Manny66 

Everybody knows the Windsor Bicycles-Eddy Merckx Hour Record story that occurred in Mexico back in 1972. Eddy riding a Colnago with Windsor stickers on it.
I also had a good friend who raced a Windsor back in the early 80's when we were teens, I had an Olmo at the time but I always liked the chromed lugs of the Windsor. I always remembered that cool silver bike with the Campy parts and recently and had a chance to pick one up,except in orange. Its been sitting for a few months and this weekend I finally got around to start building it up with my many years of accumulated Campy parts. The Bike and Parts show their age but still in very good rideable/useable condition.

Manny66 

I installed the headset but for some reason I had to trim the steering tube about 3/8th on an inch.Im guessing the original build had center pull brakes with a thicker bracket under the upper lock nut. The Campy heaset was greased up and installed.

juvela

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Handsome, thanks for for posting!

Have not before seen a Pro with this slotted crown.

Will look forward to following your build.

Tip-

there was one batch of these which came through from Acer-Mex ~1973-74 where all of the shell interiors were heavily rusted.

just something to check. your example appears to be about four years later so prolly moot.

Importer may have been Bicycle Parts Pacific of San Diego.

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Manny66 

Before building it up I noticed the fork tube had the identical serial number as the frame as well as the "Columbus tubing" stamped on the steerer tube. Ive rarely ever seen a frame with matching serial numbers stamped on both parts.

Next up came the bottom bracket install and the Campy Super Record Cranks. These are the "MEXICO Style" cranks with the cutouts on the spiders milled out like Eddy Merckx had in Mexico City in 72'.

horatio 

Sweet bike. Looking forward to seeing it completed.

Manny66 

I installed the Cinelli 1R Stem with the Giro Handlebars. Then I installed the Campy brake levers. The white rubber hoods are from an old Dia Comp lever set I had.Im not going for a peroid perfectly correct replica but something that will be functional . So far everything is bolting together without any issues. The Brake Calipers went on as well. I had to install a couple of extra washers on the front caliper as the caliper was rubbing on the lower headset cup. 2 extra washers and clearance issues solved.

Warren128

Great find! I was always jealous of my friend's silver Windsor Pro from when we were in our late teens.

Also looking forward to seeing the finished bike

Aubergine 

Next up, you need a Molteni Merckx. Then a Pepita. Then a Holdsworth Competition . . .

merziac

Are the milled slots tapered, narrower at the bottom than the top or it just an optical conclusion?

fishboat

Bought a Windsor Pro(Columbus SL tubing) back in '79 and I still ride it...paid a little over $600 for it(that would be $2100 in today's dollars). Up until a few years ago it was my main road bike. Wonderful ride. I now ride Lemonds mostly, and mostly those as I like the STI shifting..and they are made with good steel or titanium. My Windsor is still completely original..other than the 7 speed freewheel on the back end. It has a ride that's very similar to the Lemonds.

Forgive the lousy pic..it's all I'm finding at the moment. I had it repainted and the component group anodized black within about a year of buying it. It was silver originally..silver was never a great color for me.

Velo Mule

I had a low end Windsor International when I was in High School and early years of College. It was a good solid bike. Not a Windsor Pro, but of course for a kid in high school it was a good bike. There may have been some influence when buying that bike, that Eddie Merckx rode a Windsor.

Manny66 

No they are uniform in width and length, I agree its an optical illusion as I aso thought they were tapered.

horatio 

Not sure I’m remembering correctly, but weren’t there a rash of fake Windsors at one time? If so, how does one spot a fake?

Manny66 

I also thought Eddy rode a Windsor in his Hour Reord, it wasnt til the introduction of the Internet that I discovered all the juicy details.

merziac

Tx, I was getting ready to say that was the first I had seen, probably wouldn't be impossible for a good machinist like Merz or Jon "Drillium Revival" Williams RIP.

obrentharris 

That would be amusing since more than one unscrupulous seller has tried to pass off Windsors as Cinellis. I found one once with Ford motor blue rattlecan paint, fake Cinelli headbadge, and a set of Cinelli decals. It even had a sloping crown Raleigh fork as a poor copy of the sloping crown Cinelli fork!



I never was able to figure out whether it was a Windsor, a Raysport, or something else altogether.
Brent

Manny66 

I think you are confusing that people were attempting to pass off Windsor Profesionals, as Cinelli's since they are very similar.

Salamandrine 

That is a nice one for sure. Looking forward to seeing this bike completed. Mexico style cranks yet... Very nice. I've always had a fondness for Windsors. When I first got into cycling, and was looking for my first quality bike, it was suggested that I consider a Windsor or a Motobecane. Still think both those brands are very cool.

horatio 

That must have been it!

Manny66 

I had a few chores to take care of around the house so I put the Windsor on hold..So today I got some new brake cables put on the old Campy calipers, installed the front deraileur and the front shifters mocked up the frame with some spare wheels I had available,So far its looking good.

I have an old set of Ambrosio with Galli hubs that are 6 speed, but Im not really feeling like opening up the hubs and regreasing them. Besides the Ambrosio's are black rims and I prefer the natural aluminum color myself.



I was surprised how light the bike weighs with the parts I have on so far. The Record rear Deraileur and chain should be installed very soon, and then a final test drive with adjustments to the cable housing's and anything else that feels out of whack.

verktyg 

Spent the 70's living in New Mexico. Around 1974-75 started seeing Windsor bikes coming into the local market. It may have been one individual bringing them in. Not sure if they were coming from SoCal or Mexico or both.

Anyway, because they were being bootlegged in, local shops were reluctant to have any dealings with Windsors.

The all Campy Windsor Professionals offered a lot of bang for the buck but the cosmetics and workmanship were inconsistent back then. The lower priced Windsor models were even worse.

There were all kinds of fantasy stories about a connection between Windsor and Cinelli and so on.

Unfortunately Windsor suffered from the same image problems that affected the Mexican made Benottos: Hecho En Mexico!

@Manny66 Looks like you have a really nice example of a well built Windsor Professional.

verktyg

Kabuki12

I love and ride mine regularly! My Windsor Pro came to me through a mechanic from Wally's Bike Shop in San Luis Obispo Ca. He bought it from the original owner who raced it regularly , but , alas it was too tall for the mechanic, but just right for me! One of my quickest bikes, and handles very well . I even have the original jersey from the seventies that I wear when I ride it! Joe

From Eroica California 2017
joesvintageroadbikes.wordpress
1973 Windsor Pro with early Phil hubs

Manny66 

Thats a pretty good bike story and info you got to pass along. Thanks.

Back in the very early 80's at various times I had an oppurtunity to pick up a couple of Benottos , I Always passed on them because of the cracking bottom bracket shell stories. I wasnt going to pay for a potentially defective frame.I always thought they were Made in Italy until someone explained the Mexico connection. There was no Internet back then so it was always hard to get accurate information on bicycles and frame builders.Either way, Im still passing on Benottos but willing to give the Windsor a try.

The Windsor should be ready for a saturday test ride.

Manny66 

Finally got around to riding the Windsor I built up a few months back. Here it is at my usual riding destination, Seal Beach. 30 Miles and it rode like a dream,, I was very surprised .

juvela

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Thanks very much for the update!

Looking great.


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