Torn by Torpado
 

I snagged this Torpado for $40 CDN. The ornate, window lugs and wheel wingnuts suckered me in, I guess. But now, I'm not sure it's worth the sweat labour to strip and rebuild it. Probably just spit out of a bike boom assembly line. The dork disc on the rear wheel looks a giveaway clue. Steel cottered crank. As I understand it, the Campy Valentino FD is nothing to write home about. What's with those squared-off brake levers?

That said, wondering if in-house experts would kindly clue me in on the probable model and year (or approx). Sorry, haven't cleaned the grime off to look for a serial number.

Also, is this bike's BB likely to have standard lefty loosey threading on both sides?

I've posted a bunch of photos here: https://goo.gl/photos/jQnyK18Ach7CVos8A

I'll post a few pics here on thread too. Gotta resize them downward first.

Thanks!

bob

Torn by Torpado (Image Supplement)
 

Hmmm, trying again to upload a few Torpado pics.

A few more Torpado pics
 

And several more Torpado pics.

Early 1970s Torpado club racer, based on the 2nd from the bottom of the line Luxe model. Hi-tensile frame with typical eye candy ornamentation, common to this level and era of Italian bicycles. Entry level Campagnolo Valentino Extra rear derailleur and Valentino push rod front derailleur. Universal 61 CP brakes missing lever hoods. This one was probably originally equipped witha tubular wheelset, as it has been retro-fit with 28 x 1-3/8 x 1-5/8" which is boom era tubular/700C equivalent. What you paid is approximate FMV given condition.

Only you can decide if it's worth the effort, but that looks pretty fun to me. I would reuse everything that you can to keep costs down. Make the major expense your own time and labor.

That chrome will shine right up! Good snag there.

This might help, though I believe this catalog is from the '80s and your bike is earlier. It does give you an idea of the line up and quality range.

Sure it is, if you're writing home to complain. :P

That bike is undeniably cool; but also low end. I would preserve the character of it by doing the absolute minimum. Just clean it up, make sure all the moving parts move smoothly and make sure the tires are safe to ride on.

Thanks for weighing in, T-Mar and noobinsf. Yeah, I'd reuse as much as I can. Removing cotters is always iffy, though. I might get really messed up if I wreck one or both of them. Bummer about missing lever hoods.

Question in my original post: Wondering about threading of BB. Should I expect the LH side to be the same as the RH side? An Italian thing?

Torn by Torpado
 

Appreciate the encouragement, folks, Lascaux, LouB, and 3speedslow. Sheesh, it's kind of a sad, neglected looking tart, though. Maybe if I'm real careful I can get those cotters out without mashing them to a pulp.

I've got a cotter press by BikeSmithDesign. Used it a few times with generally good success, but I did wreck one cotter with it. Sure beats violent hammer thrashing!

Gotta love the seat stay attachment at the seat lug

Yeah I beat my cotters out w a hammer and punch. New 9mm cotters are cheap and I'm impatient.

Yeah, the seat stay doesn't look flush to the surface of the lug. I'll have a closer look.

I found the cheap Weinmann replacement hoods don't fit those levers too bad. Might have to ream the hole for the adjuster nipple out a bit and then the adjuster goes on top.

http://i.imgur.com/wsCYL5a.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/T1LdhPH.jpg

[MENTION=168227]bashley[/MENTION] - The picture with the brake lever shows a broken base. It is common for them to break when over tightened or hit. Many don't like this lever but it has a character about it that I like to keep around. There should be plenty of them around but may be in the dump! keep an eye out for a replacement. Look on ebay for replacement hoods. I was able to order some from Italy made from the original molds for less than $35.


I would also keep this bike around as a rider after cleaning it up. Good find at a reasonable price.

I haven't seen one of these that hasn't been Italian threaded, so both cups should be right hand thread.

All the Torpado Luxe that I've seen have been fully chromed under the paint. Many used a translucent paint that showed the underlying chrome. There were also some opaque colours, such as white and yellow. though I can't remember seeing an orange one like yours. I recall spending a weekend helping my friend strip the yellow paint off his Torpado to expose the chrome. I can see the chrome exposed by the paint chips on the stays and forks but the chip near the shift levers looks like it's rusted steel?

I checked my reference material and the Valentino Extra was introduced for the 1969 model year, so that increases the possible timeline just a bit.

I also just noticed that the rear wheel isn't fully seated in the derailleur claw. This makes the rear triangle appear tighter than it actually is. It has me wondering if the wheels might be OEM and that the earlier versions used the Italian 28' size, before switching to 27", later in the boom. The hubs and wingnuts do look OEM. What is the rim brand?

Proper reproduction Universal brake hoods are available. They used to be $20, but that was several years ago. Search the forum and you should be able to come up with the e-mail address.

Fix it up and keep as many original parts as possible. Campagnolo pushrod front derailleurs work well with half-step gearing, such as you have, and your Valentino should be as good as my 1960 Gran Sport. If you can find an early 1960s Campag. Record or Gran Sport, that would be a cool upgrade from that ugly Valentino rear. The frame, paint, and wingnuts are cool.

Disclosure -- my first road bicycle was a low-end 1962 Bianchi with wingnuts and Huret shift.

If you were not aware. Your bike was sold by Cycles Baggio in Montreal. As far as I know they are still located @ 6975 St. Laurent Blvd (the Main). During the early 70's they had a super Legere (sp?) in the window had a price tag of 2000 CDN. It was supposed to be very light. I do not know what components al I knew is that I wanted one.


Baggio was considered one of the premier bike shops in Montreal, that mainly sold Torpado's.

If you've got one of those, then you are probably aware of the value of soaking the cotters in PB Blaster for a few days; and maybe riding the bike around the block a few times with the cotter nuts backed off a bit. That's how I get my cotters loose :)

On the plus side - it is orange! That increases the cool factor by about 20%. Would make a cool rider

Thanks for the optimistic "plus side" note on it being orange, bmthom.gis. I'd love to see your criteria scaling of "cool factors"! hehe Is it just a coincidence that it came out as a nice round number, 20%, and not 21.5% or 18.68%? Only kidding... Yeah, I like the orange, too.

Hey Lascauxcavemen, in fact, I never have come across that tip about loosening off the cotter nut and riding a bit to help persuade it. Makes sense, thanks. I knew about the pre-soak with a penetrant, and I'd throw in a few gentle but firm hammer taps at the same time.

Thanks Normanware. I was indeed aware that Baggio was the distributor from the decal on the seat tube. But, I didn't know they were still in business, nor that the enjoyed a reputation as a premier shop. Thanks for the info!

Thanks for weighing in JohnE. I'll keep your post to add your advice to my notes on the bike. It's semi-reassuring to hear that the Valentino of push-rod vintage actually did work okay. I was skeptical because it has kind of a steampunk, unreal Model-T quality, and maybe I assumed (erroneously) that it would be tempermental and unreliable. It is funky, though, so it could be fun to disassemble, clean up, and try out to satisfy my curiosity.

Thanks very much, T-Mar for expanding on your first post and for consulting your research for me. I'll assume both BB cups are right threaded and go easy on it to be sure that's the case. I'm certainly going to take a much closer look at the frame as a followup to your description of the chrome possibility underneath the paint. It's a fascinating twist if that's the case.

When you mention that the Valentino Extra was first introduced in 1969 and that that "increases the timeline", am I right to assume you simply mean that the bike could 5-10 years older than what you might have thought on first glance? You were reasonably specific in suggesting it is a "club racer", probably second up from bottom of the line. Would that assessment change based on rethinking the age of the Valentino Extra? Were there different versions of this derailleur, year to year, or back then were they more like to hang onto the same versions for a number of years?

Thanks again for your assistance. I've read many of your contributions in a lurker mode and to say your knowledge is an invaluable asset to many people, would be an understatement.