Usually activity in my shop is slowing after September, at least with the frequency of customers needing tune-ups and repairs, but this year I've been getting an uncommon quantity of builds and upgrades as the cycling "season" has been winding down. My friend Brendan came for a visit last weekend, not only to finally pick up the Bottecchia I had build for him early this summer but also to drop off a new project, a 50th anniversary Daccordi frameset from 1987.
The Tuscan company may not have the name draw of a Colnago or Pinarello, but their custom-built bicycles are of an extremely high quality. This frame was constructed of Columbus SLX tubing, and features chromed lugs and pantografia (engravings) everywhere, in this case celebrating the company's anniversary. There are even "50" metal badges on the top tube near the seat post lug.
The seller either didn't know what he had or really appreciated Brendan's enthusiasm, because the purchase price was laughably low. The chrome stays and fork were in perfect condition, as was the dark blue paint, and a fantastic engraved 3T stem was included!
Brendan certainly knows of my afinity for Campagnolo, and this Italian frame would definitely receive those parts, if it was my choice. However, he was almost apologetic when he explained the bike would be built with Shimano, BUT it would be the interesting Sante groupset. The two-tone component line from 1986 was meant to showcase design, providing an appearance like jewelry, way beyond the bounds of bicycle parts of that time. The pearl white and light gray paint was applied to surfaces made smooth as possible by concealing the bolts of each component.
Earlier this month, I had met a woman with a really nice custom-built steel frame by Forest. I had never heard of the brand before, but it was a very lightweight frame, and whole bike weighed just over 20 pounds. In my mind this was pretty fantastic, but Carolyn was dealing with shoulder issues, and a physical therapist friend of mine (who had recommended me to her) suggested she look into a carbon-framed machine that would be even easier to load into her vehicle.
Carolyn seemed enthusiastic to some of the bikes I found available online, and when I found a local seller had dropped her list price on a wonderful Pinarello FP3 by a couple hundred dollars, we jumped at it.
The bike came equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace, and although I'd rather go the Campagnolo route, Carolyn prefers a flatbar configuration, and switching to trigger shifters will be much more simple with the Japanese brand! Recouping some of the cost of the replacement parts by selling off the unused Dura-Ace parts is also a plus.
These projects should both be a fairly quick turnaround, so pics of the finished bikes will be coming next time. I'll say goodbye with a few photos from the Turkey Trek, which was blessed with fantastic autumn weather. Despite a detour around a sinkhole that recently developed in the Schuylkill Trail, directly across the river from 30th Street Station, we were able to check out some of the fantastic new bridge connections in the city. A great time was had by all!
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| Pre-ride shot of the crew at Norristown's Riverfront Park |
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| Water refills and bathroom stop at Boathouse Row's Lloyd Hall |
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| Pedaling through Conshohockenn on our return leg |
