tronnyjenkins 

I'm thinking this is a 1970-75 Record Pro. This flyer isn't really dated though, so I can't know for sure. Anyone know what year the 'coffee' color and these decals were present? I'm sad that these decals didn't hold up to age.

What else is unoriginal to the bike besides the brakes, levers, and non-tubular Super Champions? Might try to bring it back to spec when I get around to restoring it!

Anyway, all comments and information are welcome.

tronnyjenkins 

tronnyjenkins 

Sorry for the picture bombardment.

eschlwc

^ please don't ever apologize for too many pics.

that's the nicest atala i've ever seen. it would certainly be fun to refurbish.

juvela

very nice cesare!

thanks for sharing and a fine job with the photos.

do not think it could be quite as late as 1975. fastest date check would be hub locknuts but other fittings have date codes as well. otoh we have no way of knowing if owner reused original hubs when converting from tubulars to wired-ons, or got a completely separate wheelset. wheels are built with union straight 14 gauge galvanised spokes. originals would have likely been alpina or radaelli lario. if hub locknut date corresponds with those of other fittings hubs likely represent a reuse. also the serial number on the seat tube may provide date information. likely left padova wearing universal brakes and owner upgraded to yoshis.

am thinking bike likely manufactured 1972-73 and may have been sold new ~1973.

was not able to view your link. would not load for me. likely a browser issue at my end.

funny moment - closeup of bb area made me think for an instant "oh my god it is wearing a KICKSTAND!" then quickly realised it is a sanyo dynamo.

ps - really luv those s2's: beauty AND simplicity!

smontanaro 

Atala serial numbers of this era should be on the right side of the seat tube, just below the seat lug. The first two digits will be the year. Here's the s/n on mine:

https://goo.gl/photos/hP2TyTNmb8s6x1MH6

JohnDThompson 

Looks authentic, although the brakes appear to have been changed at some point. OEM probably would have been Universal mod. 61 centerpulls, although there's no compelling reason to change unless you're a stickler for OEM spec.

bikemig 

This is a beautiful bike; it will be a lot of fun getting it fixed up. This is quite the find. Is the saddle height the right height for you? If it is, this bike may be too small for you. Or is this the way the OP had it set up?

tronnyjenkins 

Not at all- I typically ride this size steel frame.
I carried it down from the church attic whence it came in the condition you see here! Any other oddities should be ignored!

tronnyjenkins 

Thanks for the tip. I've got it at my office right now so my wife doesn't kill me on account of the full garage (N+1!). I'll look later this week and see what I can find.

smontanaro 

One I saw larger photos (I guess I need a bigger phone!) I saw the s/n peeking out from underneath the pump clip...

randyjawa 

This is my 1969 Atala Record 101 Professional serial number location and vintage...



And this was my 1971 Atala, nearly identical frame/fork set...

tronnyjenkins 

Thanks, Randy. I was just reading over at your site about cleaning up painted surfaces, fabrics, and metal. While I've already restored a few bikes (including a rusty PX10), I want to tackled this one the "right way". Let's just take the crank as an example. How much polishing do you do on one? Obviously I'm not going to use the Mother's alloy polish like I would on a pair of hubs, but in it's current condition it just needs help.

Speaking of hubs, do you guys mostly replace spokes that are well oxidized (rough to the touch) or try to polish them first? I built a wheelset from some Campy Gran Sport hubs and oxidized old Mavic Mod E's that came out awesome after all the polishing and new spokes. I think this Atala deserves a wheelset as nice...

smontanaro 

Most of the "rough to the touch" comes from the galvanizing doing its sacrificial oxidation thing. I normally just run some steel wool over galvanized spokes to remove the outer oxidized layer. Obviously, if the zinc is all oxidized, the next sacrifice will be the steel it was protecting.

guzziee

Saw that one on CL and was tempted to go get it but I'm trying very hard no to buy anymore bikes . I think I got the correct set of Universal mod. 61 centerpulls somewhere if you want to go back to original(I'll see if I can dig them out, don't really remember where I put them) they came from an atala pro I parted out years ago.

tronnyjenkins 

Nice! If you come across them, that would be awesome!

tronnyjenkins 

Gotcha. I'll see what I can do to clean them up!

MiloFrance 

+1

noglider 

Very nice. You might be able to get the dynamo and light working again, too.

tronnyjenkins 

About to start restoration on this finally. I've been focusing on a Bianchi Mondiale project and this has been sitting.

Thoughts on the decals? I'm tempted to just leave it all original. I'm definitely not repainting. How can I clean up the white but not strip them off completely?

Also keeping an eye out for the Universal 61 brakes and levers.

smontanaro 

If you want to replace the decals, Gus Salmon should be able to set you up with water slide. For my Super Pro I got a vinyl set (I think it's vinyl) from Greg Softley. I posted links for them and a couple other sources in this thread. Also, I suspect your bike would have originally been outfitted with Universal 61 brakes, in case you're trying to return it to original form. This 1971 Atala catalog shows the original specs. Did you ever determine the production year?

Best of luck with the project.

tronnyjenkins 

Thank for the heads up, I'll give Gus a shout.

devinfan

Beautiful, stunning bike. My guess for yours is around 1968, the serial number on the seat tube should tell you, last 2 digits if I'm not mistaken. I've owned one of these and it was one of my nicest riders ever. +1 on uni 61 brakes, but if I were you I might just leave the ones you have. This generation of Atala decal were incredibly fragile, but I would just wax what's there and call it done. Awesome find, congrats!

tronnyjenkins 

Honest opinions welcome-
I'm thinking of removing the anodizing on the crank and polishing...

tronnyjenkins 

Restoration nearing completion. Will post pictures. The coffee finish has a sparkle to it... would have never guessed underneath that grime.

Decided to leave the anodizing as it cleaned up quite nicely to my surprise.
Despite it's FILTHY state when I picked it up, I was pleased to find that it had actually been taken care of (or not ridden much) and the bearing surfaces were all just fine with no pitting. In fact the grease didn't look bad, but I cleaned it out and applied new Park Polylube. Lacquer thinner was amazing at degreasing by the way. I've never it for that purpose before, but it just melts dry grease like butter!

I think I'm going to rebuild the wheel set. I tried to clean up the spokes with the foil ball method, but they just won't do it justice. It will be much easier to polish the hubs and rims that way anyhow.

OH! And it is a 1972 model. The sticker covering the date code popped off accidentally when I was cleaning. (I was able to glue it back on.)