The gal I purchased from was a pleasure to meet & speak with and I am greatful to have inherited the bike. The original owner, her uncle, was training in both CA and FL from 81-87 and was hoping to get a position on the Coors Cycling Team but he hooked up with a different team. He raced this bike hard and put it away wet... And it shows.
The only thing that I have had the time to do so far is change out the crusty Avenir for my crusty Selle San Marco and I had a new set of Serfas tires hanging around, so I'd may as well get some use out of those....I will change from 700 X 23 to 700 X 25 at a later time to take the edge off of this bike
The things I like about this bike:
This bike feels "very French" even though it's mostly Italian....Geez, maybe it feels "very Italian"??
Split seatposts.
There is no seat tube binder/seat post bolt.
3t alloy bars are a great fit for me.
It's exactly my size and feels like a perfect fit.
It's full Columbus SL and feels very "warm" at moderate to high speeds.
Cornering: Is extraordinary and ultra-responsive. The only way that I can describe riding on this ultra-short wheelbase is to say that it feels like my upper body is riding about 4cm off of the ground and imagine having some sort of anti-friction steering system; It's that good.
Acceleration is direct and instant, rocketlike and very, very edgy.
The drivetrain performs wonderfully despite years of neglect and is the best combination that I can recall ever using; Campy rear and Huret Jubilee front w/ Campy downtube levers. I think that the drivetrain, seatpost, bars, (maybe brakes? Maybe Stronglight headset which would make it late 80's?) are original to the bike.
When the quill seatpost height is properly adjusted it seems to be firmly in place w/ no chance of slippage.
Ultra-responsive and maybe hyper-responsive; I think that anyone who rides this bike will need to be a bit more attentive than they would on say a Serotta or Waterford from the same era. The bike is flawless at higher speeds as long as the rider doesn't get distracted.
Shimano 600 brakes are great, hoods are going to last for a while.
The Weinmann Blue Label wheelset is very nice and despite what those crazy young fixed gear guys say about Sovos hubs, they work very well for this type of aggressive road application. (Harris Cyclery has been selling this set for quite some time).
Things I don't like about this bike:
If anything ever happens to my Jubilee front der mount I am F'd due to the unique twin post mounting system. It's exotic and this Co is long since out of business.
There is no seat tube binder/seat post bolt.Adjusting the seatpost height takes longer than rebuilding a 4-barrel carburator, and is less fun.
The chainstays are so short that I have to work consciously towards not resting my heel on the Campy derailleur; I have accidentally done it twice so far.
The stem is hideous and I am wondering if it's a replacement..? No idea who made it.
Peddles are smooth but look MTB'ish and need to go.
The paint is shot and I don't have a budget to address that fact this year. The guy didn't have any decent touch up paint in the house and used some artist's oil paint with a rough brush to touch up the bad spots, the kind of oil paint that is only supposed to be used on canvass. (Paging Dr D!)
Overall I'm really happy and would recommend grabbing a Rigi or Mecacycle if you ever come across one. I've put roughly 18 (fast) miles on it so far and my shoulder blades and neck feel very good. She's an edgy rocket....
The moral of this story? Always listen to the
Bigbossman kids, always
Could somebody be a pal and let me know what kind of crankset this is?
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