Mundo Cycles of Brazil - "Caloi Racer"
 

Howdy folks! I thought I would present something rather unusual.

Today I stopped into the little bike shop here in Dinuba to get a wheel trued. I spotted this unusual little Mundo Cycles road bike in the corner, which the owner said was dropped off many months ago for a full overhaul only to have the owner never return! It had been sitting around until he brought it out recently and it's already been sold, waiting to depart with its new owner.

The frame was made in Brazil, and is mostly outfitted with Suntour components that suggest a mid-'70s date of manufacture. The rear derailleur is a GT with phillips and hex bolts, and the front is a Spirt with cursive script. The brakes were Dia Compe center-pulls. The strange skip-tooth sprocket stood out as an unusual feature! Annoyingly, I forgot to take a detail photo of the model name.

A nearly identical bike was for sale in Salt Lake City online last year. The advertisement is here:

https://offerup.com/item/detail/191021423/

Cheers!

-Gregory

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I spotted this one today
Vintage Road Bike Caloi Racer - $100 (Fremont - Seattle)

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9302b08080.jpg

FYI, these bicycles were imported during the early 1970s bicycle boom by West Coast Cycle Supply who was most famous as being the owner of the Nishiki brand. Based on the rear derailleur, the bicycle is no newer than 1976. The skip tooth arrangement facilitated shifting on large cogs, where a high number of teeth engaged the chain.

Caloi received a huge recognition boost in the 1990's when the 1995 & 1996 Motorola pro teams rode Caloi bicycles. Note the small "by Eddy Merckx" decal following the Caloi logo on the tube tube in the attached scan.

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I remember those from my days at Bikecology (1972-4). During the dock strike, we scrambled to replace out-of-stock Nishikis and Peugeots with off brands --- Caloi, Azuki, Atala, whatever we could find.

Looks as though the team mechanic didn't tighten down the bolt securing the bar to the stem enough :)

DD

Though unorthodox, it was Sean Yates preferred bar angle.

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I've got a centennial Caloi frame I'm not sure what to do with. I believe the brand was imported by some Jacksonville, FL shops. I've seen one other aluminum Caloi in the area, built as an entry-level roadie.
It has a neat nickel-plated (I think?) steel fork, super aero. If anyone has an idea as to what components this green guy had originally, I'm real curious!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4744/...1ac619e5_c.jpg
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This is really a beautiful and good quality vintage bicycle. Caloi is a Brazilian bicycle brand that was founded in 1889 by an Italian immigrant named Luigi Caloi. The difficulty of importing pieces in the time of the Second War caused Caloi to begin its national production. In 1945, the first factory of Caloi was inaugurated, in the district of Brooklin, São Paulo. Possibly the first bicycle factory in Brazil. Caloi 10 is an iconic bicycle of the brand that still in production today. The production of this model and variations with steel frames began in 1972 and lasted for 25 years. During this time the following models were produced: Caloi 10 Standart, Caloi DEZ, Caloi Sportíssima, Caloi 18 Titanium, Caloi Sprint, Caloi 10 Racer, Caloi 10 Professional, Caloi 15, Caloi Sprint RT, Caloi 10 Concorde, Caloi 10 Triathlon, Caloi 12 , Caloi 12 Super Italy, Villa Caloi and finally Caloi Eddy Merckx.
The Caloi 10 (Standart) was produced between 1972 and 1977 with the following configuration: Sunshine aluminum hubs without quick release, Ukairim rims, aluminum dia-Compe stem and brakes, chrome-plated Sugino cranks, Suntour derailleurs (Spirit in front/ Honor in rear), KKT pedals, Maeda Industries Japan ratchet, all made in Japan. Chrome plated steel handlebar, seat post, and saddle Caloi.
Caloi 10 Racer is almost the same as Caloi 10 standard, but with different names and graphics. I can see in your photo that the rear derailleur is a Suntour GT and there is probably some other minor differences in each series. They were produced in the early 1970s, being exported to the USA under the name MUNDO CYCLES and distributed by West Coast Cycle Supply Co. Although there is also MUNDO bicycles brands from Germany and Japan that I was able to find in some google research. It´s a great joy for me to find that here.

Thanks for that. As a former Brooklin inhabitant (Rua Michigan :)) I really appreciate it.



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I can´t post a URL or a picture, since I do not have ten post yet, but you can find a nice brochure if you search for "caloi racer" at howiebikeman page.

I'm glad that you have appreciated it.

There you go:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ccf6fea528.jpg

I have. When I was there in the early 1970's one thing that struck me as a young Dutchman were the strong ties Brazil had - well, at least São Paulo had - with both the US and Japan. That catalog fits right in.

thanks. (for posting the catalog pic)

I understand that Mundo Cycles was part of the West Coast Cycle Supply Company brands and bicycles from other countries were sold under the same name in the USA. The actual Caloi website does not even mention that they export those bicycles in the '70s. Nevertheless, you are right, there is a huge cultural influence from the USA and in São Paulo the Japanese influence is noticeable too. You must have visited Liberdade district when you lived there.

Not sure I did, to be honest. I was in my early teens at the time, and given the chance I'd spend my time and pocket money on racing my slot car at the Sébring autorama over in the Rua Augusta. Some things are more important than others at that age ...

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Sorry for drifting a little off topic. Back to the main program: Caloi bicycles.
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@palangu Thanks for your detailed information!
Your post will be of great value to future Caloi and Mundo owners looking for information in English.
Brent

I've had two Caloi, both aluminum. One was completely polished, and had a Shimano 1055 STI group on it. The components clashed mightily with the polished frame (carbon fork). I don't even remember what I did with it, likely gave it away.

The second was also aluminum, also carbon fork, and was blue and black, I think. It was on CL for $125 or so, and it had 2x8 Shimano RSX, with the blue lettering. I bought it for the wheels and group and gave the frame away.

I do remember those frames, as a bike shop pointed out the "toothpaste" welds, and that was the first time I'd heard that description and actually realized what it meant.

No idea they had steel frames. I used to ride with a Brazilian in NC, and he rode Bianchi and Pinarello carbons. We discussed Canopus a couple of times, and I'd love to have a nice one of those.

@non-fixie When Iived in São Paulo I was five or six years old. Too young to slot cars at Rua Augusta. However, I have raced them when living in Brasilia in the '80s. Now occurred to me that your portuguese is probably much better than my english.

You're welcome. It was fun to make quick research about it. I had never heard about the Mundo Cycles before, but that data about Caloi is widely available online in portuguese. Back there, Caloi is a ubiquitous brand in the country, by far the best seller followed close by Monark. I had a Caloi Berlinetta when I was a kid where I first learn to ride. A 20'' bike related to other small wheels models from the '60s of Multon, Bianchi, Graziela, Crescent, Monark, etc...

"No idea they had steel frames" Well, @RobbieTunes, they do not have anymore. At least not for the roadie bicycles. The old lugged steel frames bicycle were now very collectible.

Ha! No, I was never much good at Portuguese. Didn't really need to be, as I was surrounded by Americans pretty much every day at school. And what little was there is gone now, 45 years later. Still recognize the sound of Brazilian Portuguese immediately, though.

I did visit Brasilia in '74, and remember it well, as I was deeply impressed by the work of Oscar Niemeyer. I even went on to study architecture for a while because of him. Turned out I didn't have his talent. :(

Hi @tiredhands,
I know it is a very late response but I can't help myself as I got very curious about that Caloi bicycles sold in the USA. Do you still have the frame? I think the bike that uses this frame is a called Caloi Comp. It seems to me that the frame is the same as this at Fixed Gear Gallery :: Jayson Eduardo's Brazilian Fixie (Caloi) , the same color, and the same bad finished thoopaste welds mentioned by @RobbieTunes. The original components are listed at https://www.bicyclebluebook.com/sear....aspx?id=76236 . The fork might have been replaced as the original should have been of composite material.

@non-fixie I miss brasília. I was born there, eleven years after the official inauguration. I grow up in the city. Brasília has a picturesque relation with a bicycle know as Nuven or Nuvenzinha. Created from a modified Monareta is usually attributed to Zé do Pedal, a famous character of Brasília bike scene. A documentary about him was filmed .
A few local shops start to fabricate the frame and assemble components in an unmistakable style that results in a bicycle without any specific brand that is strongly associated with the city.
A friend of mine, also from brasília, has one here in Manaus.
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That particular frame was a Caloi Pro, only because there was a Pro sticker on it. I actually just recently sold it to someone who bought it because they were Brazilian. For what it's worth, it had a Ringling Bikes in Bradenton, FL shop sticker.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4864/...d04a5ec4_c.jpg

The only other Caloi like that I've seen was in a bike junkyard near me. It was a similar frame in yellow and polished aluminum with Claris or some other entry-level groupset. If I ever get time to go down there again I'll see if it's still hanging in their shack.