Classic & Vintage - Zeus Professional

This is my girlfriend's bike. We just recently bought it off a forum member who happened to live in our area. I'm not sure what year it is but it's in great condition for a 40+ year-old bike. There is a spot of rust that I'd like to file away and the parts could use a soaking in barkeeper's friend.

Wheelset is Hi-E sealed bearing hubs laced to Martano tubular rims. We are going to sell this wheelset, so if you are interested send me a PM. Mafac levers are also potentially going to be parted out (although, she says she likes 'em) as well as the Campagnolo Record brake calipers.

A forum member is interested in the entire groupset and we are both debating whether it is a good idea to part-out the groupset to him. On one hand, the charm of having an almost all-Zeus bike is tempting, but we intend to make this bike a daily-rider so it might not make sense to be riding around with Zeus jewelery when Suntour Cyclone derailleurs and a Shimano 600 crankset will do.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N_NEJkPy-fo/Two3RXlrfQI/AAAAAAAADoI/2P2uI9258zM/s800/IMG_20120108_143829.jpg

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https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-frCYVoWCL3o/Two1zRp2Y4I/AAAAAAAADnI/RfC6FMoQnz0/s800/IMG_20120108_144002.jpg

The 531 decal was used from mid 1960's to mid 1970's
I bought same bike this weekend in very poor shape.
Ed

Nice find. Even the pump is a Zeus. I'd be inclined to keep all the components on there unless she was locking it up somewhere.

She is going to be locking it up everywhere she goes.

I personally don't have a problem with Suntour Cyclone (or Sprint...superbe...) on vintage Euro bikes. I'd say if its going to be a daily commuter, that wouldn't be a bad choice, maybe save the gruppo for use on a potential later Zeus?. I wouldn't be so quick to put the 600 cranks on it. Maybe that's just me and my not-so-keen on Shimano attitude. Sweet bike.

Those Zeus Criterium derailleurs are infinitely tougher than SunTour Cyclone. Unless you have a problem with their performance I'd leave them as is.

Finding complete Zeus examples is such a bear that to part this outstanding example out doesn't make the least bit of sense.

Did you consider the possibility of purchasing a different frameset in the same size instead? This Zeus doesn't seem to be the right way to go about it.

-Kurt

If it was me I'd change the wheels to something a little friendlier for the day to day riding and I have the Zeus brake calipers to replace those mismatched Campagnolos... :D

I too would leave it as is, or would keep everything I changed out so that it could be returned to its original, beautiful state at some future time. A bike like that with the full compliment of components is never easy to come by. Very sweet bike! Your girlfriend should be mighty pleased.

This is not a good bike to turn into a commuter, it has too much vintage significance.

+1 No way I could part out that bike. Its too special.

+1 Not a real good choice for a commuter. For a commuter, I would just pick up a nice, vintage rigid frame MTB, and keep this bike for special rides.

It would be a cryin' shame. Please don't do it. Make the person interested in the parts buy the whole bike. No, wait ...he'll probably part it out because the frame is too small. Find a good home for it, someone who appreciates it for what it is.

Zeus frames should carry Zeus parts. End of story...

Sell it on ebay. You will probably make enoguh to buy a commuter and a road bike. Commuting with this bike will only devalue it, as will parting only some of it.

1. Do what you want - it's your bike.

2. I will join the deafening chorus to say please please please keep it all together. They are way too rare on this side of the pond.

I hear what everyone is saying, and tend to agree with the consensus, but I will add that the old Zeus framesets make good commuters because they have enough front-center to have toeclip clearance with about 28s and fenders, and have 531 main tubes so they offer pretty good frame performance. My son is riding one like that right now in Seattle. Up bars, vintage S5 IGH, Ruffy Tuffys with Honjo fenders. It was a Zeus Suprema, and we saved all of the Zeus bits that we removed, so the bike could be put back to original condition later if desired. Your bike already has different (and nicer) wheels and brake calipers, fwiw.

The shifting performance of the Criterium rear derailleur is rather poor, as well, imo, so for that reason (and many others) this bike as-is wouldn't be very good for commuting unless you lived in a sunny, mild, dry climate area and commuted short distances on smooth, level roads, imo. That's a pretty darn complete and original Zeus (I've never seen that particular graphics package - nice - quite different from most Zeus bikes).

A tough call....

The shifting performance of the Criterium rear derailleur is rather poor, as well, imo, so for that reason (and many others) this bike as-is wouldn't be very good for commuting unless you lived in a sunny, mild, dry climate area and commuted short distances on smooth, level roads, imo.

I beg to differ. My Criterium derailleur shifts every bit as well as a Campy Nuovo or Super Record, which might not be saying much, come to think of it...

old Zeus framesets make good commuters because they have enough front-center to have toeclip clearance..

The shifting performance of the Criterium rear derailleur is rather poor

Any other old frame of the period would work as well. In my experience the Zeus Criterium works as well as a Record or Gran Sport, which is almost as good as Nuovo Record.

There are two kinds of bike people in the world I guess: those parting out bikes and those piecing parted out bikes back together! Both my last two Zeus bikes I had to collect parts for, the last virtually everything. Though Zeus parts could be used on any bike, Zeus frames only used Zeus parts. That's what makes a complete Zeus very unique. Please keep it that way...

I beg to differ. My Criterium derailleur shifts every bit as well as a Campy Nuovo or Super Record, which might not be saying much, come to think of it...

+1. Zeus Criterium and 2000 have the same geometry as NR, Zeus Gran Sport is the same as Campag Gran Sport.

You either love it or you hate it. I love it.

-Kurt

Yikes! Strong feelings on this one.

Anyways, my girlfriend likes the bike too much to sell it off. Although she would use it as an everyday bike, she would take care of it. I don't really agree with the notion that a commuter must be an unattractive workhorse. Although we live in an urban environment where theft is a real issue, we lock up our bikes securely and never leave them for long-periods in shady areas.

The question of value is a sticky one. Yes, riding it as-is is going to devalue it as the paint and components experience wear. But it makes me uncomfortable to think of a bike that I would only ride on special days rather than everyday.

Oh, remembered I had this picture, newer than yours I'd guess:

Please keep it as it is and just clean lube and adjust all of the parts of this very fine bike...or if you insist of swapping out the original stuff carefully disassemble and store the original parts so it can be restored at a later date! Your bike has a classic and very nice "aggressive" frame/fork geometry that seems way ahead of its time for a C&V road bike. There are very few bikes that when you just look at them you feel that they will ride perfectly, and this is one of them. The 531 sticker indicates the main tubes are double butted (not the forks and stays). The fork looks good and don't seem to be seamed, so they are quite good. I guess the stays are high-tensile steel, and they look good too. I wouldn't worry about any of this. You have a very rare and complete Zeus (down to the seat post and pedals!). Congatulations and enjoy it!

Zeus made hubs too, those hi-E are likely a replacement wheelset. I have a zeus hub tubular wheelset if you are really into matching parts.....

Yikes! Strong feelings on this one.

Anyways, my girlfriend likes the bike too much to sell it off. Although she would use it as an everyday bike, she would take care of it.

Absolutely lovely. I'm digging the red Vittoria tubulars. Are they silk or cotton?

Bikes are made to be ridden. Just don't leave it in a rack near traffic. Around here there's been a rash of bikes damaged by people driving cars into racks.

You know, if she really likes it and wants to keep it and ride it, but the drop bars and skinny tires might not be ideal, you could always put an upright set of bars/stem on it, a more comfy saddle, and a different wheelset with clinchers. Remove the toe clips if she isn't into them. Keep all the parts for later if you ever decide to pass the bike along. Yeah, she would take care of it, especially if she is subtly educated as to its "historical worth", if you will.

Yikes! Strong feelings on this one.



The question of value is a sticky one. Yes, riding it as-is is going to devalue it as the paint and components experience wear. But it makes me uncomfortable to think of a bike that I would only ride on special days rather than everyday.

You misunderstand completely. No one is saying don't ride it. However, everyone is advising you to keep it intact. You asked a group interested in classic and vintage bicycles for advice on that particular issue so you must have been aware that a complete Zeus bike is a rare find indeed.

I think we'll go the route of keeping the parts we remove and setting the bike up as a nice, upright city-bike with a front rack.

Found out the pedals threads on the cranks were French today. Bummer.

I'm tired of hearing people say "thats too nice a bike to commute on, save it for specail occasions". Life is a special occasion. Why ride a POS rigid frame MTB most days when you have a great bike just begging to hit the road? What are your reasons for not wanting to ride these parts, they are not unreliable, and if its a theft issue, take precautions. I say ride the hell out of that thing. It's pretty but its not mint, and its fully functional, sounds like the perfect recipe for a great daily ride. Zeus components are rare no doubt about it, but would you rather look at them in your parts bin, or feel a great downshift? I know what I'd pick.

I have a hardtail mountain bike and a very sturdy simple bike boom ten speed, according to the logic on this forum perfect candidates for daily commuters. I never ride them. Instead I grab the good bike every time, never eases to put a smile on my face, always worth it.

Found out the pedals threads on the cranks were French today. Bummer.

That shouldn't be a problem as long as the current pedals are still usable, yes?

And if they're not, it is trivial to retap to ISO pedal thread.

And BTW, you'll probably also find that the bottom bracket and steer tube are metric as well.

And BTW, you'll probably also find that the bottom bracket and steer tube are metric as well.

Yes, Zeus frames are threaded French. Didn't realize the pedals were too. Zeus pedals are actually pretty nice.

Zeus components were made with both metric and BSC thread, but on their own bikes Zeus used metric.

You can swap out the (really rare and nice ) Zeus pedals with some other frenchie pedal (Atom, Lyotard, etc.) but I'd avoid tapping the crank arms to fit 9/16" pedals, as that would be irreversable. It's your bike, and you can do what you want with it. I hope you ride it and enjoy the heck out of it. What I and other C&V afficionados are saying is you have a really fine and uncommon C&V roadbike, and many of us would hope that it could be maintained in as near original as possible.

I'm tired of hearing people say "thats too nice a bike to commute on, save it for specail occasions". Life is a special occasion. Why ride a POS rigid frame MTB most days when you have a great bike just begging to hit the road? What are your reasons for not wanting to ride these parts, they are not unreliable, and if its a theft issue, take precautions. I say ride the hell out of that thing. It's pretty but its not mint, and its fully functional, sounds like the perfect recipe for a great daily ride. Zeus components are rare no doubt about it, but would you rather look at them in your parts bin, or feel a great downshift? I know what I'd pick.

Thank you for saying that. It's like people who don't use their good china because it's for special occasions. Then they die, and the china is never enjoyed. We're using china my wife inherited from her great aunt. It's old and special, so we use it every day.

The bike might get stolen or vandalized because it's a commuter bike. But before that happens, it will be enjoyed by being ridden every day.

I've been searching for information on a couple of Zeus hubbed wheelsets I have and stumbled on this thread, which was an interesting read. Toosahn, do you have an update for us? Thanks.

I've been searching for information on a couple of Zeus hubbed wheelsets I have and stumbled on this thread, which was an interesting read. Toosahn, do you have an update for us? Thanks.

What do you need to know about your wheels?

Thank you for saying that. It's like people who don't use their good china because it's for special occasions. Then they die, and the china is never enjoyed. We're using china my wife inherited from her great aunt. It's old and special, so we use it every day.

The bike might get stolen or vandalized because it's a commuter bike. But before that happens, it will be enjoyed by being ridden every day.
Just make sure you can enjoy it long enough by finding secure parking for it. The retro/C&V bike market is still hot out there and thievery remains rampant everywhere. My coworker got two bikes stolen, even locked within our office building in a year already. Her choice of bikes to replace them had been shifted from the first one (A Trek 560) towards Wallyworld bikes since the first one was pinched and they still stole the second one.... Now her bike parks in our office spce within eyeshot of her desk.....

That one's worth parking in her workspace.

Good decision. My first thought was that if I was going to change anything on it I would save everything that came off it. I do think riding it and using it as a commuter is fine, but being able to one day return it to its original state if ever you want to sell it or she decides to get another commuter and use this one as a purely road bike makes it well worth keeping the parts. It is a beautiful bike and she is lucky to own it.