Let's get back to my roots and do a "bike time".
Almost 2 years ago I found this old road bike on (of course) craigslist.
The owner had raced it,
wrecked it,
parted it out,
and died.
Than his brother sold it off to me.
It took some ebaying, bike swap and craigslist hunting to gather the parts.
(wheels, tires, seat post, seat, rear derailleur, front derailleur...)
Here's a pic of the frame repair.
It's strange that the actual dropout broke.
Lucky as it was a quick TIG fix,
as you can see by the burnt paint.
Check out that derailleur too.
It's a Campagnolo Super Record circa 1981,
and it has these bitchin' heart shaped castings.
(they're black with the silver dots)
This thing shifts like butter.
The original one was on there but was mashed up,
that's what I'm using to date the bike,
as there's a year stamp on them.
Check out that crazy paint.
It's a simple airbrushed design,
pearl white with a light blue fade,
and the PALETTI stickers top it off.
I was lucky to find those almost matching tires for cheap.
Yeah I'm a closet hipster.
Please don't imagine me in tight bike shorts,
or even skinny jeans.
Not gonna happen.
Every Italian frame builder seems to have a thing for cards.
Paletti's went big with the diamonds,
although they had all 4 shown.
Even the Rauler had spades cut out in the lugs.
What does it mean?
Were the frame builders heavy gamblers?
Did they bet on the racers or frames to win?
I know its a gamble every time I ride that thing,
riding on a 1/4" tread.
Anyone know?
These lighter race bikes usually have cut outs in there lugs and bottom brackets.
Part for weight and part for style.
It's a cool touch,
as they've got to be hand carved.
Something has to identify the frame builders,
as they all used basically the same parts.
(lugs/tube/dropouts etc.)
This bike had a Columbus SL sticker on it,
the lightest chromoly tubing for the time.
So I'm thinking this bike was a criterium bike,
designed for multiple laps around a course.
If you look at the gap between the rear tire and the seat post,
it's as tight as it can get,
so the wheelbase is really short,
quick on the turns.
This also helps (me) out on the uphills,
and somehow it's not a sketchy bike.
However,
add 20 or 100 guys riding around in circles,
and I can see why the old owner had a wreck.
So why am I writing about this one tonight?
Well,
It's had kitchen storage privilege for a while,
but that Breezer Thunder is here,
and now it's getting bumped out to the garage.
I took the pedals off and put them on that Breezer mountain bike,
and now it's turned into another trophy.
Now that it's almost perfectly tuned and complete,
it's hard to let go of,
as well to replace without alot of money, headache or time.
Yeah I'm a hoarder.
Until spring!
TP
 |
| paletti road bike |
Almost 2 years ago I found this old road bike on (of course) craigslist.
The owner had raced it,
wrecked it,
parted it out,
and died.
Than his brother sold it off to me.
It took some ebaying, bike swap and craigslist hunting to gather the parts.
(wheels, tires, seat post, seat, rear derailleur, front derailleur...)
 |
| frame repair |
Here's a pic of the frame repair.
It's strange that the actual dropout broke.
Lucky as it was a quick TIG fix,
as you can see by the burnt paint.
Check out that derailleur too.
It's a Campagnolo Super Record circa 1981,
and it has these bitchin' heart shaped castings.
(they're black with the silver dots)
This thing shifts like butter.
The original one was on there but was mashed up,
that's what I'm using to date the bike,
as there's a year stamp on them.
Check out that crazy paint.
It's a simple airbrushed design,
pearl white with a light blue fade,
and the PALETTI stickers top it off.
 |
| 1981 technology |
I was lucky to find those almost matching tires for cheap.
Yeah I'm a closet hipster.
 |
| rocket |
Please don't imagine me in tight bike shorts,
or even skinny jeans.
Not gonna happen.
 |
| Paletti 1981 |
Every Italian frame builder seems to have a thing for cards.
Paletti's went big with the diamonds,
although they had all 4 shown.
Even the Rauler had spades cut out in the lugs.
What does it mean?
Were the frame builders heavy gamblers?
Did they bet on the racers or frames to win?
I know its a gamble every time I ride that thing,
riding on a 1/4" tread.
Anyone know?
 |
| lug cut outs |
These lighter race bikes usually have cut outs in there lugs and bottom brackets.
Part for weight and part for style.
It's a cool touch,
as they've got to be hand carved.
Something has to identify the frame builders,
as they all used basically the same parts.
(lugs/tube/dropouts etc.)
This bike had a Columbus SL sticker on it,
the lightest chromoly tubing for the time.
 |
| criterium? |
So I'm thinking this bike was a criterium bike,
designed for multiple laps around a course.
If you look at the gap between the rear tire and the seat post,
it's as tight as it can get,
so the wheelbase is really short,
quick on the turns.
This also helps (me) out on the uphills,
and somehow it's not a sketchy bike.
However,
add 20 or 100 guys riding around in circles,
and I can see why the old owner had a wreck.
 |
| 1981 Paletti Criterium Road Bike Campagnolo Super Record group |
So why am I writing about this one tonight?
Well,
It's had kitchen storage privilege for a while,
but that Breezer Thunder is here,
and now it's getting bumped out to the garage.
 |
| storage |
I took the pedals off and put them on that Breezer mountain bike,
and now it's turned into another trophy.
Now that it's almost perfectly tuned and complete,
it's hard to let go of,
as well to replace without alot of money, headache or time.
Yeah I'm a hoarder.
Until spring!
TP
