More Than Stir Crazy

   As if the recent weather mess here in the northeast wasn’t enough to make me miss riding my bike, it turns out I can’t even use my indoor trainer, and I’m getting a bit antsy. That cramp-like issue that occurred during my last big ride into Philadelphia was actually some type of muscle strain that has been slow to heal. I went out on a 25-mile ride out and back on the Chester Trail early last week during a weird mild spell, and the discomfort acted up again, so I decided to shut down completely until my leg feels better.

   The one positive from my rest has been plenty of time to search for new projects and work with my ongoing builds. First off, I was able to pick up the Pinarello Asolo from my friend Bruce. It looks wonderful, and I have already marked my calendar for “Decal Day”, when the paint curing period comes to an end, March 4th.

   Speaking of painting, I sanded down some rough spots on the top tube of the Atala Gran Prix and applied a light spray of glossy black. That will also require some curing time before adding decals, but I have already done some work on the on the rest of the bike. The rear wheel had one of those “pie pan” spoke protectors I hate so much, so I had to remove the freewheel to slide the unsightly metal disk.

   Unfortunately, as with most bikes of this vintage, the part was stuck, so much so that specific removal tool actually twisted off the tabs from the inside ring of the freewheel. I had to insert a metal punch into one of the holes in face of the ring (see sample photo) and tap it with a hammer in a clockwise direction to break everything free. When I pulled off the cluster of cogs, dozens of tiny ball bearings rolled away, and it took a quick sweep of a handy magnet to clean everything up.

   Now that the exposed freewheel body was exposed, I could get a grip with a large pipe wrench. Positioning the wheel so that it would roll into a wall as I pushed the wrench forward, the remainder of the freewheel came off rather easily. I had a set aside a 6-speed freewheel from a 7-speed upgrade done about a year ago, so after slipping off the crappy spoke protector, I installed the “new” freewheel.

   The primitive Campagnolo Valentino rear derailleur is no longer taking up the slack in the chain when in the small ring, and I think its back-tension spring is shot. I’m considering a slight upgrade to a Nuovo Gran Sport or Nuovo Record model.   

   I was excited to see one of my past projects, a Wilier-Triestina Escape bicycle built to the specs of the 2006 Cofidis pro team, featured on the Global Cycling Network’s Tech Show. A segment of the program called The Bike Vault displays viewer projects, and the hosts vote whether the bikes are “nice” or “super nice”. My pride in hearing the celebratory Super Nice Cow Bell, was a bit tempered by the fact that I had somehow completely missed leaving the rear brake open (the right-hand lever is a giveaway) and that the photo location (nearby Bethel Road) of a previous submission to the show was mixed up with my actual location in the U.S.

Click on the image above to view clip

   A couple weeks of patient searching netted a nice set of Dura-Ace derailleurs to complete the component group on the Look KG 451. After a bit of a cleaning and replacing the bar tape, I snapped a few photos before adding the bike to my For Sale page.

   Two new Italian projects have made their way into my shop, the first being a beautiful Tommasini bicycle that became a research assignment. As with many imported frames from this era, buyers frequently outfitted their machines with the best of what was available, at whatever price they could afford. This bike came with a mix of Shimano Dura-Ace and Campagnolo Record, with Cinelli bars/stem, Modolo brake levers and even some Mavic downtube shifters thrown in.

   The bike also came with a paint-matched Silca frame pump and a Tommasini engraved stem (photo below) - I'm not sure why the owner didn't have that fantastic piece of "jewelry" installed, but it's in perfect condition, so that will definitely go (back?) on the bike! Most of the included components came from between 1974-84, so I could at least assume the Tommasini was that old. I quickly found out that this predated the company actually giving their bikes model names and that the frame was most likely made from Columbus SL tubing.

   On BikeForums.net I found a Tommasini “spotter's guide", of sorts, that included within it a link to a timeline and serial number database for my possible future use. There are FIVE distinguishing features (more on that soon) on this frame that pretty much nail it as a 1982 frame, though it seems there had been some custom work on it, as the frame probably had the second set of (seat tube-located) bottle mounts added, as well as the horizontal frame pump peg. Tommasini bikes of this era usually had the pump mounted vertically, along seat tube.

   I found the blank white seat tube wrap decal strange, but the addition of the seat tube bottle cage mounts would provide the explanation. On similar bicycles from this era, I found that there had been a forward-facing Tommasini emblem, similar to a head tube badge, in this location. Because the emblem would have been blocked by the bottle cage, the owner probably didn't bother having it applied. I’m thinking of adding the Tommasini script logo in the white space on each side of the tube, matching the colors of the downtube decal.

   Anyway, the features that narrow this bicycle down specifically as a 1982 product are: 1. the decal style, particularly the Tommasini signature decal on top tube near the seat tube lug (began with 1981 bikes); 2. the derailleur cable routing, specifically cable guides on the bottom bracket and a front derailleur braze-on (instead of clamp) mount (both began '82); 3. the double holes on the rear drop outs, which were an option for installing the Campagnolo Portacatena (on '78-'82 bikes); 4. the "coin" fork - slightly sloped fork crown with circular "T" stamps at the top of each fork "leg" (mid-'70s to '83); and 5. the cube-shaped, "T-knob" on the brake bridge (began around '82).

   I would love to build up this bike in Super Record, but those parts are so hard to find in good condition anymore and, if they can be found, end up being very pricey! I have a really nice Campagnolo Victory group set aside, which, at a 1984 release date, is close enough for this bike. Besides, the Victory rear derailleur (below) is one of my all-time favorite designs, and I think it will look great on this classic Italian bicycle.

   Finally, my new friend Todd relented to my nudges and decided to put decals on his Bianchi, so here are a couple quick shots of the Alloro “all dressed up”.