exmechanic89

Nice bike, OP. A classic racer.

himespau 

Great find.

bpeder

...bump this thread as a good place to say; "yeah, me too... 49 years later!" I went to the pound and adopted this shelter bike. Like the OP in 2016, I have been dreaming of a Frejus for many years. I'm old enough to remember the bike boom and my brother standing around with his friends comparing mouth watering Italian rides—such was the boom in MN.

Maybe some of you saw this '72 at the site? It's a nice, clean example of a TdF I think and I like this time frame. I dig the "patina"—kind of non-existant... It's also pretty much turn-key wrench-wise as a Sunday rider/indoor keeper save for what look to be dry tires. The seller is a momentary 3rd owner who got it from a little old man who bought it from a guy in Germany who was training for the '72 Olympics. Looks all original except for an early '80s Avocet, (Selle), Racer II saddle and fresh cables/guides/hoods. Period Mavic clinchers.

So that color. Until the seller ships and it arrives safe, I can only guess. Is this one of the Legnano "Lizard Greens" I hear so much about? Appears to be yellow with just a hint of metflake greenish cast in images. Post bolt behind the cluster, SN# left side just below same. NR RD stamped '72. Falck "seamless" tube sticker just below the shifters. What else can I say? I'm a happy time traveler who will be 12 years old again everytime he rides this bike.Have a great day!

noglider 

I love Frejus bikes, too. For me, it's the history, the styling, and the workmanship. What do you love about yours? I don't have one yet.

In the early 80s, I worked in a bike shop that dealt in high end bikes. One of the owners was an expert and a lover of Italian bikes. Someone asked him what his favorite old Italian bike was. He said Frejus, and his reason was that he never saw one fail.

merziac

Great score, well done!

So cool, I love these too, don't have one yet.

You could do a lot worse than the Avocet saddle, especially if its in good shape.

bpeder

I'm not 100% sure... So many Italian road bikes of L'Eroica times are bellissimo for real. I think it might be something I remember Sheldon, (may he never be dropped!), Brown said years ago about Frejus track bikes, although the most recent statement made about Frejus/Legnano QC was not flattering. `E quello che `e.

I guess picking a favorite Italian maker is like picking your favorite kid—like Retrogrouch says. A Frejus, in that color, with those decals and the NR bits at the right price? It just worked for me. Buona fortuna a multare il tuo! Arrivedercci!

bpeder

...now that I actually have the bike in my possession? I had commented on the color while I was still limited to only the pictures the seller had posted. Lizard Green? Yellow? Now that I can see in person, it's neither. It's that odd luminescent greenish cast/yellow I was guessing at earlier—but with a twist...

Yesterday, as I was reading a bunch of old threads about chrome and how many bikes were chromed to get the socks, lugs, etc done, it became clear that some bikes and possibly Italian bikes in general, had the entire frame chromed just to get at the few spots they wanted to be tougher or pretty. This appears to be the case with the '72 Frejus I have now. Here's an image of a spot under the top tube just aft of the rear brake cable guide braze-on:

You can clearly see the chrome under the paint. I'm sure Bozzi/Legnano wanted to chrome the lugs and that spot is not far away. But the socks on the chain and seat stays are chromed too, and I see other areas further away from either the front lugs or CS/SS chrome with bits of chrome peeking through the "quick release" paint job.

I have seen pictures of Frejus bikes in black, blue, red, rarely in green, (white?), and some in my favorite; the lemony/limey color like I have. But now I know why the color often appears so luminous—almost neon. There's chrome under it! The overall look is very nice and the lighter color paint is ever so slightly transparent. Sure, it's chipped and scratched in places. There is some patina. But at the end of the day? The bike looks exactly as it should for pushing its 50th birthday next year. It's a "no touch-up zone"! Gratuitous rust is not allowed. But other than that? the bike owes no one anything and will be the ride on dry days as is.

merziac

Chiming in again to say what a great shot of the Frejus and the McIntosh together, quite a pair to draw too.

You do realize that when you say "now that it is in my possession" the next thing that should happen is lots more pics.

bpeder

I'll be glad to post more pics. I'm a teacher on spring break and I have the time! And merziac? You know your toys my friend. That's a Mcintosh C-28. It's sitting next to a MC-2105 power amp and a MR-77 Tuner. All circa '77. The TdF is in good company!

merziac

Well the numbers are lost on me, back in HS I had a whack job friend that was smarter than our electronics teacher. We would go downtown to the stereo shops and he would pile drive the poor saps that thought they knew what they were talking about. It was fun to watch after I managed to muster a pretty good basic understanding of it but that was a long time ago. I did manage to get to where I knew the difference between the ok stuff and the good stuff. Of course there was no ok McIntosh, only all killer stuff. He eventually got us kicked out of all the shops after hammering sales, techs and managers, none of them could even come close with their BS.

dstaudacher

[off topic] The McIntosh pre-amp is a nice touch! Funny story: Working at a bank in Lower Manhattan in 1986, a co-working mentioned he was "getting a Macintosh". On hearing the name, I immediately blurted: "OH! Congratulations! They make really *great* stereo equipment". But, of course, he meant the Apple product and replied: "What are you talking about"? "McIntosh!" I said. "Great stereo equipment. Is it a tube amp? They're the best!" As this went on, another co-worker, a self-employed independent contractor, who drove into "The City" every day, expensed his parking and vehicle maintenance, freely admitted he'd never even opened the hood on his Lincoln and had no idea what was under it, said "McIntosh? Sure! I know what he's talking about". I felt vindicated in my naïveté.
Perhaps not 100% off topic. The ad which brought me to my Frejus *does* mention McIntosh:
https://aarauctions.com/servlet/Searc...9&itemId=21351 - "...Leitz Leica photography equipment, vintage MacIntosh stereo equipment ... vintage Italian Frejus bicycle".

bpeder

That was a great story! The Macintosh thing of course goes back to the Beatles Apple Corps. And the McIntosh Labs in Binghamton go back to the '40s when a lot of our beloved old Frejus, Legnano, Bianchi etcetera bikes were being born. I have only scratched the surface of Bike Forums, but I bet there are off topic threads covering just about any number of classic/vintage toys that are not bikes! And BF folks likely love all those toys just as passionately. So you bought that Frejus that was listed in your closed auction link? Congratulations! Looks like a good buy. Mine was considerably more, but I still paid less than Sheldon Brown, (MHNBD), opined my '72 was likely worth when he was writing back in '97.