trekker32

Hi everyone,

New member here. This is a great forum!
Ive been looking at a bike listed online. Its a Viner 10-speed. The advert says that its a "midline italian classic sportsbike".
From the pictures i can tell it has a lugged frame .... im assuming steel since its from the 70s. The advert also says it has cottered steel cranks, huret svelto derailluers, ttt stem, and nisi sew up rims.

He has the frame listed in excellent condition and from the pics it looks great.

If any of you know about Viner bikes id love to hear about it....also whether you think this bike might be worth the $150 he has it listed at.

Thanks!!

Trekker

USAZorro

$150.00 sounds reasonable if it's in decent shape.

jemoryl

Cottered steel cranks and Huret Svelto derailleurs? Sounds fairly low end; I'm not sure I'd pay $150 for that unless the frame was of a higher level (Columbus SL or such).

USAZorro

True, not what I'd prefer to pay, but it isn't unreasonable for an asking price. The stem and the rims are nice little prizes, and if the frame is Columbus or Reynolds, and the bike doesn't need a bunch of work to make it rideable, $150.00 is pretty good.

trekker32

thanks guys for the info. the bike needs lots of work and i keep telling myself to forget it, yet i keep going back and looking at it.

i read somewhere in bikeforum(in a previous post from months ago)that viner frames were awsome. im amazed at the number of different brand italian frames from the 70s & 80s.

thanks again guys!

trekker

unworthy1

God yeah!, There are so many Italian makers sometimes i play a little memory game and try to recite all I can remember from A to Z...But anyhow, Viner made some first rate stuff as well as some less than first. I guess that your sample may date from the early 70s, given the Svelto derailleurs and cottered crank, and yeah, both those are marks of a lower level bike. But, it could still be made from decent (maybe straight gauge) tubes and be well built...might be Falk tubing or Columbus Aelle. There was a huge market for "Club" specials for the European market, sort of the bicycling weekend warriors, who got together and rode their club specials. Less expensive than what the pro racers had, but still "sporting" bikes. Lot of that activity in Italy, Britain and France, I suspect that's what this Viner is, and $150 might be a bit steep considering the work and $ it'll take to make roadworthy.

trekker32

tell you what...the italians sure made some pretty frames...color and decal and headbadge. even on their lower end bikes!!

trekker

jemoryl

Yes, but you need to be careful! During the '70s bike boom, even some respected names made some lousy bikes with abysmal paint, components and workmanship. My friends rode some of these bikes!

trekker32

yeah i hear you...im sufficiently cautious now! plus i found out a few minutes ago that the guy that has this bike also has a really nice early 80s derosa frame for near the same price. either way im taking a short road trip this weekend to check them out. i bought a bike on ebay once that was not near the condition it was listed...now i check out bikes in person.

unworthy1

If you can get a real DeRosa frame for $150...BUY IT!!!