12 October 2010

bike time I - Rauler Hauler

As you'll find out I've got a little addiction to bicycles.
So what better place to have a little show and tell.
We'll start with one of my current favorites.

This bike is my collection of craigslist, ebay and bike swap parts that finally found a home.
This 70's italian RAULER frame had scared away buyers because of a frontend repair.
Someone hit a car or something as the steering tube had bent back,
so the seller had VELOCULT heat the other tubes back to make it straight.
Being a steel bike it's possible to do this,
maybe not a great idea with the columbus tubing but since I'm barely 140lbs, what the heck.

The drivetrain is badass.
Yeah 70's campagnolo was the chit to have,
but NOS 70's SUNTOUR CYCLONE stuff blows it away, especially up hills -
this bike proves it!
SUNTOUR had the patent for the superior slant-parallelogram rear derailleur,
but they blew it on there marketing plan.
Their history is interesting, look it up its brief.
Some super smooth Suntour Superbe pedals top off an early Sugino campy copy crankset on a shimano BB.
The crankset was my first venture into DRILLIUM, and actually came off a bike my grandfather (papa) found.
This all drives a super smooth PHIL hub/suntour 13-26 freewheel/open4cd mavic rim with lots of brake wear.
The rear rim was a steal at the velodrome bike swap,
I think it was $25 with a tire and the bitchin early campy quick release.
The cheapy 35c tires are too big as they rub a little,
but they're so smooth and cush, especially at night.
Some cool BB "spade" cutouts too.
The Rauler brothers were contracted by COLNAGO to build their frames,
who used "clubs" for their cutouts.
Here you can see how I blended in the damaged paint,
that blue is a tough color to find in a rattlecan - good enough!
The Suntour shifters came with the derailleurs,
but they're not as classy as these campy versions.
The shiny chrome fork and the early campy headset came with the frame!
Since I decided to use HIPSTER bars instead of drop bars,
a mountain bike/BMX brake lever was needed.
This fishbone SKULL lever also came with the frame deal. thanks jeff!
If anyone has a right side - I need one!
until than, there's only a front campy brake :/
The front wheel is awesome, another CL find.
I think it is a campagnolo chorus hub, with a Ritchey Vantage rim, campy quick release.
It was a training wheel for a guy who did triathlons,
and he gave me that bitchin KOOBI Silver seat thats on this bike too,
very comfortable even though it looks like it would chop yer balls off.
There is a barrier with collectible road bikes,
enjoyment is reduced when one gets overly protective with its use, transport and storage.
As a respectable compilation of random almost period parts,
this bike is tops as it wants to be pushed, to show what its capable of,
and not worry about some knicks and chips.

Anyway, you made it this far - thanks for hanging in there!
If you like looking at old road bikes, check this out...
some interesting stuff.

Until next time...

TP

2 comments:

  1. That's a cool ride you've built there, I'm just about to finish my own e-bay/parts bin special too; a 1980s steel frame, single speed Muddy Fox MTB. Thanks for the Speedbicycles link too, a great find.

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  2. Thanks, and glad I could help!
    I had a bridgestone mb-3 that I want to replicate someday,
    maybe an upgrade though to the mb-1 or zip.
    Nothing like lugged steel for me.
    TP

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