for cancer research.

   During his 2009 comeback year from semi-retirement, the Texan handpicked seven artists to each decorate one of his road or time trial bikes. At the end of the year the frames were auctioned off at Sotheby’s for a total of $1.25 million for the LiveStrong Foundation.

   Perhaps the most stunning design came from British artist Damien Hirst, who decorated a Madone and its Bontrager aero wheels with real butterfly wings because of the way they shimmered in light. The bicycle drew an enormous amount of interest from fans, and criticism from animal rights groups!

   Early pioneers in the manufacturing of carbon fiber bicycles, TVT (Technique du Verre Tisse, translated as “technology of glass weaving”) made frames ridden to victory by some of cycling’s legends. However, the small company that once sat in the quiet foothills of the French Alps and is no longer in operation, receives very little recognition of its contribution to cycling, as the frames they built were most often badged up as those of other manufacturers.

   The powerful 1986 La Vie Claire team finished with Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault standing on the top two podium spots in Paris. The bikes they rode were the first carbon fiber frames ridden to Tour de France victory, but because of team sponsorship, the TVT-built products were labeled as bicycles built by Look.

  Witnessing the success of the TVT 92 frameset, several other leading riders made the switch to carbon. Pedro Delgado won the 1989 Tour on a bike that was disguised as a Pinarello, right down to the Columbus tubing decals applied to the seat tube, but was in fact TVT!

   I have written previously about Vitus bicycles, so I won’t repeat myself about the aluminum frames that were lugged and bonded. I will mention that the frames had a reputation for becoming a bit flexy, especially for large, powerful riders. Legendary powerhouse Sean Kelly admits that he had to change bicycles a few times during a season, a process that certainly wasn’t common in that more budget-conscious era.

   I will be taking a couple of weeks off from writing to enjoy the holidays. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!