hello can anyone pinpoint a year or close on this bike. it's quite a bit newer than the stuff I usually fool with. it's a little beat, but hey my standards are pretty low.....thanks in advance

That bike is not beat. It’s beautiful.

Why do you think it’s from Austria? RIH is a well known Dutch company.

that bike is in amazing shape given its age and it has some very neat parts including a very neat rear derailleur. Plus it has forged drop outs and a Reynolds 531 sticker. That is a quality bike

I didn't say it wasn't a quality bike, just a little beat. I like something as nice as I can find it, but love unrestored battle scarred beauties...I probably don't know what I'm talking about but I know rih dutch, and rih austria. I thought this was austria, but could be wrong. I'm trying to date the bike...thanks glad you liked it

50s is my guess. But there will be others here who can date this better than I can

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"SPORT" lug pattern and dropouts Agrati, Malaguti style seat lug

most helpful dating aid is Freres Huret gear ensemble
suspect rear mech and shift levers to be original, front mech may be later

rear mech appears to be the Tour de France model;
catalogue page of 1956 -


for reference, here is the page of front mechs from the same catalogue of 1956; note that the bicycle's front mech had not as yet launched -


interesting to note that when someone made up the brake set they paired Weinmann levers with Universal calipers and provided for no quick release; cycle appears a bit too early for Universal 61 calipers so they must be a post-manufacture fitment; perhaps original calipers were Weinmann...

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I, too, would have guess mid to late fifties. That said, what a great project! Hope it is your size and keep us posted.

as stated above, I thought the bike was austria not dutch. which is it.. anyway to date by serial numbers. serial starts with 156, maybe 1956

Yes, that looks like a Radsport RIH product from Austria.

cool, I didnt know that there was an Austrian RIH as well. There is even a thread on this.


Just bought RIH frame- is it Dutch or Austrian????

Nice bike konakai.

This is definitely the Austrian RIH. RIH in this case stands for Rad Industrie Hamedl (or "Radindustrie Hamedl") from Vienna. There were 5 Hamedl brothers (Hans, Leopold, Franz, Karl and Friedl) who were all involved with bicycles and racing in some form but it was Franz who started the RIH.

The only explanation of their frame numbering that I've come across was from Michael Zappe, one of the authors of the book titled “Wiener Mechanikerräder” (that I'd love to get btw).
While decoding ":1867997" he explained that colon stands for Reynolds 531, "1" is for the road race geometry, 8 for 58cm frame size (ctt) and the rest was "the number." He then said that if you subtract 11 from 67, you'd get the year of production (1956). It wasn't clear where this "11" came from.

So, using this decoding, :1569740 would give you a 55cm road racing frame made of Reynolds 531 tubing, built in 1958. This year of production aligns with the excellent parts assessment by juvela

Btw, that seat tube sticker reads "Modell Extra Leger":

. . . the book titled "Wiener Mechanikerrader" (that I'd love to get btw).

Sounds like someone may have been bitten by the C&V Vienna bike bug!

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yes indeed

what this forum really needs is a "show your Dusika" thread


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Juvela, I find the older bikes built in Vienna particularly interesting.
Any of them would be a welcome site, indeed!

Absolutely, there were some really nice frames made in Vienna.

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one of the things enjoy wrt oesterreichischer fahrraden is the eclectic and unpredictable kitting

since the nation essentially has no fittings industry cycle manufacturers must seek outside the national borders for components

this is one of the things which makes machines hailing from BE, CH, NL & SE so fascinating as well

[yes, i appreciate that BE had at one time something of a parts industry and CH did/does to a limited extent also]

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Half the Girardengos sold in Southern Germany were made by RIH Vienna iirc..

I didn't get a copy of the Mechanikerräder book, which I deeply regret.

If you're in love with those Viennese bikes, and are planning a trip to Europe, you may consider planning your trip around the "In Velo Veritas" event. It is a charming l'Eroica alternative in the vicinity of Vienna and you are very likely to bump into one or two of the authors of said book.
If you plan early, you may find someone local willing to lend you a bike even. They are nice people.

Hi,

I also have a bike made by RIH in Vienna. I also thought mine was from the Dutch company, but I contacted them with my serial number and they replied that there was also a Viennese company of the same name! Unfortunately RIH Vienna does not have a web site or email address that I could find, although Yelp has them on their site. Sorry, I don't post enough to be allowed to attach the link.

Cheers!

konakai
Beautiful RIH you got there!!
I'm a collector of RIH from Vienna and would like to know if its possible to get it back home

It's nice to see this beautiful bike back on page 1!
Brent

Sorry, don't know how I missed this post originally - am glad the thread was brought back to the front page.

I hadn't heard of "In Velo Veritas" before, so thanks for that tip. Another item to add to my bucket list!

https://radsport-rih.webnode.at/

Agreed. Ask the man who owns three. (The 1952 Sieger is not mine, but interesting because of its Capo brand derailleurs.) Thank you for this thread -- it has been an education for me, despite by background in another Viennese marque.



Repainted Cap Sieger frame, serial number very close to that of my other Sieger, so who was I to say no to it?

Almost all-orig. 1960 Capo Sieger

I bought a bike recently from the early sixties. Sold by an Austrian man who said the bought it from RIH Radsport in the early 1960s.
Can this be a Girardengo?

System says im restricted to post a photo. Email me and I can enclose a copy.

Some pics would be helpful 😁