mdsalemi

Decided to add some new life to my old 1972 Lupo road bike. Lupo (Umberto Mascheroni) was a frame maker who worked in Milan, had affiliations with Legnano and other race teams.

How I came to buy Lupo is a story...in 1971 I returned from Europe with a Peugeot PX8, and a few months later, my brother "bested me" by getting a fancy Italian bike, a Legnano Corsa, from the famous Tom Avenia cycle shop in Manhattan. I decided that I needed the same. So, on a trip to Milan in the summer of '72, I called the Legnano factory and asked, in my rudimentary Italian, "Where in Milano can I buy a Legnano Corsa bicycle?" The lady on the other end just gave me an address, and unbeknownst to the then 16 year old, it was that of the famous frame maker for the Dreher racing team, Umberto Mascheroni, also known as "Lupo". He fitted me by pulling out a bike made for Roger deVlaeminck, a famous Belgian rider on the Dreher team. Dreher had a good team in 1972, with notables such as DeVlaeminck, Ole Ritter, Patrick Sercu, and more. It was in existence for just the 1972 season, and Lupo made the bikes and maintained them; it later became the Brooklyn team. He took measurements, and told me to return in two weeks. I did, and picked up a beautiful Lupo designed for road racing. Super short wheel base, and extremely light for the time, I used the bike for commuting through college, and pleasure riding later.

As I think back on this time, I'm quite curious as to the trust put into some 16 year old American walking into Lupo's place. He didn't ask for a lira up front, I paid in full at the time of pickup. Who does that? Also curious, this was the height of the one and only Dreher team season, so how he had time for some American kid coming into his shop is still amazing to me.

As I aged the short gearing needed changing, and a few years ago set about to change that. Finding parts was a challenge. I did find a wide range NOS Campagnolo Rally rear changer, and a wider cluster to make hills a bit easier for this aging body. When I broke a spoke, I found someone who had a whole box of the Trois Etoile stainless steel spokes in the right size and bought the entire box. Seems finding obscure parts is a skill for cars and bikes alike.

Lupo #221 has had several lives: first with the original Campy hubs, 32x3, on sew-up rims. Later I moved to Weyless (remember those?) hubs, but for those that don't know, Weyless were 3-piece bonded, and one flange separated on me shearing off 16 spoke heads instantly. Off those came in a hurry! In the late 1970s I built a final set of wheels with the original Campy 32h low flange hubs, and Weinmann concave clincher rims. Those have thousands of miles on them, and are still in better condition than many new bikes, they are that strong. Lupo has been painted 3x; the original; another job back in the late 1970s where they did the wrong color, and finally back in the 1990s by Assenmacher Bikes in Flint Michigan, that added a few braze-ons for me. They did a great job. I was smart enough as a 16 year old to have Lupo provide me several sets of decals, as I knew the bike was a keeper and repaints would happen. I think I still have a set of decals somewhere...

Right now my Lupo needs another round of maintenance. I just serviced the headset: the grease had turned to basically a sticky glue. I'm removing all the old black anodizing from the parts, a thing I did in the 70s before it was cool and before adapted by mainstream manufacturers. Lupo is all apart now, but here it was just before I started this round. I've found some new cables, tires, etc. and hopefully the rebuild won't take long.

I did try and post photos, but the forum doesn't let newer members do so. Sorry!!!

Anyone with a Lupo out there besides me, and my new friend Jonas in Berlin?? Curious as to your story on how you got yours.

bikemig 

Neat story. You might want to triplize that campy crank.

https://www.redclovercomponents.com/..._42_Teeth.html

52telecaster

Can't wait to see a pic!

repechage

mdsalemi

Neat story. You might want to triplize that campy crank.

Well, not only can’t I post pictures but I can’t even quote a reply if the reply contains a web link! I’ve been a member of many forums since they actually came into existence and I have never run into this on any of them ever before…

Thank you for the suggestion of the part. Not only did I not know that anything like that existed I didn’t know I even needed anything like that! For the time being I will leave things alone as my last big change, the addition of the Campy rally derailer with the larger rear cog, has provided me sufficient gearing.

mdsalemi

as soon as I am deemed worthy, and allowed to post pictures, I will…

mdsalemi

Yesterdays task was removing the black anodizing from the crank and some other components. The water-based degreaser‘s such as “oil eater” and zep purple, Do a pretty good job in short order.

some parts are beginning to arrive. I did not have a crank removal tool for the past years and that came yesterday and allowed me to remove the crank so I could remove the anodizing.

in one of those absolutely stunning and brilliant moves by the bicycle industry (NOT!!) 27 inch tires are a rarity exacerbated by Covid. The 27 x 1 Bontrager that I have been running simply don’t exist any longer. I did find some 27 x 1 ⅛ but these were only available from one eBay seller. A set of new old stock Christophe leather toe clip straps arrived yesterday and I am waiting for the new clips themselves to replace my rusted ones.

this will not be a long-term project so I will continue to report on it and hopefully before long can add some photos.

daverup 

Pic assist

OP post pictures album
https://www.bikeforums.net/g/album/22701569

Second Lupo album,
https://www.bikeforums.net/g/album/22710906

daverup 

mdsalemi

You can upload to your gallery, and the link above will let others click through to see more pics after you have added them

repechage

I would check the chainstay tire clearance
1 1/4” tire might get pretty close even with indented chainstays.
the bike no doubt was designed for tubulars
700c clinchers would be a better fit.

bikemig 

You may find that though you like the top and low gears with that rally derailleur and big freewheel, you may lack the in between gears you need. You may, on the other hand, be really happy with your existing set up in which case there's no reason to mess with it. If you think that you're missing in between gears, the triple will be a big help.

mdsalemi

700C is impossible, [without frame work] because then the brakes would not fit, due to the change in rim diameter.
My Campy Nuovo Record brakes are about as perfect as you can get. They were perfect on the original sew up rims; on the replacement clinchers, and on my current clinchers, the Weinmann concave style. I've had 27 x 1¼ on for many years; when 27 x 1⅛ became available, I started using those; that was the Bontrager Race Lite, which seem to be NLA. No fit issues. As those Bontragers are more than 10 years old now, I ordered a set of Panaracer 27 x 1⅛ and waiting on those to arrive. They were out of stock nearly everywhere but hopefully found one place that had them. We'll see if they actually have them.

Lupo has always had a very tight wheelbase; the fork has a very slight rake, and the tires (regardless) always ran close to everything; that's the nature of a true road race bike. The wheelbase is just 39", 2-3" shorter than many Italians of the same generation, including my brother's Legnano Corsa if I recall correctly.

I suppose when the day comes that 27" tires by themselves are NLA, I may have to convert the frame to take 700s...and build a set of wheels for same. Hoping I don't have to do that.

Nonetheless I'm sincerely appreciating all comments. The "Biketiresdirect" people told me about the challenges of "conversion" from 27 to 700, particularly on a bike where everything fits "just so". Their recommendation was to wait for another batch of the Panaracers if they offload from all those ships sitting off the coast of California...

mdsalemi

Noted. Without shame, I'll have to admit that I'm not that serious or dedicated a rider where in-between gearing carries much importance. I believe my prior cog was 14-26; the one I have now is 14-34 and that made a huge difference for me in "first gear" for the few hills I was climbing in flat Michigan. (I've since moved to North Carolina). So the tripler by itself is of less importance to me than the fact that it is available, and somebody has recognized a need and solved it.

Narhay

Tubulars only came in 700c diameters. Your brakes look like they might have the 4mm downward space for your brake pads to move down to accommodate the diameter difference between 27 and 700c.

mdsalemi

Created an album, added three photos, and will be adding more as I progress.

mdsalemi

Thanks for that. Interesting. The tubulars I had were a short lived thing, 1972-1973. I was led to believe from BikeTiresDirect that moving to a 700C rim would be a greater challenge than just 4mm...
Now you have my interest up...if only a 4mm difference I may be able to use the same hub/spoke combination and just swap rims. Worth further investigation...

Probably the best thing is to try, at least on the front first, a 700C and see how it fits before I do anything else. Will look for a used one locally.

pastorbobnlnh 

Thanks for sharing your Lupo and joining C&V. I'm looking forward to following your thread.

Another option for gearing is to move from a 5 speed standard spaced freewheel to an Ultra, Compact or narrow spaced 6 speed freewheel. Suntour models are the most plentiful but they were also produced by Atom and Regina. A narrow 6 speed will provide one more mid range gear.

In what area of NC do you reside?

Narhay

I think you'll find the spokes will be 4mm too long all around. That being said new double butted stainless spokes can be had relatively inexpensively. Alternatively you could continue with your 27" wheels and find a nicer 1" wide tire. I had Panaracer Paselas as a 27x1 tire and they were fine for me.

repechage

the difference in rim radius is 4mm. from the appearance of your bike, that should be possible to drop them down 4 mm. As a 1972, short reach (piccolo) calipers did not exist yet.
The bike appears a bit ahead of its contemporaries in tight clearances but not outrageous.

repechage

if you are considering pre built wheels, the problem will be the rear axle spacing.
if the frame was not modified to 126mm at the time of repaint, when braze-ons were added, as an example those top tube cable guides did not exist in 1972, seat tube waterbottle mounts were not a "thing" in 1972 either, even on touring bikes.
126 spacing was super rare in 1972, it did exist, but the vast majority of bikes were 120mm.
I do have an image of Merckx in Yellow at the 1975 tour where he in on a bike with seat tube bosses, and he is NOT using them... I guess when you are in Yellow, the team brings you up the water.

mdsalemi

I appreciate your replies! Seriously! Thank you!

My frame spacing is indeed 126, and has been since build. You see, the last frame repaint by Assenmacher did indeed include, as you astutely noted, things not generally done in 1972. These were the braze-ons for the water bottles, the rack mount, the top tube cable holders, and the Campy down tube shifters. That was probably done in the mid 1990s. By then I'd run the same wheels for 20 years or so. So with the same wheels at that time, working fine, there was no frame modification other than the addition of the braze ons.

My original rims were sew-ups, and if I recall, they were in all likelihood, Fiamme. I know they were 32H, and laced x3 with Campy low-flange hubs. These were radically different than even the Legnanos coming into the USA at the time, which were high-flange, 36H x 4. Anyway, as we all know, sew-ups were for die-hards. You don't have to have more than a couple of flats before you realize something has to change. So went with probably Mavic or Rigida clinchers.

At the time, in the mid-70s (into the mid 80s), we had a bike shop in the basement of our home in Medfield, MA, "Medfield Cycle". That's how I paid for college. Anyway, our suppliers had Mavic and Rigida. So, that's what I did with those same 32H hubs. We used to go to bike industry shows, we got newsletters from our suppliers, and we were always interested in the latest and greatest. My Lupo was a test bed. Before long, Weyless came about and bought a set of those hubs, and built a set of wheels. Loved those until they broke. About that time, Weinmann had come out with the concave rims, and seeing how 32H was so uncommon, I got a set of 36H Nuovo Record hubs, a set of those Weinmann concave rims, and we built a set of wheels. Those are the ones I'm still running. I've hit some wicked rough roads, and have thousands of miles on those and they are still very true and have needed very little over the years. I did break one spoke head on the rear some years back and that's it.

As a test bed, there were other parts I placed on Lupo over the years. I replaced the Campy front changer with a Huret, I remember it was light, and jewel-like in finish. But for some reason, didn't like it and the Campy went back on. When Shimano introduced its Dura-Ace line, we started buying bits and pieces and was astounded at the finish and build quality. So, off with the Cinelli head set, and the Dura-Ace went on--and is still there (with bearings in races!). Still have the Weyless seat post and pedals. The Cinelli saddle was long worn out when I replaced it with a nice gel seat. When I replaced the Nuovo Record rear with the Rally, of course the Shimano Ultra-Glide with bowed outer plates chain was too short, and I got--after a long search--an SRAM. Chains had narrowed for cogs greater than 5 and thus even the chain was a pain to find... That Ultra Glide Chain had replaced the original Regina d"Oro.

When my mother passed away in the late 80s, my dad (still going strong at 99!) gave up the bike shop, and sold it all (meaning all the tools and inventory). The only thing I wish he had not done was give them the Campy tools I had! I had gotten them all from Umberto himself when I got the bike; cone wrenches, bottom bracket tools, etc. If he charged me anything for that stuff (his shop was littered with Campy stuff in 1972) it wasn't much.

mdsalemi

Problem is, everywhere I'm checking nobody has less than 27 ¼ tires in stock. So, all the 27 ⅛ and 27 x 1 seem to be on backorder, like everywhere...the eBay seller I got the Panaracers on order with says he can get them. Fingers crossed.

repechage

This is C&V, we ARE Die-Hards.

41 bikes, 37 of them with tubular wheels.

satbuilder 

I have been looking for a Lupo frame in my size for a while. They are hard to come by.

A couple years ago I was fortunate enough to get a bike built by one of his acquaintances, Umberto Marnati. It is noticeably lighter for its size than other bicycles I have from the same era.

mdsalemi

Davidson, Charlotte-Lake Norman area.

Honestly for my riding, never felt the need for more than 10 speeds. Always find something that works for me; it was only the high and low…😉