Giant TCR 26" track

Not exactly "vintage" but it's possible to ride on the track. With two 24" and two 26" road bikes, my kids have some nice tools to ride on in future. But I thought that it would be a nice challange to convert one 26" into a real track bike. The frame has horizontal dropouts, so it's possible to tension the chain. For a geared bike you need a certain minimum chain stay length, so the clearances are not as tight as you would expect from a nice road or track bike. Anyway, with the correct components, it will make a very nice track bike.

Frame and fork: Giant TCR 26" alu 6061 frame, fork with carbon fork blades, alu steerer tube

Cranks: Miche Young 155mm cranks, 44T

BB set: Miche BC

Front hub: Shimano Dura Ace 28H HB-7400

Rear hub: Shimano Dura Ace 28H HA-300 (I think)

Rims: Mavic GL330 S.S.C. 94 28H tubular

Tubulars: Vittoria Competition Juniores 21-26" (and some expensive Vittoria and Conti Time Trial and track tubulars)

Sprocket: 19T 1/8" (others available)

Chain: KMC Z410 silver coloured 1/8"

Pedals: Shimano Dura Ace PD-7401

Saddle: Selle San Marco Concor Junior Light

Seat post: Zoom I think).

Stem: Truvativ Holzfeller 40mm. Have a Look Ergostem available, but hard to set up nicely and short extension. Maybe can use it later.

Handlebars: Zoom Buckup 37cm c-t-c, drop 145-ish mm

Bar tape: Cork white

To be done:
Cut internal thread into front axle and fix with bolts and flat washers
Cut steerer to length (will wait until bike will be ridden)
Add chain tugs
Find out correct gear ratio and adjust chain length. Now it's 1/2 link too short. Sprockets available, may have to buy extra chain ring. 

Progress new track bike project

I'm making some good progress on the newest track project. It started at the beginning of this year, when I had the chance to purchase a NOS set of Campagnolo track wheels. Suddenly the seller decided to cancel the deal, so the project was on hold.
The project got some direction when I acquired a 3ttt Pista track stem. 3ttt bars are not that hard to find. I have a "Gimondi" on my other track bike and a friend sent me a message that he would reserve one for me.
It took me a while, but I succeeded to find a very nice 3ttt SL saddle via Ebay.
A bit later I got myself a 3ttt Record seat post, also via Ebay.
Last Saturday I picked up the 2 3ttt Competizione Gimondi bars, so the whole 3ttt set is complete now. Okay, I could use a pair of 3ttt bar end plugs and some bars tape. I'll look for that once there's a frame. At least, the colour of the tape has to match the frame. I may have some bar end plugs, perhaps not from old vintage and with the correct logo. And it's questionable if these accessories should be considered as real 3ttt products.
Funny enough, the seller of the Campagnolo wheels re-listed the wheel and with some dirty cheating and bidding, I managed to get the wheels that I missed earlier this year.
Another good friend had a Campagnolo Pista 165 mm, BCD 144 mm crank set going spare, Marktplaats provided chain ring bolts and Ebay a 53T chain ring.
So, basically, I completed my next track bike. All I need is a nice frame set.
I'm looking for a very small, steel frame set, ideally Italian, Columbus, but I leave all options open. 49, 50, 51 cm frame size would be perfect, but anything up to 59 cm centre to top could be possible. Italian, English, Dutch, GDR, USSR, Japanese, you name it. As long as it is nice, good and affordable.
For the remaining components? Well, I do have Campagnolo Record 1" threaded headsets and I may still have a BSC threaded Campagnolo Record Pista BB set. I will not source other track pedals, because the ones from my Alan are perfect and can easily be swapped from one to the other bike. Just in case there's a good occasion to buy another pair, I may consider that. No hurry though. I'd better find some good shoes first, otherwise I'm not going to ride with toe clips and straps again.
Tubulars? Oh, I have some nice tubulars left and whenever I see some nice ones, I will not hesitate to buy them. Always come in handy.

Summary:
Frame: ???
Front fork: ???
Head set: Campagnolo Record Strada
Bottom Bracket set: Campagnolo Record 70-P-120 ???
Crank set: Campagnolo 165 mm, 53T 3/32" Super Record chain ring
Pedals: Campagnolo Record Pista
Toe clips: Campagnolo
Toe straps: Alfredo Binda white
Sprocket: Shimano Dura Ace SS-7600, 3/32", 14T, 15T, 16T. Looking for a Campagnolo 16 or 17T.
Seat post: 3ttt Mod. Record, 27.2 mm
Saddle: 3ttt SL
Handlebar stem: 3ttt Pista Mod.3, 12 cm, 58°
Handlebars: 3ttt Competizione Gimondi 44 o-o bars
Handlebar tape: ???
Chain: ???
Wheels: Campagnolo Record Pista with Campagnolo Victory Strada tubular rims
Tyres: ???

3ttt Record Competizione "Gimondi" bars

Got these 3ttt bars with Gimondi bars from a friend, widths 43 and 44 cm outside to outside. The engraved logos match the 3ttt stem, seat post and saddle. On one of my other track bars, I have another pair of Gimondi bars, but a newer edition with a lasered logo and that corresponds with the laser etched logo on the stem on that bike.
The Gimondi bars are not as deep as the Pista bars, but the bends are very nice for a track bike. Especially together with the 58° stem, the Pista bars would be not very practical and are the Gimondi bars the better solution.
3ttt Gimondi is the equivalent of Cinelli's Criterium, Nr. 65. We used to call these bars "half road, half track".

3ttt Mod. Record seat post

In my opinion not a very nice seat post, but it's a wonderful combination with the 3ttt stem, bars and saddle. The seat post was not that easy to find and buy, because they are not offered very frequently and most times shortened or damaged badly.
I found these in Germany and there are very light screatches on the post, but I can live with that. It's a 27.2 mm post and that will fit most frames (most popular Reynolds and Columbus tube sets), but it's a bit of a gamble, since I still don't have a frame for it. May need an inverse shim.
This must be a "Record" post, because the flutes and the head are polished.
The Competizione post is the same, just flutes and top section anodized in gun metal blue grey.

Gazelle tiles for sale

I've got doubles of these tiles, so I can sell these.
EUR 30.- for the three, excluding postage.
More Gazelle tiles, not for sale, see here.

Saddle 3ttt # 30 Superleggero

I've been looking for a 3ttt saddle for a while. These saddles are pretty rare and usually go for serious money. I've been lucky and won a very nice "SL" from Ebay and it was quite affordable. Not new but in very, very good condition.
I must admit, I cannot remember that I ever saw a 3ttt saddle in the flesh. Stems and bars are very common, but seat posts and saddles didn't and don't show up that often. But, as with all other "vintage" 3ttt parts, they come very close to top end Cinelli products, both in appearance as in features and performance. So, I have all reasons to believe that this is a good and comfortable saddle.
From the 3ttt catalogue:
"#30 saddle. Superleggero (superlight). The ultimate saddle, same highest construction as No. 20 but comes with beautiful alloy frame, makes this 3ttt the state of the art for racing saddles. Weight: 290gr."
Earlier I've mentioned that 3ttt goods were a bit poorer than Cinelli, at least the image was. But in case of this SL saddle, I think it's certainly not worse than any Cinelli Unicanitor, if not better and nicer.
Now I'm in the possession of a 3ttt pista stem, SL saddle, Gimondi bars reserved and waiting to be picked up. The only missing element is a good 3ttt Mod. Record or Competizione seat post, preferably 27.2 mm. I've got to stay very alert to finish this 3ttt mini project.
Together with the Campagnolo track wheels that I already have and the Campagnolo Pista crank set, also waiting to be picked up, it's a solid base of the next track bike. Just need a very, very nice frame set now.

Benotto Modelo 24 Ragazzino update Oct/2010

The Benotto isn't finished yet, but something's going on. The bike got a facelift and is almost fully ridable.
My intention was to made the bike a bit more period correct (get rid of the BBB bottle cage, Olé brake levers), prettier (2 similar tyres, silver coloured brake callipers, matching bar tape) and more functional for a kid (short reach brake levers, other pedals, index gear shifting).
I got most of the parts I wanted.
A summary:
- Concor Junior saddle
- Vittoria Juniores 24" tubular
- Lyotard M. Berthet Nr. 23 pedals with Christophe toe straps
- 13-18T Maillard screw-on freewheel
- Alhonga brake levers
- Shimano Ultegra Dual Pivot brake callipers
- Benotto Cello-Tape blue bar tape
- Shimano SL-1050 6 speed indexed RH shifting lever
- Shimano RD-1050 rear mech
That's about it. I'm waiting for a pair of Shimano BR-1050 silver colour brake callipers that will be a bit more period correct (still light action operation I hope) and I'd love to get another pair of Tektro R100A or LR341 silver coloured brake levers (much better and nicer than the current Alhonga stuff).
Then, several rusty parts may have to be replaced or polished and the whole bike needs cleaning and some new grease. Especially the spokes don't look that great, but it may be too much to replace all of them. Maybe I'll leave it as it is.

Benotto Cello-Tape application

As I've written before, application if this handlebar tape is a headache.
The material almost doesn't stretch and it's not self-adhesive.
The application itself is do-able, but it doesn't really stay on the bars neatly.
You can either start at the end or near the stem (in the centre), but when riding, you simply move/shift/slide it.
The solution is rather simple: before wrapping the tape, apply a layer of glue to the bare handlebars. Depending on the glue used, let it cure for a while. I used Bison Kit, curing for approx. 15 to 20 minutes. After that, wrap the tape as usual.
If you use the standard Benotto bar end plugs, start with those. Use a small piece of bar tape to cover the clamps of the levers. Then, start wrapping the tape from the ends all the way up to the centre.
I always wrap clockwise on the RH side (view from the back, riders position) and counter clockwise on the LH side. Don't know if that makes a big difference but it works for my bikes.

Benotto Cello-Tape

A Benotto bike needs Benotto bar tape, simple as that!
In the days almost everybody was using cloth (cotton) bar tape, just the cheapest bikes were equipped with cheap slippery plastic (Polyurethane/vinyl?) tape and only a few bikes had fancy leather wrapping (Almarc!). All of a suddon, bike brand Benotto introduced a new kind of bar tape that looked gorgeously, many pro riders used and was easy to maintain. And the marketing trick worked! The whole peloton moved to Benotto tape. Benotto was one of the leading bike brands (supporting top team GIS and others) and Francesco Moser, the absolute star racer, used and promoted the tape. The special appearance of the Benotto tape and the wide range of colours and the image of the stuff were the success. However, the tape itself was almost as slippery as the old plastic tape, very difficult to apply and slid down the bars very quickly, because it wasn't self adhesive. Besides that, it has odd bar end plugs, that don't go in, but over the end of the bars.
After 1 or 2 years, the Benotto tape more or less disappeared and other, better ribbons like Bike Ribbon, fading Ciclolinea and Pelten and "cork" tape replaced it.
There was a weird story about Benotto tape. Rumours that it was made from fibres of a Mexican plant or tree. All bullshit, as confirmed by the Benotto people. Truth is that it was made in Mexico, just like a part or all of the Benotto frames and bikes in that period.
There were 2 versions of Benotto bar tape available. The smooth variant with the fibre or flake design was used by almost everybody. The second, waffled variant was far less popular, but if I remember well, this was the kind of tape Francesco Moser used (Celo-Cinta?).
Finding Benotto tape is not too difficult. Don't expect to find it in your local bike shop or at a regular web shop. But when you go to auction sites, you'll find out that there's still some new tape available.

Cinelli Unicanitor #2 saddle

This famous Cinelli is the first saddle of its kind: plastic shell with a leather cover and some foam padding in between. Nowadays, almost every saddle is constructed like this. Before the Unicanitor was introduced, there were basically 2 kinds of saddles: the full leather Brooks and Ideales and the full plastic crap.
For many years, Cinelli Unicanitor was more or less the one and only saddle for racing bikes. All other saddles (including Arius from Spain and 3ttt from Italy) were copies.
Cinelli introduced the Unicanitor in 1962, after the acquisition of saddle manufacturer Unica.
Unicanitor was available in different versions. A very fance one has a lightweight, aluminium frame (rails).
My first Unicanitor was on my first road bike, a second hand Batavus Professional team bike that I got in 1979. I ruined the saddle in my first year in a crash.
Recently I got my second one. A suede Nr. 2 that I found on auction site Marktplaats. A second hand saddle with a mouse grey / brownish cover, but not torn or scratched. The cover was a bit loose on one side, but I glued it with 2 layers of Bison Kit adhesive. After cleaning the cover with acetone, I coloured it black with "VG indringverf", some kind of penetrating dye. I did the same with a San Marco Rolls and it worked perfectly. The good thing is that it paints the old leather beautifully black, but the silver logo's don't become black.

(http://www.classicrendezvous.com)
Mod. 50 black (uncovered plastic)
Mod. 55 black perforated type (uncovered plastic)
Mod. 65 "CAMPIONE DEL MONDO" leather covered (no padding)
Mod. 65/C covered with chamois leather (no padding)
Mod. 65/N covered with buffalo leather (no padding)
Mod. 70 "CAMPIONE DEL MONDO" leather covered, quilted type
Mod. 75 #1 "Tour de France", covered with chamois leather, and cross-stitched
Mod. 75 #2 "Tour de France", covered with chamois leather, softened type (padded)
Mod. 75 #3 "Tour de France", covered with buffalo leather, softened type (padded)
Mod. 75 #4 "Tour de France", covered with smooth leather, softened type (padded)

The oldest/rarest Unicanitors (other than the uncovered ones that don't say "Cinelli") are covered in plain leather and have labels in aluminum foil on the underside of the saddle.
Next come the saddles with no name on the back but with the logo on the side like all the others.
Also ultra desirable are the Unicanitors which have the legend "Cinelli" on the rear end in block letters. More recent (80's) have the legend with the flying C logo in the spelling and have a flying C at the nose of the saddle. Most (but not all) saddles are covered in smooth leather, Pakistani buffalo hide or suede. Also the old foil label models are just a tad wider.

Before:



After:

Lyotard Berthet No. 23 pedals

When I was looking for a pair of pedals for my son's road bike, I thought about Shimano PD-T100 triathlon pedals and Lyotard Berthet No. 23 platform pedals. Because the kid is only 8 years old and his feet grow by 1 or 2 sizes per year, I don't want to buy him real cycling shoes yet. Because regular rat trap pedals and quill pedals are not nice to your feet when you wear regular shoes or sneakers, I had to find a nice pair of platform pedals that could hold toe clips. Shimano's T100 are excellent and I found a pair. But when I got the Benotto kid bike, a real vintage bike, I though that I really needed a pair of Berthet pedals.
When I started cycling in 1979, several youth (also adult) racers used these Lyotard pedals. I remember people called these "bootjes", little boats, probably because of their shape. They looked simple, were quite cheap and not of superior quality. But almost every pair of pedals except Campagnolo Record would have to be replaced within 6 or 12 months of use. The Berthet pedals were especially well-known because of the ease to get in. Thanks to the large tongue design, the pedals could be flipped easily and a quick entry (thus: start of the race) was more or less guaranteed). For the rest I really don't know, because I've never owned or raced these pedals. It's up to my kids to find out. It's up to them to experience the easy entry option and the feel of the large platform. Also not unimportant: these pedals are real classics.

Some quotes from other web sites:

(http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk) Given the long history of Lyotard (over 70 years) and their importance in the development of pedals it is surprising that virtually nothing has been written about them. The purpose of this article to right this and provide information on a company who produced a solid range used by many racers and tourists. They may not have been top of the range but they were extremely widely used.
Throughout much of the post-war period this French firm held a dominant position in the lightweight pedal market. Being fitted both as original equipment by most of the major British manufacturers and sold as accessories via the two major importers Ron Kitching and Holdsworthy.
Pierre Lyotard founded the company in the early 1920’s. During that decade they produced the first versions of the pedal, which I would argue, was their most innovative contribution to cycle development, the “Marcel Berthet“ platform pedal (left). The foot rested on a wide platform, by its nature it was extremely comfortable especially for riders with broad feet. It needed to be used with toe clips as it was single sided.
It was named after Marcet Berthet, a French racing cyclist who held the hour record three times twice in 1907 and once in 1913, he was the principal rival of Oscar Egg the Swiss rider who later invented the Osgear.
The Marcel Berthet became known as the MB23 and remained in production until the mid 1980’s. Just before the war the shoe pickup plate ceased to be one piece (later examples are illustrated in both fig 2 and fig 3). The earliest reference I can find to this pedal in Britain is in an advert in the CTC Gazette in 1939 when it is referred to as the ‘Continental’. For a component with such a long history there were remarkably few variants. However in common with other Lyotard pedals there were different thread lengths for steel or alloy cranks and the MB23 TF which had threaded holes for toe clips. It was very popular with cycletourists due to the high degree of comfort. During the bike boom years of the 70’s Shimano, MKS and SR produced copies. One MKS copy, the 505, was counter weighed so the platform side always faced upwards-facing toe clip entry easy. Earlier in the 50’s Constrictor copied the design with their Asp model. A very high quality copy was produced by the British firm Barelli based near Cambridge in the late 70’s . This featured a range of detachable plates and is now extremely collectable.

(http://www.flickr.com) Love these - I actually rode them for years, even touring for a month. They are very easy to get into, and extremely comfortable, as well as having excellent ground clearance. The most amusing part is that if you step on them upside down too much or too hard, the top plate works off the swedged tabs on the upright plates. I remember having to pull over on the other side of an intersection several times to reinstall a top plate, and swedge it in place as well as possible with a pair of Vise Grips. It is also worth noting that the dust cap is structural, holding the outer vertical plate in place. At one point I had lost one dust cap, and managed to push the top plate off, thus nearly disassemblling the whole pedal in the road. Good times...these days I prefer the SR aluminum copy - one piece cast body; what's not to love?
I'm not at all surprised to hear that tale. I think that Lyotard pedals in general were always plagued with... shall we say "inconsistent" quality control issues. I never personally had problems with any of the Lyotard pedals I have used over the years (decades, really), but other serious cyclists who's opinions I truly respect have also related their own horror stories.
No Lyotard pedals ever approached "Campagnolo quality". And even today when I buy any new-old-stock Lyotard pedals I always immediately disassemble, re-lubricate and make a count of the ball bearings. More often than not they have absolutely the WRONG number of balls in at least one bearing race out of a pedal set. With some amusement, I imagine an assembler at the factory simply grabbing a random handful of bearings and hastily tossing them into a pedal... Perhaps it was even considered proper for veteran worker to KNOW that in his seasoned fingers a little "pinch" of ball bearings would be just the right quantity... just as some old time frame builders might eschew ever using a proper jig for aligning a frame.

(http://www.sheldonbrown.com) The best known platform pedal was the French Lyotard "Marcel Berthet" model 23, one of the most elegantly designed bicycle parts ever.

Christophe toe straps

What I wrote before about Christophe toe clips, is certainly not the case for their toe straps. Christophe straps (and many others, maybe from the same factory) simply didn't work well. I've always used Alfredo Binda straps. Christophe may be fine for kid bikes, touring, fixing spare tubulars underneath a saddle or a bike on a bike rack, but not to race with.
Anyway, the straps are nice enough for a vintage bike and always better than nameless nylon straps or other crap that is sold nowadays.

Christophe toe clips

Nowadays, every bike rider with common sense rides regular (plastic) platform pedals of clipless "click" pedals with an integrated binding system. But a few decades ago, all road, track and cyclocross bikes were equipped with cage or quill pedals with toe clips and straps.
For us in The Netherlands, there was basically one kind of toe clips: steel Christophe toe clips. Single version for road and track, double version for CX.
Okay, there were some strange products like plastic/nylon Asian or French (Zefal) clips and aluminium ones. The plastic clips didn't work because somehow the material was too soft and getting into the clips wasn't always that easy. I also tried some aluminium clips (Cinelli?), but these snapped after a short while. Christophe clips were made out of chrome plated spring steel. Simple, functional, durable, good. Just as reliable as T.A. steel bottle cages.
Other brands were ALE, Georges Sorel, ... Later, Shimano and Campagnolo had their own toe clips and these were also okay. The steel ones, I don't want to mention the plastic and aluminium clips.
But why bother about other brands if there's Christophe? For many years, this brand was synonymous for toe clips.
The Benotto kid bike I have has a nice pair (okay, a bit rusty) of very small Christophe toe clips. Nowadays very hard or impossible to get a new pair in a regular bike shop. If you're lucky, you're still able to find some in web shops or on Ebay. And on old, used bikes.

3ttt Pista stem

I've got to start a new project!
Yesterday, I got myself a nice (assembled, never used) 3ttt Pista stem. 12 cm, 26.0 mm clamp, Mod.3, 58 degrees. Such a nice track stem is absolutely a must-have and this was a nice opportunity. Not cheap, but the price wasn't ridiculously high. Surprisingly, I won it.
I will be a very, very long lasting track project. Earlier this year I was about to buy a nice Campagnolo wheel set, but finally the seller decided to keep the wheels. Such a shame. Now I have to start all over again and the only thing I have is a stem!
Possibly, I will get myself another 3ttt Gimondi or Pista handlebar to match with this stem and put it on the ALAN for the time being. Nicer and more track-like than the Cinelli assembly that is currently on that bike.
Certainly, the new set-up is not as practical as the current Cinelli combo and it will increase the poseur value. The handlebar will be lower than the current comfortable position. But my riding style will shift to "poseur" bit by bit, so I don't care that much.

3ttt catalogue 1975

Shimano PD-T100 platform pedals

Around September last year (2009) I was able to acquire a pair of Shimano "triathlon" pedals PD-T100. Wasn't it late 1980's that these pedals were introduced? I remember I put a pair on Gazelle 1st prototype Triathlon Trophy.
These pedals could be used in 2 different ways. With racing shoes and shoe cleats as normal racing pedals, but with special plastic inserts with running shoes or any other kind of footwear.
These pedals never became a bit hit, because triathletes used road racing shoes and a bit later, clipless pedals were invented.
But nowadays, these PD-T100 pedals have been discontinued for ages have become pretty rare, it seems that people start to admire the pedals and praise the features. Anyway, these pedals are rare and hard to get.
Why have I been after a pair of these pedals?
For most of the riders, these pedals suck. It's a lot better to have regular quill pedals with clips and straps or clipless pedals like Shimano SPD or Time ATAC.
But for my 7 years old kid (changing shoe size every year and I'm not willing to buy him a new set of cycling shoes yearly) these PD-T100 pedals could be a great solution. He can ride with regular shoes, no chance that he will get injuries due to teethed MTB quill pedals or soar feet because of thin steel plates of cheap road pedals.
Thanks to a nice girl in U.K. I was able to get a pair.
Small Christophe toe clips were at least as hard to find as the pedals, but finally I found a NOS pair at an Ebay shop, also U.K.
Together with a new pair of leather toe straps, the pedals and clips have been installed on the small Giant TCR 24" road bike and my son has used it a couple of times already. Of course, he wasn't used to toe clips or any other foot retention system on a bike, but with a little help and extra attention, it works out well. He's able to engage his feet within the 1st pedal stroke already!

Shimano 105 6-speed indexed shifing components

For the Benotto kid's bike I was looking for some indexed shifting components. The SunTour parts may be the original components from the 1980's, but in case my or someone else's kid is going to ride this bike, some better components have to be used. Friction down tube shifters may be a bit too difficult to handle for an 8 year old kid.
Via "Marktplaats" I found a good set of Shimano 105 components. Not exactly the same age as the bike, but close. These 1050-series have been produced in the second half of the 1980's and belonged to the first indexed ("click") shifting components. The down tube shifters (I'm only going to use the RH one, since the bike has a single front chain wheel) and the rear derailleur belong to the same series. Although finish is not as nice as the more expensive Dura Ace, the weight is higher, it wears a bit faster, works in the same way, there is much better compatibility with other parts and the price of the components is much more attractive. It will work perfectly with any (Shimano) 6-speed multiple freewheel and derailleur chain. An excellent choice for this bike, especially, because the finish is shiny silver.

Gazelle Champion Mondial Semi Race

Last week I got myself this ladies/mixte bike with Reynolds 531c frame and fork.
It took me a while to find, buy and pick up one, because these bikes seem to be pretty rare (although I know that quite a lot have been manufactured). And when there is one for sale, it's either too far away, too expensive, too old and in most cases too big (56 or 58 cm).
This one was just fine, I placed my bid, it was accepted and I rushed to pick it up.
The 53 cm frame and fork are Bordeaux red, a rare colour with some small, traditional quality problems: some small paint chips fell off. Nothing bad, certainly not for a bike this old. I do not remember that this colour was used in the years that I was working at Gazelle, so the bike must be older than 1985. The presence of the down tube shifters (Campagnolo) confirms that. On the other hand, it's not too old, because the bridges are tubes, no plates. The brakes are Modolo sidepull, no centrepull.
I thought that it would make a very nice bike for my wife, but I'm not so sure if she is "in to" vintage bikes. She already has 2 road bikes, a city bike, a spare trekking bike and an MTB, but all she uses is the heavy Nexus 7 speed city bike.
So, the question is: what to do with the Gazelle?
As a fully equipped semi race, it's a bit like her Giant trekking bike, but with drop bars. May be too inconvenient for her and needs precise assembly, adjustment, maintenance and lots of new parts.
With all the excessive parts removed, especially with drop bars, it's looking like one of her road bikes, but a lot older and cheaper.
With the original touring bars, but all accessories removed, it looks very, very strange.
Personally I think that it will look nice with drops, drop bar brake levers and single speed drive train. Clean, simple, stylish. Red with silver and white accents.
The alternative is riser bars with MTB brake levers.
When these trials are not appreciated, I think I'll give up my ideas with a vintage Gazelle Semi Race and sell this frame set (or bike) again.
In the end, it's a very good, very nice and original product with lots of possibilities and heritage. It would be a shame to let it go.

ZEUS (Criterium) cranks for sale

ZEUS CRANK ARMS LH AND RH 170 MM
EUR 120.- or nearest offer.
Selling in Europe only.
Probably Zeus Criterium
NOS - New Old Stock
These beautiful crank arms are 100% new and unused.
Looks like they have been assembled on a bike once, but never ridden.
These ZEUS cranks, made in Spain, equivalent of Campagnolo, are very, very rare. Certainly in this condition.
Length of the crank arms = 170mm
Marking on the backside of both cranks = BSC, I suppose that means that the treads are English.
I've tried a pair of regular pedals and that fits.
Bolt Circle Diameter (BCD) = 119mm, rare, typically Zeus.
Chain rings, crank bolts, dust caps, chain ring bolts not included, but still available, e.g. on Ebay,
Chain ring, Zeus Pista, 52T, 1/2x1/8” click here

Crank set Zeus track incl chain ring click here

Insured shipping only.
Price excl. postage.

Concor Junior saddle - nr. 2

Got myself a second sample of this beautiful saddle. Jonas already has one on his Giant TCR 24" road bike, but I wanted another one for the Benotto. It looks great on the bike, just a bit difficult to assemble with the simple seat post (quill with separate clamp). I may need another "patent" seat post 26.2 mm or a shim 26.2 to 25.4 mm.

Pro teams on Benotto bikes

1946 Benotto - Superga (Italy) 

1947 Benotto (Italy) 

1948 Benotto (Italy) 

1949 Benotto (Italy) 

1950 Benotto (Italy) 

1951 Benotto - Ursus - Fiorelli (Italy) 

1952 Benotto - Fiorelli - Salus (Italy) 

1953 Benotto - Levrieri (Italy)

1974 Filotex (Italy) 

1975 Filotex (Italy) 

1976 Sanson (Italy) 

1979 Gis Gelati (Italy) 

1980 Reynolds (Spain) 

1980 San Giacomo - Benotto (Italy) 

1981 Benotto (U.K.) 

1981 Sammontana - Benotto (Italy) 

1982 Benotto - Gipiemme - Hutchinson (USA) 

1982 Sammontana - Benotto (Italy) 

1982 Selle Italia - Chinol (Italy) 

1983 Vivi - Selle Italia - Benotto (Italy) 

1984 Ariostea (Italy) 

1985 Ariostea (Italy) 

1986 Benotto (Mexico) 

1986 Dromedario - Laminox (Italy) 

1987 Fibok - Müller (Italy) 

1988 Alba Cucine - Benotto (Italy) 

1988 Benotto (Australia) 

1989 Alba Cucine - Benotto (Italy) 

1989 Benotto - Ralf Jantzen (W. Germany) 

1989 Titanbonifica - Benotto - Sidermec (Italy) 

1990 Benotto - Ralf Jantzen (W. Germany) 

1990 Gis Gelati - Juvenes San Marino (San Marino) 

1991 Benotto - Ralf Jantzen (Germany) 

1991 Gis Gelati - Ballan (San Marino) 

1993 Nuovo Leon - Benotto (Mexico)

 

Vittoria Juniores 24"-21 tubular

I need one of these tubular tyres for the Benotto kid's bike.
Right now it has 2 tubulars of this type in a ridable quality, but the one in the front is tan/black and the one in the rear is tan/green, just like Vittoria's bad weather Paris-Roubaix tubulars. Of course, the non-matching tyres are not acceptable.
Already after 2 days I succeeded to get my hands on a brand new tan/black tubular and the seller was so kind to send it to me for a friendly price.
It looks like a nicely rolling tyre with a nice tread as we know it from lots of other Vittoria tubulars. The width is just nice for "all day" on-road use. Not the very narrow, fragile, (almost or completely) smooth tread, record or time trial tubulars for smaller wheels that I already have. Just fine. It must be the small version of Vittoria Rally. First task for the Benotto (after acquiring the bike) done!

EDIT 22/Aug/2010: just won a new 26"-21 tubular on Ebay. One more to go for the 26" junior track bike!

Teka team jersey

The jersey I've been looking for so long.
Now available on Ebay. Unfortunately not 100% new and perhaps not exactly the size I want. Now waiting for information on shipping costs and hoping that there's not someone else who will snatch it.
But hey, it's a Teka jersey, Assos brand, the jersey that simply belongs to my Alan bike.

Edit 9. Aug. 2010: damn it! Got outbidden on this jersey. Did the seller try to increase the price? I didn't want to pay too much, because I wasn't too sure about the price and the jersey was really clean and nice. I prefer the white/blue version anyway. SO, I'll see if it is offered again or if another jersey will be on sale soon.

Benotto Modelo 24 Ragazzino

Finally a new blog!
Starting a new project. Again a geared road bike. This one it will certainly not fit me. Perhaps it's going to be a new ride for one of our kids, otherwise it's going to be sold.
This purchase was a bit sentimental. After buying a second hand Batavus Professional in the winter of 1978/1979, I bought my first new frame set a couple of years later. A Nickel Beige (champagne) coloured Benotto 3000. The same as the famous GIS and Sanson teams of Moser and De Vlaeminck. I owned and rode 3 of those (1 Nickel Beige, 2 red) and even had a white 5000 aero turbo (or something like that), that I sold without riding it.
So, when I discovered this little road bike with 24", I just couldn't resist.
There is still something to do, but for sure it will be fun to bring this bike in a good shape.

This is a description of the bike as it is right now:
Steel, lugless welded frame, 46 cm seat tube c-t and 46 cm top tube c-t.
I guess it's from the early 1980's (cable guide below BB-shell, marking on inside of cranks).
SunTour dropouts (rear GT)
SR Silstar cranks, 152 mm, 46T single chain ring,
5 speed multiple freewheel,
SunTour Volante rear derailleur,
36H Suzue hubs,
Benotto labeled aluminium rims for 24" tubular tyres,
Vittoria Juniores 24" tubulars (not original),
alu bars 32 cm (!) c-c with 14 cm drop,
alu quill stem 6 cm with Benotto marking,
MKS cage pedals with very small Christophe size D (?) toeclips and nylon straps,
Shimano 105 Dual Pivot brakes (not original),
SunTour Olé aero levers (not original).

Opportunities:
- clean and grease up everything,
- remove rust from spokes, headset, etc.,
- true and tension wheels/spokes,
- glue saddle cover,
- other brake levers (short reach),
- other brakes (optional, silver looks much better),
- blue cables,
- bar tape (Benotto blue?),
- decent toe straps,
- rear tubular colour tan/black, glue both tubulars,
- other pedals like Shimano PD-T100 or Lyotard Marcel Berthet (optional),
- other head set, cartridge (optional),
- chain and multiple freewheel (optional),
- new saddle Concor junior (optional),
- indexed shifting or single speed (optional).

Warning for Mr. Frank van Limpt / R. Munsters / C.L.M. van Berlo

Watch out when you try to buy something (especially bike stuff) from a person calling himself Frank van Limpt, R. Munsters or C.L.M. van Berlo.
E.g. via Marktplaats.
He's bloody dangerous!

Scam - scam - scam - scam - scam - scam - scam -scam - scam

He may also use other names, other e-mail accounts, cities, bank acounts.
René Munsters Eindhoven
Remco Munsters Stadskanaal
Ron Munsters Anna Paulowna
RGHA Munsters Denekamp
RGHA Munsters Nederweert
CLM van Berlo
Rachelle Hoorn
Rosa Eersel
Frank van Limpt Eindhoven
Antonio Loi, Winschoten
Fraukje van Limpt

E-mail:
pro@europenet.biz
Hotpro@XS4all.nl
CINELLI@live.com
Time4Track@gmail.com
hotsinner@gmail.com
EMAIL@europeweb.info
pop_354035@webmail.moerstaal.nl
clmvanberlo@gmail.com
MACPRO@europenet.biz
procarve@gmail.com
xtrackz@gmail.com

Read more here

SOLD: Zieleman road frame and fork

SOLD: ZIELEMAN TYPE SPECIAL ROAD FRAME REYNOLDS 531 STEEL
Frame and fork built from legendary Reynolds 531 steel tubing by well-known frame builder Ko Zieleman, Amsterdam.
Just a bit too large for me, so it has to go.
Frame size 61 cm centre-top, top tube approx. 56.5 cm centre-centre
Manufactured in 1975, frame number 75048
Spacing front wheel 100 mm, spacing rear wheel 120 mm
Requires seat post 27.0 mm
Bottom bracket shell with English threading
Only 1 braze-on: cable stopper on RH chain stay
At all other positions, clamp bands are required (shifters, bottle holders, front derailleur, brake cable, shifting cables)
Pantographed seat stays, drilled fork crown
Paint and decals all in original state.
No cracks, dents, dings, etc.
Well used. Scratches and chips on paint.
Some corrosion, but not very serious. No deep and severe rust.
Price excl. postage.
More pictures on request.