Originally Posted by
Mind527
A little background looking at the pictures. The paint is not original and it's missing the decals because when i got the bike, I didn't really know what i had and the original paint was terrible. There was no way to get the paint off an salvage the decals so I just took them off with an exacto blade... which is why I am in this predicament to begin with. I resprayed it in metal flake blue, which has subsequently chipped from reassembly. During reassembly I somehow manage to split the metal in the fork and stem and now I am in the process of replacing them with bianchi parts. When I bought it, it came with all the parts shown. I got the bike for 80 bucks from a guy who was going to convert it to a fixie, which I am in the process of doing now. I am going to keep it as original as possible though. The cranks are Sugino Maxy. The Freewheel is "Perfect" by maeda industries. The wheel hubs are by ATOM (and says made in France). The brake system is Weinmann. There is also a Palace seat from Japan that isn't pictured. If you need more pictures be sure to let me know. I can't wait to hear what you have to say.
Ps: Sorry about the picture fuzziness... Apparently my 12MP isn't very good...
Hi Mind 537, Photos are fine. If you want new decals try Nick Tithecote at H Lloyd Cycles of Penrith, Cumbria, UK. They have a web site and can usually supply genuine factory decals or authentic replicas at great value prices. Respray looks good, just touch in the chips with a small paint brush. I'd recommend rebuilding the wheels with 27" alloy rims, the braking will improve. The crankset will be fine for a fixie, as will the hubs. The GB stem looks original and together with the lugs, in my opinion date this frame to around 1971 to 1973, so a real classic. It's one of the lower end models from that period, certainly not Reynolds 531 but so many British riders "cut their teeth" in club events on this type of frame before moving on to greater things that it does have a certain cachet. Again, for a fixie it's ideal. Those fittings on the down tube are definitely pump pegs. You'll need to measure between the conical ends and find a pump with that closed length. Nice catch at that price, well done. Should be an easy conversion and a fine ride. Please keep us updated with photos of your progress.