Classic & Vintage - Oooh, yeah! Crescent Pepita Special - vintage Swedish awesomeness

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the beef
05-09-06, 12:53 AM
So I found this Crescent bicycle up on Craigslist today for $25, without any description, simply saying "runs well". The orange paintjob with nutty little colorful checkerboard decals caught me eye, and a quick google search revealed Crescent to be a 60s-70s vintage Swedish racing bike manufacturer. The bike that this guy's selling is actually a 1970s Pepita Special, Crescent's funkily-named flagship racing bike.

Went to Sheldon's site, apparently the Pepita won a handful of races back in its day. Whoo! I was drooling by then, and quickly fired off an email. Then hurriedly sent another email a few minutes later offering $40, proclaiming my love for the bicycle. Just in case.

Anyway, I'm excited. :D



http://freepgs.com/penguins/crescent.jpg
The actual bicycle

http://freepgs.com/penguins/crescent2.jpg
1970 advertisement

http://freepgs.com/penguins/crescent3.jpg
A shinier example belonging to Johan Ericson

ozneddy
05-09-06, 02:25 AM
good score !
vjp
05-09-06, 08:49 AM
The bike in the picture that you posted does not look like it is a Pepita Special. The chrome fork crown was on a lower end bike that was painted like the the nervex lugged, Reynolds 531 Pepita. It is a bike boom, gas pipe bike that weighs a ton.

vjp

USAZorro
05-09-06, 09:09 AM
Now if you could find a Crescent model in the same great condition... :D
cyclotoine
05-09-06, 02:51 PM
i saw one of these orange cresents move through the LBS not too long ago, it had cottered cranks thought. probably a lower end one as well.
John E
05-09-06, 04:51 PM
The bike in the picture that you posted does not look like it is a Pepita Special. The chrome fork crown was on a lower end bike that was painted like the the nervex lugged, Reynolds 531 Pepita. It is a bike boom, gas pipe bike that weighs a ton.

vjp
I agree with this post. Sorry about the bad news, but it still might be a worthwhile general rider.
the beef
05-09-06, 05:13 PM
Hmm. Are you sure? What's the difference between the Pepita Special and whatever the actual bike really is? I haven't actually gone out to make this deal yet, so I may reconsider.

Bummer, though. :( I was pretty stoked about the prospect of owning a light vintage Swedish racing bike.
vjp
05-09-06, 06:41 PM
Pretty sure, but the picture is tiny. The "Pepita Special" should have Reynolds 531 decals (or remains) on the seat tube and the forks, the dropouts are forged Campagnolo 1010 with eyelets, and fancy nervex lugs. Mine is a 1970 and has brazed on Campagnolo cable guides on top of the BB shell.

They made two "Sport" models that have basically the same paint but unfortunately not the same mojo.

Hope I'm wrong!!

vjp
well biked
05-09-06, 06:58 PM
I can certainly see how you could be mistaken by this when you did your research, the paint job and decals look almost identical. But if you notice, there's what appears to be a big, pie-plate spoke protector around the freewheel, something you'd be more likely to see on a lower-end bike.