Updated pic of cockpit (from post #9) on my 81/82 AD Olympian. More pics tomorrow. @eschlwc

Wow that's really cool!

That's extremely cool! Like "you may be cool, but you'll never be A-D Ultima Superleicht number 1 cool" kind of cool.

Two questions:

1. How did you come to own that?

2. Why did you ever let it go?

Thanks! And I've never been cool before! First, some more pics of it from my A-D blog:

1976 Austro-Daimler "Ultima Superleicht" - Classic Austro-Daimler Bicycles

and this great website with A-D history:

My Austro-Daimler "Vent Noir II" Bicycle And Brief History of Steyr Daimler Puch

I bought it from the estate of Eugene "Gene" Ritvo shortly after he died, not knowing at the time it was the bike used in the photo. His decals "ER" on the down tube intrigued me, especially when looking at the catalog page I noticed the same decal behind the Silca pump.

It was a wall hanger for me, an incredible beautiful one at that. Fred Thomas, who bought the rights to all the A-D branding and graphic design is a good friend of mine. I felt that it deserved to be "back home" in the A-D headquarters in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. He's producing some amazing modern bikes and I'm happy to see the name out there again.

https://www.a-dbikes.com

Scott

I usually hate the idea of a bike being a wall hanger, but it's definitely understandable with that one.

It's great that your friend who picked up the A-D banner actually cares about the brand. It's a nice contrast to the couple of companies scooping up old brands and churning out mass market bikes with them. His new A-D's look nice, but obviously very little like the 70's/80's models. I guess the same could be said of the current bikes made by brands like Pinarello, Colnago, Bianchi, etc. It would be cool if the new A-D made a "throwback" model, along the lines of the Bianchi Tipo Corsa or Eroica...maybe something with Reynolds 853 steel and one of the beautiful old A-D color schemes. Of course, I think I might still prefer my vintage A-D.

Fred Thomas used to race on an A-D when he was younger if I recall correctly, so he does have a connection to the brand. And I believe there's a "throwback" model in the works. Gotta love that!

Scott

More pics of refurbed AD Olympian
 

Total rebuild and frame touch-up by someone more thorough & experienced than me. Former member eschwlc.

I just acquired (what I believe to be) a 1985-ish Puch Mistral Ultima. Previous owner updated alot of parts, and had it painted, but it rides beautifully. Looking forward to learning more about it.

Capo Sieger rescued from the "Floor Mop Paint Job."

https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Roc..._DSC1541-L.jpg


https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Roc..._DSC1585-L.jpg


https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Roc..._DSC1584-L.jpg


https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Roc...DSC1583-XL.jpg


More photos and information about this bike can be found here: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...e-history.html

Brent

I was wondering how soon your Sieger would show up on this thread! :)

Brent gets the award for weight of paint = weight of frame.

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Evidently Dusika had a house/proprietary lug pattern. Shown on this German language catalogue page of frame building materials. [see righthand margin about midway down].

http://m.bikeforums.net/showpost.php...4&postcount=28

I realize I never updated this thread that I started with my finished product. Since this pic, I upgraded the shifters to Suntour power ratchets and swapped the axles out to through axles so I could use the original wingnuts.

https://i.imgur.com/W7N4mO7h.jpg?1

I need to get going on my Bergmeister.

I forget. Did you do anything to protected the copper plating? Clear coat, for instance, or are you going to let it gather Statue of Liberty style patina?

I never did anything to protect it since I have an aluminum wet weather bike, but I may reconsider. I ended up using it as my main commuter because I liked the ride so much (on the flats), so it never had enough down time for me to properly disassemble again for a thorough protective coating.

I have been thinking about following Randy Jawa's paint-by-brush method on a frame, and it might be this one. The copper finish is too trashed to make it look pretty, but the rough patina still works for me. I don't know. Right now, the best protection this finish has from my meddling is the other two bikes with which I'm fiddling...

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Thanks so much for this upadated image!

Fine work. :thumb:

You might wish to include an "as found" photo as well for any readers who may have missed the bicycle's original thread. ;)

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Probbaly not what the OP had in mind but it IS Auatrian! Early 70's Montgomery Ward Open Road 10 speed, it was $5.00, I wanted the wing nuts off the axles but once I got it home it kind of grew on me.

http://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/80...923/7bnuJe.jpg

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AND it comes with armchair chauffered limo service for a toddler! :)

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Looks more like a torture device to me LOL, wonder how many kids refused to ride a bicycle when they got older because of those things?

Somehow I missed this thread, interesting to see all these Austrians!


I guess because they are the most common, I ended up with two of the cheaper ones, a blue '72 Clubman and a Sears "10 SPEED" from '68.


Both turned out to be really nice-riding bikes, and I've put more miles on the Clubman over the last five years than any other bike I own.


Headsets seem to be somewhat of a weak spot in terms of quality, but the original (English!) bottom brackets seem top quality, requiring no adjustments after initial rebuilding.


https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8087/8...4e22f069_c.jpg


https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/564/21...2e13c63a_c.jpg

The opening post on this thread has the as-found pics, since tackling this project was the inspiration... I'm happy the thread is coming back to life a bit!

Are those Cinelli Priest bars?

Velo Orange mustache. Since changed to arc bars and techno stem. Too much weight in my hands with mustache....

This is a nineties Simplon Giro I buillt for a friend. Like the colourscheme of it.

I saw this bike in Vienna the other day. That makes it an Austrian bike, right?

https://utahrandonneur.files.wordpre...227_103031.gif

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Interesting that its only arrestor is a front mounted scrubber. That is one substantial trailer hitch it wears. Makes one wonder what towing it hath done...

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Vienna is pretty flat, and there is no need for super stoppers if you are just riding for coffee and Sacher Torte. I loved the bars and wooden hand grips! Modern tires, kickstand and other stuff show it to be a daily rider. A little spray can touch up paint also show that it is not owned by a collector but instead by a dedicated owner. This bike will live on for decades!

Nice!
If you really want to delve into the 3-speed minutiae you could install this Sturmey Archer clone made in Austria by Torpedo.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Roc..._DSC1439-L.jpg

Brent

My 1982 Austro Daimler Alpina...