Classic & Vintage - Legnano mixte - info please

I've been offered a Legnano mixte frame/fork set, for $85. It is a new and never built set. I haven't laid eyes on it yet except through email photo's. The problem is the seller doesn't seem to know too much about it other than it is new.

When queried aboutt he threading, he said " I think BB is 36 x 24T".

Before spending the time and gas to drive 20 miles to see it, I was wondering if any of you might shed light as to threading, frame material, general quality, etc. Here a few pics:

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/6245/legnano001st8.jpg

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/7462/legnano003hd5.jpg

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1174/legnano008qk1.jpg

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/5595/legnano009mp4.jpg

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4747/legnano012ja4.jpg

[QUOTE=bigbossman]I've been offered a Legnano mixte frame/fork set, for $85. It is a new and never built set. I haven't laid eyes on it yet except through email photo's. The problem is the seller doesn't seem to know too much about it other than it is new.

When queried aboutt he threading, he said " I think BB is 36 x 24T".

Before spending the time and gas to drive 20 miles to see it, I was wondering if any of you might shed light as to threading, frame material, general quality, etc.


Bossman, sweet mixte! NOS and you're wondering if you should take it. Do a campy build:D
Here's a link and maybe you can find some answers there.

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Italy/Legnano/Legnano_main.htm

Bossman, sweet mixte! NOS and you're wondering if you should take it. Do a campy build:D
+1!
Caaampyy! Caaampyy! Caaampyy! :D

""" you might shed light as to threading""

Threading? he said 36 x 24T Italian...and that sounds right. I'd take that frame if it is truly NOS even though it's not high-end. But check it out beforehand....that paint looks too shiny-new to even be NOS for a 32 year old frame. Could be copper spray-paint with repro Legnano decals.

I love Legnano, having owned three. But none were this modern, which appears to be mid-1980s. Legnano, produced a full range of models. This one has some intriguing features: a very nice fork crown and lever bosses, but plain dropouts and brake bridge. The front end looks decidedly upscale from the back!

Most likely, assuming the era, it's CrMo main tubes with hi-tensile stays and forks, but you won't know until you see it. Your best bet is to measure the inside diameter of the seat tube. Anything under 26mm is likely hi-tensile. 26.8mm or higher is likely butted CrMo or equivalent, In between should be plain gauge CrMo or equivalent.

BB threading should be Italian, but I wouldn't rule out English. Legnano was bought by Bianchi in the 1980s and Bianchi farmed out entry level and some mid-range frame manufacture to Japan and Taiwan during this period.

$85 is a probably high for this frame. But it certainly would be a conservation piece and I would definitely be tempted if it were in my area. Campagnolo is certainly overkill from a practical standpoint, but it would be nice. I wouldn't go any higher than Gran Sport or Triomphe.

Keep us posted on this one!

Rear brake cable routing will be a problem unless you use one of those upside down mixte brakes.

Rear brake bridge tells me this is not something to write home about! Plus its a mixte, but the color is nice...

Ugly brake bridges like that are not uncommon on mixtes. The OP knows that mixtes are easy to sell, but I don't think that one is worth $85 even if it really is a Legnano.

Ugly brake bridges like that are not uncommon on mixtes. The OP knows that mixtes are easy to sell, but I don't think that one is worth $85 even if it really is a Legnano.

Yeah - being a mixte isn't a detraction, it is a definite plus around here.

I'm gong to go look at it, but it might be too expensive a build to make it worth doing for a resale unless I can talk him down a bit. Now, if it had a headset and BB, maybe.....

I have most of the parts laying about save the Italian BB and a decent set of wheels, but I'd be looking at $200-ish for a complete bike.

Also, the rear brake cable routing bothers me - thanks for pointing that out, Dirtdrop. I'll hae to look in my parts bin to see if I have any slavaged mixte "upside down" brake calipers.

Well, what did you decide, bigbossman? Did you go for this mixte?

Inquiring minds, and all that.

East Hill

Well, what did you decide, bigbossman? Did you go for this mixte?

Inquiring minds, and all that.

East Hill

Will go to see it Saturday - maybe. I have to shoot a match in the morning, and then drive across to Oakland to pick up a free Miyata. If I have time, I'll get back to Walnut Creek to see the frame in the afternoon - if the fellow is available at that time. He said he "has a bunch of old parts I can have", so we'll see what that means.

As it sits, I'm leaning towards buying and building it with parts out of my bins. The main stumbling blocks are that I need an Italian square taper BB and an "upside down" mixte rear brake. That, and a set of wheels.

I need to figure out what I have to put into it, and how much I can get out of it to make it worth the effort.

Will go to see it Saturday - maybe. I have to shoot a match in the morning, and then drive across to Oakland to pick up a free Miyata...He said he "has a bunch of old parts I can have".


Free Miyatas! A bunch of old parts! And a shooting match as well! Sounds like a great day planned there, bigbossman.

I am just hoping that the snow and ice have melted so I can go pick up that dusty rose Nishiki mixte on Saturday :beer: .

Current view out the back window:

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k317/East_Hill/IMG_0454.jpg

Sings, "the bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle..."


East Hill

Will go to see it Saturday - maybe. I have to shoot a match in the morning, and then drive across to Oakland to pick up a free Miyata.

John -- where's the Miyata in Oakland? I'm not working this Saturday, maybe I can go grab it for you. E-mail me.

Pity that Legnano is only a near-mixte...it's really lovely looking otherwise.


(What a stunning view you have or had, EH!)

Pity that Legnano is only a near-mixte...it's really lovely looking otherwise.


Please explain - what keeps if from being a proper mixte?

Maybe that the toptubes aren't straight. The Legnano's are like that Orly Belle de Paris I had last summer.

Lucky me - I have a set of alloy Dia-Compe sidepulls that I stripped off a little red mixte just last weekend, and I have a spare set of wheels (7 speed rear) in the shed.

:D

Assuming I buy this thing, I'll still need to root out a Italian square taper BB. I'm wondering about the headset, as well. Those might well be the only items I need to buy to finish out the frame set.

Hmmmm..................

bigbossman

I had some Shimano 600 calipers that I wanted to use on my wife's Fuji mixte and the frame was set up for an "upside down" rear brake. I ran the cable down the toptube and then up the seat tube. I clamped the cable near the top and ran it back to the brake. I was never able to find a 1 1/8" cable clamp, so I made one out of a braze on front derailer adapter.
http://thumb9.webshots.net/t/59/559/8/13/2/2047813020068014369aYvpUZ_th.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2047813020068014369aYvpUZ)

...I have a set of alloy Dia-Compe sidepulls that I stripped off a little red mixte just last weekend...


The little red mixte lives on, at least to be resurrected as a mixte!

East Hill

(but I don't think that one is worth $85 even if it really is a Legnano)

There was a nice, NOS Legnano on e-Bay recently, gents model. It had that same rear brake bridge, a cottered steel crank & Campy 980 derailleurs.

There was a nice, NOS Legnano on e-Bay recently, gents model. It had that same rear brake bridge, a cottered steel crank & Campy 980 derailleurs.
That's puuurdy!...:) :)
How much did it go for?

I just noticed something - take a look at the third pic, of the fork. What's that horizontal hanger thingie on the left fork tine?

I just noticed something - take a look at the third pic, of the fork. What's that horizontal hanger thingie on the left fork tine?

maybe a headlight mount? or a bayonet mount :D

I just noticed something - take a look at the third pic, of the fork. What's that horizontal hanger thingie on the left fork tine?

That would be a generator mount. You bolt it there instead of clamping around the frame.

How much did it go for?
About $300 IIRC, seller was in Europe.

(What a stunning view you have or had, EH!)

The view still looks the same. It's 20 degrees Fahrenheit here today. Fortunately, the roads have improved to the point where I should be able to make my own foray into mixte buying this Saturday.

East Hill

Please explain - what keeps if from being a proper mixte?
As mswantak revealed: the non-straight top tubes. True Believers And Keepers Of The Mixte Flame only accept canonical straight-tube mixtes as worthy; all other kinds are the vile product of heresy and schism.
















No, straight up. It's true. :D

""" you might shed light as to threading""

Threading? he said 36 x 24T Italian...and that sounds right. I'd take that frame if it is truly NOS even though it's not high-end. But check it out beforehand....that paint looks too shiny-new to even be NOS for a 32 year old frame. Could be copper spray-paint with repro Legnano decals.


I just noticed this statement - what makes you think it's 32 years old? I'm thinking mid-80's.

BTW, I'll be seeing it tomorrow, and unless something screams STOP I'm predisposed to buy it. The fellow mentioned "a bunch of old parts" I could have if I bought it, and when I called and spoke with him he said he had a bunch of "French stuff"..... I'm hoping BB's, headsets, crank/chainrings, and maybe a retrofriction shifter or two...... :D

Hard to tell since it's a bare frame but I would date the similar NOS one I saw on e-bay as mid 70s to early 80s at the latest based on the steel cottered crankset edit(Campy timeline says 980 DR introduced september 1980)edit I would be all over your deal if it was in my area. There are still primo bikes out there in basements & garages. Few years ago I was on a jury with an old fellow(in his 80s) with a 70s Masi track bike & one of their tandems hanging in his garage. Been there for years & not for sale but who knows, maybe someday. Looking forward to more posts on this one. Don

I guess I am a heretic, because I think the curved tubes look much better than the straight ones on a mixte.

I guess I am a heretic, because I think the curved tubes look much better than the straight ones on a mixte.

You're entitled to your opinion! I don't care for the way they look, but curved tubes do make it easier to step through the frame.

Well, OK - the frame set is mine.

I went to see the fellow this afternoon. An older gent, probably in his 70's. His condo looked like a museum - I saw a Holdsworth 531 mixte, a Masi Gran Criterium, a Bob Jackson, a CIOCC, a Davidson, and a few other Italians I wasn't familiar with and can't remember. And all were my size. He was more than friendly, and showed me around his place while I tried not to drool too much.

So, anyway... He lays the NOS Legnano frame set out, and says straight up that it probably wasn't worth what he was asking. :D :D

But before we talk turkey he pulls out a couple of new looking chains (Regina and HKK), a Nervar crank set, a NIB Tange headset (that fits the Legnano fork), a couple of nice side pull calipers, a seat post, inner and outer Sugino Maxy Competition chain-rings, a Shimano 600 FD & RD, a 5 speed freewheel, and a pair of brake levers.

We do some measurements, and the BB is indeed 70mm - Italian. Also, a 26.4mm seat post doesn't quite fit, so it is probably 26mm - hi-tensile steel. The stem hole is very small in diameter - maybe French? I'll have to measure the ID of the steering tube to see what's what - then I'll come begging here ..... :o

So after some pleasant conversation, he says he just wants all of it gone, and asks for an offer. I offer $60, he says $65, I pay him the money and scoot. Before I leave, though, he tells me the Masi is probably up for grabs and the CIOCC is definitely on the block. He's asking $1150 for the Masi, and not sure about the CIOCC. He promised to get back to me on the price for the CIOCC. I'm going to have to flip a lot of bikes if I want to get my hands on that Masi..... :eek:

P.S.: The free Miyata I picked up for bossman up in Berkeley was worth every penny. Late '70s gaspipe, cottered steel crank, everything rusty except the handlebar grips. I didn't have the heart to make bossman drive over to pick it up.

Oh well; nice day for a drive...

I just saw a very tired 70's 'ish Motobecane with the same frame style on the way home tonight. Only had one support between the two (sans-mixte) top tubes. Nothing decent on the bike to make it worth picking up for the price on it though but it sure looked interesting after seeing the Legnano in person the other day.