Zieleman

Looks pretty darn immaculate!

Woutervanwijk

some pics of the Retro Ronde van Vlaanderen. Nice day well organised ride. With Don, Jur and Melvin. Dutchmen of Dutch bikes! https://www.flickr.com/photos/dutchbi...7633731167507/

Italuminium

Nice pics! Looks like you guys had a great time. I wish I could have made it, but what should have been a nice weekend of biking ended up in a visit to the docters... BTW, if you saw two happy guys on Koga's, those were my riding buddies They even turned up in a period correct Volkswagen in Molteni orange.

Zieleman

Thanks for posting those pics Wouter, and thanks for riding with us! How are those legs today?
My pics kinda suck, but Jur made some nice ones. I'll try to get a hold of those and post them.

What a great and well organised event. And that weather was something we didn't expect, which made it even more superb of a day than it already was. The bikes held out pretty well I'd say, except for a loose quick release, loose brakebolt or a stuck chainlink the cobblestones were mild on our material. Not so much on the body though...

@ C: I say those Koga twins a couple of times, those bikes are very cool and I bet a sweet ride. Sad you couldn't make it, I hope it's nothing serious that prevented you from attending.

Elev12k

I really enjoyed the RetroRonde v Vlaanderen. The organisation did their utmost to create a terrific event and they succeeded. The number of participants is steadily growing year on year and not without reason. No doubt there will be more people again next year and no doubt one of them will be me Recommended! Of course the great company from my British and Dutch friends added an extra dimension to this everything. Thanks guys.

I would like to present my Retro Ronde flea market acquisition. I was so absolutely sure I wouldn't buy anything on the Retro Ronde flea market, as 'I have everything I need already' - I thought. It took literally only a few steps on the flea market before I knew I could say farewell to the promise I made to myself. I fell in love with the copper/gold beaut shown below. A roadbike in the best Dutch tradition. Pragmatic, competition ready. The bike is nicely light and uses Columbus SL tubing.



Vittorio Strada, circa 1980. Campagnolo NR/SR-mix.

Italuminium

Wow, every bit as beautiful as the white one you rode the event on! Now that the pictures are showing up I feel even worse

Woutervanwijk

Check more pics here https://www.facebook.com/stalen.ros. Did not see 2 specific kogas. I was blinded by all of that bike porn around and the whole entourage. My legs are ok. Bt next time i wont be travelling to Belgium unprepared with a polderverzet. Anyways i lost my mountain or hill virginity. Next time I prefer to stay on my bike riding the Oude Kwaremont and all of these other Flemmisch hills. That lilttle10 years old girl who offered me to carry my bike was killing me

Woutervanwijk

**** thats a nice Bike!

Italuminium

Well I had a lot of training km's in the Belgian hills this riding season. All for naught...

Elev12k

Thanks for sharing this pic, Wouter.

Only one of the few technical issues our group had: the stiff link in the chain of Jur's Champion Mondial. Within a blink of the eye the support van came along and the kind man offered prompt assistance. After having emptied a can oil on the chain and having given instructions -in proper Flemish- on how to clean dirty hands using the grass verge we could continue our way.



This was not much after the notorious 'Rampe': a short steep cobble-climb.

Elev12k

My British friend Ed tried to pursuade me to go on this gold one. Riding the event on a bike you bought locally would have been cool, but with the dry tubulars and all I decided to stick to my white one. This gold one is larger and feels somewhat lighter. The gold one has Jan Groot engravings, while the white one has Frank Groot engravings. The white one will be a couple years younger.

'JG' for Jan Groot >>>

Woutervanwijk

that Belgian mechanic was really a cherry on the cake. that guy most likeley have been doing this kind of stuff starting from the 60-70s. would be nice to drink a beer with him. unfortunately we did not meet him at the finish.
melvin. that bike is really beautiful

Woutervanwijk

today i have been looking at a presto. to buy or not to buy? https://www.flickr.com/photos/dutchbi...7633743260434/. i will keep the pics temporarely open for us all since i am kind of a flcikr novice with limited privacy

Zieleman

Lot of action going on in the Dutch thread. How about some more pics?

Zieleman

I cannot leave out this side-of-the-road chapel


And our final stop for provisioning

Chicago Al 

The Retro-Ronde looks great, a more picturesque route than we are accustomed to in the US...of course that is very much a matter of perspective. One thing in common with US vintage rides--most of the riders are guys with grey hair and a few extra pounds!

(Actually I'm going to backpedal on that, looking at the photos there are a lot of riders who couldn't have been riding the vintage bikes in the 70s much less the 60s. Same here on C&V, though the predominant age is probably 55-65. And that's a good thing.)

Zieleman

That's a nice Presto Wouter! It needs a little bit of work, judging from the rusty spots, and the parts will need some polishing. The state of the chrome is something one could only really judge after some cleaning (with aluminiumfoil and wd40, or coca cola). But for a good price, this is one difficult bike let pass.

non-fixie 

Thanks for sharing the pics! Made me even more sorry I missed it. Instead I watched mrs non-fixie take second prize on her favorite ride: an '07 Morgan. These things are awesome off-road. No lugs though.


@Elev12k: I can see why you succumbed to that Vittorio. Congrats!

Elev12k

The four men Dutch team ...and the Dutch bicycles.

pullup

Great shots and it looks like it was a lot of fun.

I recently bought my own Vittorio Mel and will post pics when i return from Sevilla where I am currently attending the European rowing championships.
To my surprise one of the athletes brought her own pretty little Celeste coloured Presto with her to get from the hotel to the course.
She is very proud of her bike which she bought in Leiden from a first owner and keeps it in good condition.

Italuminium

Nice! Bonne chance out there in Seville (btw I'm rather excited to see some of my light blue clubmates place so strong in the preliminaries!)

non-fixie 

Thanks for posting that, pullup. Great stuff!

pullup

Then you will recognise the top athlete from Leiden with her bike for sure. I think she might be on track for a medal.

BG2

Here's another unknown Dutch LBS bike Stormvogel sold in Gouda

Woutervanwijk

Just picked up a really nice Germi: https://www.flickr.com/photos/4128420...7633540129189/. The seller rih1967 has some really, but really nice bikes. I have been tracking his adverts for quite a while and he knows that i am on a quest for some Dutch exotic bikes. His 2 Gazelles are also really awesome. https://www.flickr.com/photos/4128420...7631108534638/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/4128420...7631447367748/. And also this one was really amazing in real life https://www.flickr.com/photos/4128420...7626010449812/ A Dutch Verhoeven. The bike has cyclocross brakes and handlebar shifters. On the pics you cant see its a real stunner.

He has been trading all kind of predominately road bikes, but he also has a fondness for the Dutch racers.. He had such a very cool orange Joco Ronde van Nederland (my size AAAAI) and a cobalt blue Verhoeven with cyclo brakes and steering commanders. These bikes also were both in my size and are from the late 50's, early 60's. These were both really really cool. And then a few Rihs, Joco's, Gazelles (that white is really nice but he still had one very special team of the Gribaldi wow ...) Jabo frame, JNA, Colnago, Eroba, merkcx Kessels frame etc. etc.

But anyway that Germi IMO is truly the most beautiful thing. Along with a Joco Ronde van Europa bike in orange / green / purple with incredibly beautiful chrome lugs and handd painted lines on the tubes and lugs. The number of hours to finish this kind of paintjobs must be staggering. At home he told me he has a special Jabo hangin, I'm curious about that one.