Just picked up a vintage road bike
 

Hey there, new to the forum.

Just getting back into cycling after my old bike was stolen. It was a Ridley Fenix, great bike. I had put a lot into it.

I've been kicking around looking for a replacement but nothing was right. The other day I went to a shop with a "vintage corner". There it was, a vintage steel frame Gilmour. Gilmour bikes are produced locally here in Tucson, AZ. The owner, Andy Gilmour has been making top quality bike by hand since the 70's. My uncle raced the Gilmour team and worked in his shop for 10 years or so in the 80's.

I've always wanted one, but the price is high on his bikes. I couldn't pass up the chance when I found this one. The shop owner called Gilmour up and spoke with him about the actual age of the bike. Gilmour said based on the components it was between 84 and 86. I wonder if my uncle had a hand in building this one. I bought it. For 30+ years old its in great shape really. Just put 20 miles on it today. Rides better than my Ridley...

Modolo speedy brake calipers and levels in blue, Campagnolo downtube shifters, Shimano 6 speed cassette, Shimano 600 crankset, Shimano 600 SIS rear derailleur, Suntour Cyclone MII, Araya 700c wheelset, Cinelli bottom bracket, Shimano 600 hubs front and rear.

A couple, just a couple, of scratches here and there. A little greasy. But I've got plans for it.

Any insight would be appreciated!

I'd like to modernize it a little. I'd like to go 10 speed, keep the downtube shifting of course. My ridley had the 105 set on it and I found it to be reliable and smooth. I'm wondering if the 105 set would go on my bike. Dura ace has a 10 speed indexed downtube shifter. The front derailleur would bolt on to the mount. Rear derailleur fit issues? A 10 speed shimano cassette. Would a 105 crankset fit and work? How about the wheelset? Would the new cassette go on the wheels and hub I have? 105 brakes and new handles. New cables. Selle Anatomica X series saddle.

And a paint job. Andy will paint a Gilmour frame and throw in the decals for free. I'm thinking white, maybe with black chain and seat stays.

I'll post a picture up soon!

Looking forward to being part of the forum!

Measure, but I bet the rear triangle width now is 126mm or very close, modern stuff will want 130mm.
So, ask Andy about respecting the frame for modern rear wheels.
My guess the frame is already designed for Allen key attachment bolts for the brakes.

Paint is a very personal choice. I will leave it at that.

I don't think you will be able to mount DA DT shifters easily on that frame. If you can post close up picture of current shifters that would help.
You can still use modern 10 speed group with your existing shifters. Friction works quite well with modern 9s/10s and DiaCompe now makes DT friction shifters to use with Shimano 11S and 10S DynaSys

If you don't mind me asking, did you get this at Bicas in Tucson? I am also new to the forum and starting to clean up my 1975 raleigh mixte I found in Green Valley. I remember going to Bicas and seeing a bike made in Tucson. Great purchase!

You could put a full 105 group on that with the only issue being the rear dropouts. It is a pain getting the wheel in or out. I did it for a while when I had only one bike, then spread the rear end which made it nice. BUT, now I wish I hadn't.

Welcome to C&V.

As repechage noted, the rear spacing is likely 126, and 10-speed would need 130. That said, as long as your rims are sound, there's no reason why they could not be rebuilt with modern hubs. In fact, wheels (and tires) contribute a great deal to the feel of the ride, so if you like how it rides now that wouldn't be a bad idea.

Might be a good idea to keep shopping around for your next bike - so you'll have something to ride when this one is getting restored. Then you'll be a proper denizen of C&V. :innocent: :thumb:

What's the rush? For someone who couldn't afford this bike, you seem to be in a big hurry to throw a lot of money at it making changes.

Repaint? 10-speed this n' that? If it was mine, I'd try it the way it was built. At least for a little while.

Photos. Lots of photos, and drive side shot please. And +1 on what Lascauxcaveman said.

Welcome.

Bummer. Sorry for your loss.

Nice find.

Um.. okay.

As mentioned earlier, the DA shifters may not work. It is a compatibility issue with the mount. Maybe someone can comment further on that. If you are going to have the frame repainted, you may want Andy to remove the old mount and braze on the correct downtube shifter mounts.

Nope.

Most likely not.

All you need is the correct bottom bracket.

You need a new wheelset. Plus as mentioned, you will need the rear dropouts respaced to 130 mm.

The bike is beautiful. I'd ride the snot out of it as it is.

Dennis

+3. What these three wise men said ^^^.

Ride it as it was designed, then if anything needs to be changed...think thrice, as these things must be handled delicately.

If you ever go looking for your heart's desire, don't look any further than your own back yard. Because if it isn't there, you never really lost it to begin with!

Welcome, Dylans! As you can see, the bias here is towards originality. In the case of this beautiful bike, I tend to agree. I think the blue paint looks fantastic, and it sounds like it's in great shape, so it seems a shame to repaint it. As for the components, if you're really wanting to go more modern, you should check out the 'Retroroadies' thread. There is definitely a subset of C&V enthusiasts who update vintage frames, though perhaps most often this is done when starting with a blank canvas (i.e., just a frameset, or a bike with mismatched/worn out components). As is often said, a bike is only original once.

If you do update the components, you might just put the original components into a box, and later if you decide you want to go back to the original state you can move the new stuff onto another frame and restore this one.

And I'm sure everyone here would love to see more photos of some bike/frame details!

The first think I would recommend if you have not done so is a visit to Andy, he is a nice guy and if you catch him not to busy in the shop he will happily talk about the old days and answer any questions about the bike. Andy uses DuPont Emron and has cans of it in his shop, bet he has the color(s) you could use for touchup for the above recommend trial period. He can also advise on the DT lugs, wheels, cold setting, etc. He has a Marchetti & Lange frame table so if you do want the dropouts cold set you can count on a beautiful ride.
I have a Reynolds 753r and a Tange Prestige Ultralight frame and can tell you his bikes rival anything I have ever thrown a leg over.

Good point. What is the rush? I think I needed to hear that. I'm going to sit on those words and really ponder the question. I believe you're right.

I should have been clearer also as to the cost. A new or newer Gilmour is extremely expensive. This one ran me $395. Very affordable in comparison.

The 20 miles I've put on it so far have been great really. My first experience with a 6 speed and DT shifters. The Ridley I had was an 11 with STI of course. Although fitted with older tech, it rode better and functioned flawlessly. Maybe rather than modernize, I could restore the current parts? One pulley on the derailleur is pretty chewed up.
I'll post plenty of pictures tonight. Thanks!

Pictures coming!

It is a beauty and in surprisingly good shape. I've been torn on the paint thought. We'll see. I had already thought of saving all of the components in a box, if I change them out. I'm going to do the basics for now, saddle, tires, chain, deep cleaning. More pictures coming.

Thanks for the advice. I think I may just visit him. I suppose that'd be the best place to start. I'm super excited to own one a Gilmour. Especially considering my uncles history with Gilmour. Even more cool is that my mother just told me yesterday that each season she made the caps for the Gilmour team! Interesting.

Trial period. I like that. That's what I'll call it. My goal is to let the car rest some and start to commute once or twice a week to and from work, so I'll get plenty of time to think and assess while in the saddle.

Repechage got autocorrected. He means "Re-Spacing." A shop can gently* pull the rear stays apart so that they spring back to 130mm apart rather than 126. Steel frames are fine doing this. It's called cold setting.

*it might not LOOK gentle...

Thank you for the explanation of cold setting.

I did measure, and as predicted it's just shy of 5" so ~ 126 mm.

One thing I've learned from the folks here is that you should set the bar very high for a repaint. It's only original once. I know you're not thinking about reselling, but it's worth noting that a repaint usually completely kills the value of a vintage bike. Largely this is because it destroys most evidence of what the bike actually is. Given that you live near the builder, you might be able to work out some kind of authentication after the repaint. Even aside from the resale issue, you'll know it's not original and there is something intangible about original paint, even if you end up deciding to modernize the parts.

To give you sort of a baseline of where I'm coming from, I bought a late 70's Austro Daimler bike in this kind of condition:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/721/32...eebae00b_c.jpg

I definitely don't want to repaint this. I was able to find a nail polish that matches perfect and touch up these chips.

On the other end of the scale, I did decide to refresh this 1972 Motobecane Grand Record:


https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/445/31...93518c02_c.jpg

Anything that looks yellowish in that picture is the original clear coat. Anything that looks silver is a place where the original clear coat was rubbed off. I would bet some people would have even kept this as is, because that yellowing clear coat is genuine patina, which some people love.

So looking at the picture you shared, I wouldn't even consider repainting it.

Regarding the rear spacing, it has been my experience that a 130mm wheel will fit in 126mm spacing with no serious problems. That said, I agree with those who encouraged you to ride it for a while before you do anything. I like modern components on vintage bikes, but it's nice to have one bike in truly vintage configuration. It's a different kind of experience to ride a bike like that.

:thumb:

Thank you for all of the input so far, it's greatly appreciated!

This is a nice group of people to chat about bikes with

I second the motion on not re-painting. I restored my old bike and had it re-painted, but it was full of dents that needed to be worked out/smoothed out, and the Italian paint, although a pretty color, seemed to flake and chip fairly easy

Rather than fully modernize it, you might ask the builder, since he's local, what kind of build kits he typically saw on his bikes 30 years ago

Since it has Campy shifters and Modolo brakes, it could have been a Campy machine to start with and someone grafted the Shimano bits on at the dawn of the Shimano light action era or something

Restoring it to a similar build as what would have been common in that era might be fun

[MENTION=454124]dylans764[/MENTION] Welcome to bikeforums from a fellow denizen of the Old Pueblo! I still haven't scored my first Gilmour road bike, but it's one of my goals. Been to his shop a few times for repairs. Can't justify the expense of one of the many steel frames he has hanging in there, and believe me I've tried. hahaha

I'm going to continue the "take a deep breath, ride it for a while, then decide if you want to change things up" suggestions. You said yourself that it rides better than your Ridley; maybe keep this one more-or-less intact and score a modern N+1 somewhere down the road?

Beautiful bike though. Congrats! :)

That would be fun. Would it be hard to find period campy derailleurs and a crank? I love matching parts.

Thank you! I'm gonna have to make it down to his shop soon. I think I really scored with this bike. I wasn't even ever hoping to find a used or vintage Gilmour. It means so much more to me because it's from the time my uncle was riding Gilmour bikes and working in his shop.