It has 531 tubing and my research makes me believe that it's a Super Corsa. The SN and some other clues point to 1966 as the production year. This bike has also been discussed here before - old thread.

I'm pretty sure this is all original, outside of the saddle, bar tape, tires and rims. Rims are Nisis but the seller said that he added them - it had G40s when he first purchased it. The chainrings are 52/49 and the freewheel is a G. Caimi 14-22. It's in amazing shape, the paint looks very good outside of a few scrapes here and there though the blue has definitely faded. The chrome lugs have a bit of surface rust but I think they should clean up well. It has an odometer and I have no problem believing that the mileage shown on it could be true.

I'm sure I will offend the purists but I'm going to change out some of the components. Part of me would love to leave it just like it is but there's no way I can be happy with that gearing. I plan to install a TA Cyclotourist crank, a more leg friendly freewheel and either a Rally or NR w/long cage conversion RD. I don't want to ride tubulars so I'll build some new wheels using Campy high flange hubs and silver TB14s. I may also change the bars/stem as I could use a longer stem. And of course the saddle will go.

I apologize for the poor pics, I had to fit them in between rain showers.

That's beautiful. I don't think I ever saw a odometer like that one before. Is that grease fitting on the head tube?

Gorgeous bike...the Frejus panels and chrome really do look good.

Thanks. Yes, it's a grease fitting...there's also one on the BB, you can see it in the pic behind the RD cable.

What a cool bike, Choke! I like that you will set it to be a rider. Enjoy the heck out of that thing!

Agree with the others that this is a beautiful bike and don't sweat the changes. I have a 1960 olmo gran sport with 49/46, 13-26 gearing; I've thought about changing out the gearing as well. I'll just keep the original parts in case the next owner wants to reinstall them.

+1 - just keep the original stuff in a box.

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One minor point I found puzzling from the earlier thread still makes me curious. The machine's Record front mech is evidently late enough not to have the housing stop on the body. The Camapg catalogue published 1967 shows this component still fitted with the housing stop. Perhaps the machine's original front mech was replaced at some point. Judging by the cycle's general lack of wear indications, if this took place it may have been due to misadventure.

Or is the housing stop there but bypassed by assembler? Despite the numerous good images of the bike there is no view of the backside of the front mech. Thanks for any information.

Cleaned up very nicely; excellent work!

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[MENTION=333224]juvela[/MENTION] - If you are referring to the FD, the one on my 1972 Le Champion did not have a cable housing stop, IIRC.

Very nice!
"MADE in JTALY" stem?

Beautiful bike. BTW, Modern Bike has the TB14's at a really good price right now. Not bad. I got mine there.

+ 1 on the gearing, I couldn't live with it either

And I had that bike, I'd definitely want to ride it.

Thanks everyone. I do plan to keep all of the parts intact so I can put it back to original if I ever desire. The FD does have a cable stop, but as you said it's not being used due to the bolt on cable guide.

From TTT main :

By 72 they had gottten rid of the stop, SJX, and developed the bolt on cable guide with wings.

Actually they're oil ports. Yhe significant difference is that the head and BB are not closed to the frame. If you use a grease injector on these, you'll (if you get carried away) pack the entire frame with grease.

OTOH, if you use the ports to inject a drop or two of oil, it'll refresh the grease, and extend the lube cycle.


BTW - if the OP replaced G40 rims with Nisi, he moved them closer to the original, which were like Nisi. G40's didn't exist when that bike was built.

That is a great bicycle -- thanks for sharing. The gearing reminds me of one of the stock offerings for the early 1960s Capo Sieger: 52-48 with a 14-22 5-speed Caimi freewheel in back. I am currently reassembling my Sieger with 49-45/14-28, if the Campag. GS can handle it, 14-26 if not.

The TA would, of course, be a period-correct crank, but have you looked into an early 1970s Campag. triple, which would look correct and give you 36T up front? I ran my Peugeot PKN-10 with a short-cage SunTour rear derailleur and 48-45-34 up front and 13-23 (6-speed) in back, and it was delightful. Your original derailleur set might be able to handle something similar. Even with your original freewheel, 36/22 is a very reasonable 44 gear-inches, comparable to the 42/26 low I have long used on my Bianchi and Peugeot.