Classic & Vintage - GIOS Compact & Compact Pro

Here's a link to the Gios of Italy. Since a few years ago, the company has split in two, one in Italy the other in the far east. http://www.giostorino.it/le-biciclette-iscritte-a-registro and you can contact Marco Gios, responds in English to emails. I have my Gios Torino registered with Gios(before 89 are accepted) with full Record C and 25K on the frame/fork.

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq4/quantumfoam_2008/Gios%20Torino%20Professional%20Record%20C/DSC_0001-1.jpg

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq4/quantumfoam_2008/Gios%20Torino%20Professional%20Record%20C/DSC_0014.jpg

Here's some pictures of my Gios Compact with full Campagnolo Chorus 10sp Carbon setup.

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq4/quantumfoam_2008/Gios%20Compact/DSC_0002-1.jpg

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq4/quantumfoam_2008/Gios%20Compact/DSC_0020.jpg

I enjoy riding both along with my Cinelli SC, can't beat steel thoroughbreds!

Apologies if I missed it, but what is the difference for the Nuovo Compact? From what I can see they are identical to the Compact except for maybe color and crimped aero fork blades. Any other differences?

Hi Guys,

I restored my wife's 1987 Gios Compact (with much appreciated help from Nenad).
I have lots of computer scans of decals which I can share, Greg Softley sells them on ebay. he did mine for me. As far as the rubber inserts, I used the ones made by cinelli which are identical. The older ones like my wife's had top tube inserts and this allowed
water to seep in with sometimes disastrous results (did not happen on my wife's but have seen a few destroyed like this). Moving it below obviously helped.
Let me know how I can help.

Cheers (additional thanks to Nenad)

John

Hi John,

it's a great looking bike, congratulations !

Nenad

While going through some old files, I came across this photo that I thought that you Gios fans might like. If I am not mistaken, this picture was taken at the Milan trade show some time between 1988 and 1991. At the time I was working for the largest German importer of Gios bikes and frames. The Compact frames were all the rage then. You can also see that at the time, they had absolutely no problem selling frames and bikes in colors other than "blu Gios". They only had one bike in blu gios on the whole stand.

234317

Today I found a Gios Compact frame that I'm pretty sure I should buy. The brand is new to me, so I'm starting with some research.

The frame is red, with a chrome fork. It's in unrestored original condition, with a few scratches/nicks and a little bit of surface rust. The adjustable dropouts are there and look to be in good shape. It's made with Columbus SLX tubing. As I understand it, SLX is thicker/stronger than SL, which is probably appropriate for me since I'm pretty fat these days (230+, need a bike with gears because hauling all this lard around on my beloved Sputnik is too much work).

The bike differs from others I've seen in this thread in that the decals say "custom made in Italy by Alfredo Gios", with the "Alfredo Gios" in script, looks like his signature. The "COMPACT" is the same as the other decals I've seen in this thread.

My questions:

1) What are things to look for to make a go/no-go decision on this frame? I've heard about top tubes rusting from water getting in via the brake line holes - is a visual inspection OK for that?

2) Seller is asking $300 for the frame & fork. (Includes Campy headset, no BB). Is that price reasonable?

3) If I get this frame, my intention is to retain the unrestored original paint. Is that a good idea, or bad?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jump on getting the Gios Compact and ride! To check for frame alignment, take a string starting from the left rear drop out around the seat post to the right rear drop out, with a measuring rule check the distance between the string and the seat stay for different measurements. If none the rear triangle is good.

The price seems right and you should have no issues with the paint, at least I don't have the issues with mine. I'd go for it if the frame fits.

I bought the frame & fork today, came home and ordered some red Cinelli cable guides, thanks to the link in this thread. Looks like it's an '88 (first 3 digits are 802). Everything checked out OK: top tube passed visual inspection, plus pinging it gently with a screwdriver found no dead/rusty spots, dropouts look very good, and all 6 screws thread in and out freely.

Am I right in thinking that a vintage 3ttt stem and TdF 44 handlebar should work just dandy with this fork, as well as being an appropriate choice?

BTW, since there's been a bit of discussion about color: mine is a slightly orangish red. I don't know if it was originally that color, or if it got the orange tinge from oxidation/fading of the red pigment. Red that's going off usually ends up looking pinkish or hazy, so I have a feeling that there was an orange tint to the original. Fork is chrome. I'll snap a few decent pics outside and post 'em up.

Register your Gios Compact with : http://www.giostorino.it/le-biciclette-iscritte-a-registro after you're finished with your project. You can contact Marco Gios for additional information, he speaks "Inglese" when communicating by email. Unfortunately to obtain a Gios from Italy, you would have to fly to Italy, they don't export to the USA. Which means more value for your bike!

Thanks a lot. From what I've seen so far, I feel pretty good about joining the Gios club. Now, how is it pronounced? Is the "G" a hard "G" or soft, like a "J"? Is the "i" like "ee"? Is the "os" like "ahs" or "ohs"? :)

"Gi" in italian is like "j" in english, so it is pronounced "joss"

BTW, since there's been a bit of discussion about color: mine is a slightly orangish red. I don't know if it was originally that color, or if it got the orange tinge from oxidation/fading of the red pigment. Red that's going off usually ends up looking pinkish or hazy, so I have a feeling that there was an orange tint to the original. Fork is chrome. I'll snap a few decent pics outside and post 'em up.

Got it out into the sun for the first time and realized that there's actually a fine metalflake in this paint. There are some chips here and there, it's definitely not pristine, but it's still my intention to keep the paint in its unrestored original condition. Here are some closeups:


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6871061483_fdecf74bbc_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9604948@N04/6871061483/)
The paint in the sun, you can see the metallic finish and the orange hue. It's funny, this paint looked pretty ugly hanging on the wall of a dark shop, but I feel like I got very lucky here.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6871061965_7bc8444df0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9604948@N04/6871061965/)
Chrome fork, and you can see a bit of the Campagnolo headset.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/6871062173_106b16618b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9604948@N04/6871062173/)
Dropouts look to me like they're in good condition.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/6871062381_85124a0510_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9604948@N04/6871062381/)
I haven't seen these specific decals on other bikes. Does anyone know if they're somehow significant?


I just ordered a set of new Campagnolo Veloce calipers, and I'm negotiating price on a 3ttt quill stem & drop bar combo. Crankset, shifter, and hubs have been ordered, and the LBS is going to call the supplier about special-ordering the rims I want.

That reminds me... Time to order a nice seatpost!

Try our "Classic and Vintage Sales" on Bikeforums, there are good deals and no extra's to Ebay. Try staying period correct, such as Campagnolo Super Record, or Record C and Dura Ace. I think the rear dropout spacing is 130mm good for current wheels offered on the market. The paint is best match up with nail polish at your local cosmetic store, bring the Gios (gee-os)(je-os is like Greek gyos and the Gios is Italian) to match or a hobby store. Good(Bon)Luck(Chance)

Try our "Classic and Vintage Sales" on Bikeforums, there are good deals and no extra's to Ebay.
Thanks a lot for the pointer, I really appreciate it.


Try staying period correct, such as Campagnolo Super Record, or Record C and Dura Ace. I think the rear dropout spacing is 130mm good for current wheels offered on the market.
I did a test fit of a 700c wheel with 23mm tire today, and it looks like a great fit, although I think I'll run 25, there's enough room for it. My Veloce calipers should have the pads right in the middle of their adjustment range.

I won't be staying period-correct with this build overall. Stuff that will stay period-correct are: seat & post, quill & bars, and of course the frame. I'm sticking with a square-taper BB and a crankset that doesn't look special/modern, but it'll be new stuff. Stuff that will be upgraded includes dual-pivot calipers & modern levers, and Velocity Deep V rims. And the most significant change is that it'll be set up with an S-A 5-speed IGH. I know that the IGH and the rim choice will be contentious with some folks, but all I can do is build the bike I want to own/ride and hope that the purists can forgive me.


The paint is best match up with nail polish at your local cosmetic store, bring the Gios (gee-os)(je-os is like Greek gyos and the Gios is Italian) to match or a hobby store. Good(Bon)Luck(Chance)
Thanks for the pointer. Given the size and placement of the chips, and the difficulty of matching this paint, it's likely that I'll end up leaving some of them untouched. In other places, I'll probably touch 'em up to prevent rust.

Great looking bike, I think $300 was a very fair price. The paint looks pretty good too, considering it is 25 years old and the fact that the original italian paint jobs (in contrast to the otherwise very high quality workmanship) weren't that great to begin with. As I mentioned the seals around the top tube brake cable were a weakness, but unless you ride it in the rain a lot should not be a problem. Really, these are fantastic bikes and along with a few other names like Pinarello, Colnago and DeRosa were the finest of the italian brands. Let me know if I can help in any way.
God luck, enjoy your ride!

John

Thanks again to all who are giving me advice/guidance on this. Glad to know that I managed a good score, and I can't wait to get this thing together and RIDE IT!

Further updates will go in this build thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/797710-Planning-a-city-bike-build).

Bike is done, here are some pics. More details in the build thread:



http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5320/7051862641_30c68d785a_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9604948@N04/7051862641/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5448/6905773080_129cf33185_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9604948@N04/6905773080/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5271/6905773278_63b595621c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9604948@N04/6905773278/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/6905773436_43833741c7_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9604948@N04/6905773436/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5455/7051863407_455201e7b3_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9604948@N04/7051863407/)