BOttecchia Pics
 

well 10 bucks was too good a deal to pass up. And the fellow selling the Bottechia was about 100 yards from where I live! covered somewhat in dry wall dust from his basement remodel, the bike otherwise is pretty good shape. HAs the requisite decal scratches, some paint nicks, and since it did not come with braze-ons for water bottles and such, there are some abrasions from the clamps that were installed for that function. Came with the original tubular rims (Cerchi Flamme?) -- tho there are clincher rims on there now, leather toe straps, a Pletscher rack, a spare Shimano derraileur, a mangey un-mounted tire, and a vintage black floor pump... oh, and two spokes taped on the downtube incase he busted one on the road. the guy was a rider.

Hard to tell how rough it is until I take a soapy rag to it and clean it good. Camagnolo Record group (I'll admit... my first Campy rig), 'Record' toe clips, the the crank is not cottered, but it looks like one side is missing a dust cap over the crank bolt. Lots of groove factor... I will have to pony up for a leather saddle, otherwise, new tires/tubes, and a tune up... it ain't a light weight, but it looks fine. Lots of cool decals, espousing Campion del Mundo, Italia, 1962, 1964, 1966...stuff like that.

I'll attache some rough first pics.

Looks like early to mid-60's...the rear derailleur is worth four or five times the original purchase price. All you need is a good cleaning and polish (and a seat, maybe some tires?) and you have a very very nice bicycle!

FWIW, that isn't a full Campy Record group - the crank looks like a Nervar, which is French.
Nice find, though.

[QUOTE=Sigurdd50]well 10 bucks was too good a deal to pass up. And the fellow selling the Bottechia was about 100 yards from where I live! it ain't a light weight, but it looks fine. Lots of cool decals, espousing Campion del Mundo, Italia, 1962, 1964, 1966...stuff like that.
QUOTE]

Three comments - Wow! I wish I had a neighbor like that - could be in the running for catch of the year. If those tubular rims are in good shape - with Campy hubs - they could bring well over $100.00.

Not a lightweight? Maybe not compared to your Felt, but I bet that in its day, it definitely was considered one.

Given the dates on the tube, it would have to be at least a 1967 (hard to predict winning a World Championship/Italian National Championship in advance) - probably pretty close to that though.

There should be a date code on the lock nut of the hub axle,
should be something like "CAM. 67".
I'm guessing a 1967 bike, and a high end one at that too.
Very nice find indeed. The only one listed on Classic Rendezvous
is a 70's bike, yours is older.
just some info Ottavio Bottecchia won tour de France in 1924,
started building bikes after he retired. Very respected name in
Italian cycling.
Your bike is a tourer based on the racks, Nervar crank
(which may be worth more than any other component on
the bike), fenders etc.
Very nice indeed.
Braze on's were out of fashion back in the 60's.
please, when restoring this one, don't have anything
brazed on, and for godsakes don't convert it to a fixed gear,
it is one to be treasured.
10 bucks, hell I'd pay 50 for that one!
Marty

my mistake... although I've been riding road bikes for almost 35 years, I'm still a little green on what constitutes a 'group.' I meant to say Campy changers (although he toe clips say 'Record' as well)

Judging from the offerings of ideas and ways to date the gear, I've got some things to do... it gets dark early in the garage (where it currently resides).



it appears that the previous owner simply mounted the new clincher rims on the old hubs. The Tubular rims are just that... rims. I have no real use for them --except to keep them with the original bike... I might consider offers.

Don't worry! When I got to see it in person (the sellers pic looks awful) I was stunned... If I want to work up a fixed gear, there are plenty of frames out there for that. I will have to be patient, but I can't wait to get it going again. I have an old avocet gel saddle from the late 80's that will do for a spell... perhaps Wallbike will have a 'used' B17 for a good price. As I get it cleaned up and tuned, I'll post pics

Hooee! Enjoy that bike! She'd be a sweet project (as long as you have the time, patience, and money). Start huntin' for period correct parts (if you need 'em) and don't forget to ride it! I like the fact that he simply laced those nice hubs onto a clincher rim, and yes, saving the tubular is a great idea. Hope to get a ride report soon...

Oh, and I love that bar tape! Is it shellac'd?

$10? sweet. I sold a similar headbadge off an old bottecchia on eBay for around $20.

Best place I've found for Brooks saddles is
e-bay. Bought a B17 for 15 bucks (used about
1 week) and a 1980 Team pro for 35 bucks.
I'm a big fan of Wallingford bike shop and
any new saddle I bought would be from them.
What colour are the Fiamme labels? yellow?, red?
I think Blue labels were clincher rims.
glad to hear you're gonna leave it intact, I get
sick when I hear someone cut brazeons, cut off
derailleur hanger of a nice Masi or de Rosa to make
a fixed gear.

Marty

it's not in front of me right now (my gosh darn work computer is in front of me and I'm sick of that!), but I think the Fiamme label is Red with some yellow(?) I don't see the tubular rims being reattached to the original hubs (I just ain't a sew-up kinda guy)... but I s'pose I can hang on to them. Do you rekon the rims to be of little value by themselves?
I'll also check flea-bay for Brooks saddles. would be a good option -- especially if the thing is broke in a bit.

The handle bar tape just looks a bit dirty...but once again, I've had precious little time for close scrutiny. I'm looking forward to finding some date code on the hubs

You definately got a keeper! If it was me, I would put the tubulars back on and go for the full affect. Enjoy it!

Thanks for the tips about Madison area scrounging.

Ugh! When I get to riding, I'm a rambling wreck, and with time being the way it is... well, Clinchers are just a better way to go. Maybe someday when I DON'T HAVE TO WORK~!

by the way, don't discount yard sales and such for keeper bikes. There are a lot of us Boomers out here who were lean and mean teenagers during the 70's bike boom and bought bikes... and now, we have garages full of crap (not me) that need to be sold at spring yard/garage sales.... like the one I bought off yesterday.

Just south of Oregon on HWY 14 there is some old timer who sells bikes out of his farm (there is a bike by the road) never stopped , but you never know

The fellow at Revolution BIkes will (by reports) build up a mean fixie with one of his used frames and good parts for 300 bucks or so. The fellow I spoke to about this felt it was so reasonable that he was purchasing a second set of wheels -- one with knobbies for winter and one with regular warm weather tires

Great find! Just clean it up and ride.

Superb catch. Certainly catch of the year thus far. I would pay 55$, just to outbid Lotek. :)

Very nice find!

My guess on dating the bike would be early '70s ('72-'73?). I believe the Record derailleurs, even though introduced in the early '60s, were still being sold as a #2 option behind the Nuovo, as late as about '73-'74. The Nervar Star cranks should place it to early '70s, as I think do the "Tipo" hubs with the round holes. Earlier versions of those cranks were stamped only "Nervar", but otherwise the same. The early (pre-'72) large-flange Nuovo Tipo hubs had flange holes like the Record hubs, but no oil hole.

Cool bike!

As much as I'd love a 60's bike, I believe this may be a pretty good assessment. The original owner tells me he purchased the bike circa '72-73. It's been a coons age since I had an old bike apart (to do basic lube maintenance, adjustments, and such). I'll do some chores for my gal to earn time in the garage. I wonder if I can even find my "Anybody's Bike Book?" That was the saving's grace of many a road tour in the pre-high-tech bike days.

The lock nut on the hub indicates 1972 as the date on the bike

Kudos to those who were spot on...

Ah, 1972...WHat a great year:
Miles Davis releases "A Tribute to Jack Johnson"
Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" makes the Top 40 list
and...
My Super Sport was brought to life!

1972... just one more year and I am out of high school!

Recent developments with the rebuild of the Bott:

One front hub cone (replaced at some distant moment in time) is the WRONG type; as a consequence, the WRONG size bearings were used (corroborated by the very astute Andy, guru and proprietor of Yellow Jersey Cycles here in Madison)... hence, the Hub bearing cup on that side is torn to hell (arrrgh!) Mssr. Andy points out this is the lesser of the two Campy hubs and not worth the cost to rebuild (new cup/new cone + install labor 60+ bucks).

I will likely use a suitable budget priced hub to get the wheels rolling. At first blush, it seems like a shame... but I want to stay away from turning this into a money pit.

Bike is cleaning up nicely. Fenders need some attention (new stays)

should have it roadworthy soon.

You can pick up a good-used Nuovo Tipo hub on eBay for (guess) about $25 if you look. They're pretty common, and not as sought-after as the Record hubs.