Bikes that bring back memories

[Walter]

A post on another forum reminded me of a friend I used to ride with ca. 1978-80 and the Viscount bikes he so loved. The upper line Viscounts were very good bikes and quite affordable. You could get a 22# bike for half the $ of a comparable weight Euro bike (yes, I know Viscounts were English).

Many of you have heard me (and ribbed me ) wax nostalgic about Motobecanes. I "helped out" in a Schwinn shop before I was old enough to work and still think some of the Continentals were finished as well as any bike though much too heavy. A full chrome LeTour 12.2 that was on the racks for about $475 was a bike I lusted after for a long time.

There were 2 good Raleigh shops within riding distance of my house and used to see lots of them. Never "got into" them enough to learn the makes but I'd guess alot of Super Courses and a few higher up. Never saw many Peugeots so they don't strike a chord with me but the shop I bought my Moto from also sold Austro-Daimlers and I thought them real cool, and still do.

With my friend on the Viscount we'd ride from North Miami to Coconut Grove. This was long before the Grove became trendy and was alot more fun. Haulover Beach had an active bike scene as there was a paved access road right along the beach that ran about a mile from the area where most beach goers hung out. We'd have "races" which were actually sprints measured by the number of light posts passed. All of those bikes I mentioned above were common sights and though we collectively knew little of road racing we were passionate about our "drag racing." A few $ changed hands as I recall.

The road is still there but the bike scene ended before I left in 1982.

Any bikes bring back particular memories for you all?

[trmcgeehan]

In 1948, my dad bought me a brand new J.C. Higgins cruiser at Sears. I rode that bike for 10 years, until I could drive. Wish I had it now!

[Dave Stohler]

I remember those old Viscounts well-and the angry owners bringing them in when that blasted fork broke!

[mnppunky]

Originally posted by trmcgeehan
In 1948, my dad bought me a brand new J.C. Higgins cruiser at Sears. I rode that bike for 10 years, until I could drive. Wish I had it now!

Man you are just like my dad, My grandpa got him a j.c.higgins from sears also for his first new bike. I have been kinda looking around for one of these on E-bay, I thought maybe I could surprise him one day and give one to him for old memories sake.

[Walter]

The infamous "death fork." I think my friend started buying them after they discontinued those aluminum forks. At least, I don't recall him breaking any.

Alot (maybe all?) of Viscounts came with a non-threaded pressed in BB assembly. So far as I know it's completely unobtainable today so collecting old Viscounts is problematic.

[Grendel]

I put many, many miles on one of these as a kid in the '70s... I'd love to find one in good condition today!

[John E]

Since my first "10-speed" was a 1962 Bianchi Corsa, I am a sucker for any
Italian classic of that era. That black 1961 Olmo, which sold for $1200 last week on eBay, was my kind of bike, albeit a couple of cm too tall for me.

My 1959 Capo is very special as well, because I have researched the history of the company (still in business in Vienna, under Otto Cap's son, Harald "Hary Capo" Cap, with whom I have traded several emails), because I rode a 1960 Capo for several years in Los Angeles, and because I have enjoyed meeting about a half-dozen fellow Capo Modell Campagnolo owners, making ours a pretty exclusive club. I understand Austria has a long bike trail along the Danube; I have always thought it would be fun to ride my Capo there.

[Devil Dog]

Originally posted by John E
Since my first "10-speed" was a 1962 Bianchi Corsa, I am a sucker for any
Italian classic of that era. That black 1961 Olmo, which sold for $1200 last week on eBay, was my kind of bike, albeit a couple of cm too tall for me.

My 1959 Capo is very special as well, because I have researched the history of the company (still in business in Vienna, under Otto Cap's son, Harald "Hary Capo" Cap, with whom I have traded several emails), because I rode a 1960 Capo for several years in Los Angeles, and because I have enjoyed meeting about a half-dozen fellow Capo Modell Campagnolo owners, making ours a pretty exclusive club. I understand Austria has a long bike trail along the Danube; I have always thought it would be fun to ride my Capo there.

I second that. Be great to ride the classics in their country of origin; Schwinn Paramount here in the states, a Capo or Austro-Daimler in Austria, etc..

[lotek]

My first "real" lightweight was a Viscount Aerospace Pro, complete
with death fork. Bike weighed less than 21 pounds. Whippy
rear end, squirrely lambert bb with those T.A rings with the
round cutouts. Rode many a mile on that one.
replaced the fork with the one that Yamaha sent (they bought
out Viscount).
Walter, my best friend bought a Falcon, full campy from the
LBS in the grove (around the corner from the drug store?)
that would have been in 72.

Marty

[Walter]

Aerospace Pro Marty? That was the one to have as I recall. I'm pretty sure my friend's model was after the "death fork" crisis. Maybe 1978 or so. He loved those bikes and took delight in showing up the "Campy snobs" who spent alot more $ on their rides. Whatever happened to the Viscount?

You've been to the Grove? If you were there in the 70s or even into the 80s you caught it at its best IMO. Too trendy, developed and way too many kids posing as wannabe gang-bangers nowadays (does this mean I'm getting old?:confused: )

I remember the shop. Yes, it was by the drug store. I believe there's still a LBS there but the original proprietor is long gone and it's changed names a few times. I haven't been in the Grove for a few years though I like to go to the Art Show when I can.

For a long time that LBS was just about the only place to get highline Euro bikes in S. Fla. There were a handful of Raleigh dealers and you could always order a Paramount from a Schwinn shop but for something like a Falcon that was the place.

[lotek]

I went to school at Univ. of Miami, class of 75. I was gonna
be N.J.'s answer to Jacques Cousteau, and UM was the only
place to go for a degree in marine biology (little did I know
there was NO undergrad marine biology degree.
The Falcon was a replacement for a stolen Schwinn, had all
campy group (N. Gran sport? don't recall), and was supposed
to be light weight (Well compared to the schwinn, varsity I think,
anything was lightweight).
used to spend lots of time in the grove, friend of mine knew
Jerry Jeff, who knew J. Buffett who knew Fred Neil. etc.
I also used to hang out at Art Professors studio, G. Massin,
who was my artistic mentor. alas I should have listened to him.
That was when the grove had character and class, not just
a "bohemian tourist attraction".
The shop was small, sandwiched between some macrobiotic
hippie, incense laden coffee shop, specializing in sprouts
(early vegetarian, no Vegans back then), and a trendy
head shop specializing in well, trendy hippie clothing and
incense and smoking paraphenallia.

I sold the Viscount back in early to mid 80's during an economic
downturn. I really wish I had it still, I had spare BB, bearings etc.
I got rid of alot of the original stuff and went light with it. Suntour
drivechain, Avocet Racing II saddle, Am Classic seatpost, and
was beginning to think about drillium. Yeah, it was quick I'll say
that. I also was talking about having the BB taped for italian
threading (it was the only one that we could have gotten away
with) and going with more coventional setup.
I still keep an eye out for Viscounts.

Marty

[Walter]

My wife has a MS from UM (Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, she's alot smarter than me). She spent most of her time at Jackson rather than Coral Gables though. We catch a football game or two each season. We both dive as well, though kids have slowed that down dramatically. Next time you're headed South let me know.

What's happened to the Grove is a shame IMO but there's an awful lot of $ being made there now so I guess the city's happy. Not much of a place to ride your bike though. Neither really is Coral Gables. Where did you guys ride back then?

[lotek]

Used to take back roads from Coral Gables to the grove,
occaisionally bike out to matheson hammock, virginia key.
if we were really brave would head out towards alligator
alley but the glades were no place to be riding (you think
the rednecks are bad now? try being a longhair on a bike in
1971
Haven't been to the grove in a long time, but did get to see
liberty city a couple of years back, not a pretty sight.
I always did want to bike down to Key West (before it was
a tourist attraction) but never had the guts to bike the
seven mile bridge.

Marty

[Kommisar89]

It's kind of strange reading about all of you guys riding such sweet rides back in the sixties - I don't remember seeing a "10-speed" back then in my neck of the woods (which was New Orleans at the time). Kids like I was then rode those banana seat bikes with the ape-hanger handlebars and adults rode 3-speed, flat bar bikes. Or so it seemed. I think it was around 1970 or so when I first got a department store 10-speed from Maison Blanche (Dillard's today). It was 1974 when I bought my first "real" bike - a Bottechia Special - from Gus Betat & Sons. I don't have a picture of the original but it was almost identical to the attached photo I found on the web. Yeah I know it was a pretty modest machine but for a 12 year old it was awesome. I bought it too big at the time, figuring I'd grow and ended up riding it until '96 when I had the unfortunate luck to be hit by a tow truck. I healed, the bike didn’t. I searched in vain for a new Bottechia but sparse availability and lack of $$ made that a Quixotic quest. I rode an old Peugeot for a while until I bought a new Bianchi last year. I’d still like to run across an old Bottechia one day, especially a Professional.

[John E]

It is better than the 1962 Bianchi Corsa I got at the same age.

[don d.]

Originally posted by Kommisar89
It was 1974 when I bought my first "real" bike - a Bottechia Special - from Gus Betat & Sons....I searched in vain for a new Bottechia but sparse availability and lack of $$ made that a Quixotic quest.... I’d still like to run across an old Bottechia one day, especially a Professional.

Gus Betat used to be the importer for Viner frames. I used to buy those from him in the late 70's.

You do know that Greg Lemond won the TDF on a Botecchia.

[giantmdb]

I'm not really old enough to fit the "vintage" category but my fisrt road bike was a 1982 Raleigh Olympian. I soon got the bike fever and started mowing yards all over the neighborhood to get money for my dream bike. I also did car detailing to help.

Slowly I bought part after part and ordered an Italian frameset from a local shop and around Thanksgiving I had all the pieces to put together my dream machine.

One week later at the age of 13 I was proud to ride my 1983 OLMO Nuovo Super Sport painted pearl white with blue lettering. I went all out on my ride with Campy nuovo record cranks, campy record front der., campy record aero seatpost, 3TTT stem with the Italian pentograph colors, Campy record hubs with Ambrosio rims, DiaCompe 400 brakeset that was anodized a coca-cola color and a selle italia seat. Pedals were Ofmega and the rear der. and shifters were Campy that was smooth finished and polished. I can't remember the group it was in but is was 2 or 3 below the record group.

This was a sweet riding bike and it was all mine that I built myself at the age of 13 and raced it several times. I still have some photos somewhere.

don d.: I'm from the Baton Rouge area and I did get a few parts from Gus Betat & Sons. I sure miss that old shop. I would love to just look at all the old inventory today.

[OldsCOOL]

Back in '73 I had a Motobecane Mirage. It was my first bike that had more than 3speeds. Man, I'll never forget the first week I rode it.....sore butt syndrome. About the same time a friend bought this purple japanese thing that had the (then elite) sew-up tubulars. It weighed 19lbs and no one could catch him on the highway to school in the morning. Wish I could remember what bike that was.

Anybody own a C. Itoh? The friends sister had one. I was never impressed with it...but many thousands of others sure were. It was fad bike in our area.


Olds

[takara14]

The 12th birthday was the "Bicycle Birthday". In 1966, "English" three speeds were the bike to have in the neighborhood. I was hoping for a Royce Union from the Penn-Jersey store around the corner. What I got was an AMF Hercules from the P-J store. Dad explained to me that the Royce Union was made in Japan and that the Hercules was a real English. Mine was gold, had the very cool twist grip shifter and a rack over the front wheel. The cuff of my pants would catch on the point of the stylish chain guard!

A few weeks ago at the local recycling center I spotted a pointed chainguard on one of the group of salvage bicycles. Sure 'nuff, an AMF Hercules, this one red and rusty but all there and with racks front and rear. It renewed memories of a wonderful bike, but I left it there. The memories take up less space.

[Tom Pedale]

I remember those old Viscounts well-and the angry owners bringing them in when that blasted fork broke!

I remember the Viscount fork was truly dangerous..very weak.. the steering tube was a poor press fit into an aluminum fork crown with an inadequate length of steering tube in such a way that it could eventually break off. I remember removing several during the recall that already had play between the fork crown and steering tube. The link below has more details. I worked in a shop that was involved in the recall..I think the only reason more of these forks didn't break was that a lot of people that bought these bikes simply didn't ride them much as many of them were sold during the early 70's energy crisis and once that passed they became garage decorations. For awhile Yamaha was involved in the marketing of these bikes and some Yamaha dealers sold them. I remember the full-sized billboards that stated "The Viscount has Landed!" showing a Viscount bicycle in the foreground with a private jet on the runway in the background. The ad campaign was groundbreaking in that it marketed bikes as a high technology item rather than a toy. These bikes were built by Trusty of England and in addition to the weird press-in bottom bracket for which there was no way to tighten once it loosened up (to rectify this, we would cut Italian threads since they were larger O.D. than english and install an Italian B/B) the bike came with a crank that was even more complicated than the TA with its plethora of chainring bolts. The bike was a brave attempt for its time and with a little more attention to the engineering of its components and quality control could have made a much bigger impact on cycling.


http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:9...bicycles&hl=en

[Tom Pedale]

My first nice bike was a Maserati MT-3 which I bought while working in a bike shop about 1974. It was a great metallic red, three main tubes Columbus DB and Columbus fork. I switched out all the parts for Campy Nuevo Record and the wheels were Fiamme Red label rims w/campy l/f hubs. It weighed about 23 lbs. This brand was built by OLMO of Italy under license from the Maserati family to an importing company thatt was permiited to use the name. I really wished I had held on to this bike as they are exceedingly rare and were only sold for a few years.

[Gurgus]

It's kind of strange reading about all of you guys riding such sweet rides back in the sixties - I don't remember seeing a "10-speed" back then in my neck of the woods (which was New Orleans at the time). Kids like I was then rode those banana seat bikes with the ape-hanger handlebars and adults rode 3-speed, flat bar bikes. Or so it seemed. I think it was around 1970 or so when I first got a department store 10-speed from Maison Blanche (Dillard's today). It was 1974 when I bought my first "real" bike - a Bottechia Special - from Gus Betat & Sons. I don't have a picture of the original but it was almost identical to the attached photo I found on the web. Yeah I know it was a pretty modest machine but for a 12 year old it was awesome. I bought it too big at the time, figuring I'd grow and ended up riding it until '96 when I had the unfortunate luck to be hit by a tow truck. I healed, the bike didn’t. I searched in vain for a new Bottechia but sparse availability and lack of $$ made that a Quixotic quest. I rode an old Peugeot for a while until I bought a new Bianchi last year. I’d still like to run across an old Bottechia one day, especially a Professional.

I've got the same Bottechia as in the attachment. Unfortunately, she's in no where as good condition as the pretty one in the picture. I rescued it from a junk shop for $15 bucks Canadian. I hope to one day restore it to new condition, but time and money don't permit.

[lotek]

Tom,

Funny thing, I commuted on my Viscount. Put a few thousand miles on the death
fork prior to the recall and never had a problem with
it. With all the anecdotal talk of "death fork" I never heard of one (other than
in the recall literature) that actually broke. Yeah I've seen the pics of the pressed in
steerer tube (mine was also pinned). Remember this was in the same era as the
CPSC mandated changes to campy front derailleurs so I take it with a grain of
salt. Lambert of England was truely an innovator. One of the few bike makers
who actually manufactured their own parts. It was only when they were bought
by Trusty that things started to change.
Back then, to be able to buy an off the shelf sub 22 lb bike (once the bad brooks
B17 copy was replaced) for less than half the price of italian steel was a wonder.

Marty

[johno]

That post brings back memories of riding through Cocoanut Grove in the mid 70's on my Falcon San Remo 76. Scraped and begged enough to buy it used, and rode that bike all over south Florida when I was in the U of Miami. All Campy NR, Campy fork ends, the old steel cage pedals that are so sinfully priced today, big Brooks saddle.

Before that I had a Raleigh Competition which I had kitted out from a bare frame, but nothing came close to that beautiful powder blue Falcon with the chrome sloping crown fork. Quick, stiff, yet smooth. The velvet finish on the Campy components, and that black, green and gold Reynolds 531 sticker that was like a sign from God to cyclists in those days. Ah, to see those spokes glittering in the Florida sun again.

I remember a bicycle shop near the Grove, called Mel's, but run by a Frenchman by the name of Lou. A real character, added quite a continental flavor to the neighborhood. I learned much about bikes and wine from Lou. There was a snooty bike shop in the Grove, I don't recall the name, but I do recall the counter help being rather put out when I wheeled my Falcon in one day.

Came home from college, got a job, sold the Falcon, and later regretted it. Last fall, I found a mint condition San Remo, and snapped it up just to relive some old memories. Frame was a bit small, but it still rode great. This summer, what should show up on ebay, but another powder blue San Remo, rather dingy from hanging in a garage for 20 years but the frame size was correct. It's currently under restoration, my wife rides the smaller Falcon now. They still handle as beautifully as I remember, and to tell the truth, they aren't much slower than my high tech carbon framed Trek Y-Foil. At least on the flats...

[zoridog]

Grendel knows.
Schwinn Stingray ...... I used to spend an hour or two a day on one. Wore out the seat, the pedals and the grips. I'm surprised I didn't have more blowouts with all the curb jumping, power skidding and wheelies.