David La Mar is in the early stages of restoring an early 60's Masi bicycle that belonged to his father and was a source of pride for his father. As you can see from the pictures, his father had every reason to be proud of the bike and you can also see that David has his hands full with this project. As David put it; I finally was able to dig the machine out of storage and see what I was in for. Was surprised that it wasn't in better shape, but at least everything was in one piece!
He is planning to have Brian Baylis do the restoration- can't go wrong there;
(Oh that gorgeous lug work; even Baylis is going to like this job!)
(I love those lugs!)
(Just a little too small for me...)
(5! I remember those days... remember when we only had 10 speeds- not 10 cogs?)
(Remember spending hours working on the straddle cable and getting the brakes set up "just right"?)
(An old toothbrush, a soft rag and a tube of Semichrome polish...)
What a diamond in the rough!
Next up are two bikes from John Price...
Enjoy your site! This is a new trainer ("trainer" he says... Ed) I just built I thought you might enjoy.
It's a 97 Corsa and I did a little retro bling bling to it!
("trainer" he says...)
(I think I cried the first time I ever opened a box of Campy Cobalto brakes.)
(Yeah, I know lots of people who ride trainers with Record 10 and Eurus wheels... yep...)
Bike number two in the Price collection is reasonably amazing as well; get your slobber gaurd ready...
(1976 Gran Criterium with original paint... and the vintage Campy work stand! I love the bike, but that stand just makes my knees weak. The first shop I ever worked in had one of these, but it belonged to one of the mechanics, who had raced in Europe and brought it back with him. I wasn't allowed to touch it- and with good reason.)
Thanks to both David and John for sharing the bikes that they are passionate about. This is the type of thing that really makes my day. I love this kind of thing...
So if you have pictures of a bike you have restored or just own and it has brought you joy, then send me a picture (or several). Add a brief note and I'll share it with the rest of the class. I live for community like this... thanks!
Tim
4 comments:
These are great. It would be a lot of fun to restore an old racing bike. The one on top is nice, but I really love that Gran Criterium at the bottom. I loved tight wheelbase crit bikes like that back in the late 80s. My thought was that if you could fit your pinky between the rear tire and the seattube, the chainstays were too long. Thanks for sharing.
Wow; nice bikes! Like your comments about "trainer" :-)
Those are sweet.
Ok, I've got bike love. I've been riding my Gran Crit since I purchased it new in 1985. Mind you it and I spend about 15 years gathering dust while I got married and raised two little girls. Now that they are older, I've gotten back to enjoying what everyone around me considers my "old school" bike.
So here is the problem. I love my old steel, but boy am I tempted to think that something carbon with more than a 5-gear freewheel could really make me a faster, happier cyclist. I've got two solutions, one, I strip the old beauty of its original Campy components and upgrade them with a new lighter SRAM system, new wheels and an expanded rear triangle. Or two, I look into hanging my 20-year old piece of art on the wall and invest in an all new steed.
Is it worth all this anguish? With new equipment will I really get faster and have an easier time hanging with the big dogs of the group? Help!
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