Cratecruncher

(4/6) I just bought an Italvega this week. It's the first bike I've owned in forty years so I could use some help. I'm new here and can't run with scissors yet. So, if someone would be kind enough to transfer a picture from my photo album I'd be much abliged.

machinist42

OP's Album

kroozer 

Looks great, as long as it's the right size for you. Nice way to get back into cycling! What sort of help are you looking for? The bike looks like it's been taken care of, a few parts replaced but mostly original.

Cratecruncher

(5/5) Thanks everyone for the help so far. In a separate thread I asked about vintage brake blocks that won't harm the original Rigida rims. Another thing is the large 53T chainring. It's beat and already missing a tooth. So I found an NOS Stronglight 49D with 53 teeth that is on the way. But I'm sure I will need a puller to get the cranks off without hurting them. I found a 23mm puller on Feebay for $45(!) but am trying to find something less expensive. I also want to pull the rear cassette and clean it up. I believe it's a Maillard 700 compact. I'll likely need a tool for that. Then there's the rust on the top tube and missing decals. I found a supplier named Velocals but don't know anything about them. Anyone know what color this is called or have a code? I suppose I can just have a match at a jobber but have had uneven success with matching off a part in the past. The currently installed seat is a Bontrager Arvada and it looks like a spaceship landing on the HMS Beagle. Sorta out of place in my view. Should I get a Brooks, a Cinelli, ???

One thing that's already decided is that the yellow tapes MUST GO!!! I ordered some nice chocolate brown leather tapes online so my eyes won't have to look at those much longer haha.

Any advice or help much appreciated!

Ex Pres 

1. WRONG puller. You need a 23.35mm., and
2. I'm thinking you should be able to change the ring out without pulling the crank.

3. I have a Brooks Pro on mine.
4. I'll have to dig deep in the old memory bank to remember who I bought my decals from. I have bought from Velocals in the past. IIRC he offers several thicknesses. Thinner is better, IMHO.
5. Mine's blue, so I can't help with a green paint code. Even if you get a code, the natural ageing/fading means it's not going to match.

Where are you located? A local might have the correct puller and freewheel tool handy.

bikemig 

That's a beautiful bike and a great first bike after 40 years. Velocals is a good company for decals. You don't need to necessarily need to match the paint. You could just deal with the rust and then use clear nail polish. That's not a bad solution since a match is going to be tough.

Agree that this bike needs a leather saddle. Brooks is good. I like Selle Anatomica as well. Their leather saddles look good on an old bike and they have longer rails than Brooks so it's easier to get the fore/aft adjustment right.

You do want to replace the consumables. Best brake pads are the koolstop continentals; also good are dia compe grey matters. The cables look pretty good so you might be able to get away with using the existing ones.

Also do you want to keep those pedals? Toe clips and straps are probably the best way to go. MKS makes good ones. But I like bmx style pedals as well. They look a bit "new" on an old bike but you can use any shoe you want with them. MKS makes all sorts of pedals and they're good pedals.

smontanaro 

Cratecruncher

Very nice. My first ItalVega was a Nuovo Record just like yours (though I bought it new, probably in 1973 or so). If I recall correctly, its three main tubes are Columbus, Campy drivetrain, maybe Universal center pull brakes. I don't recall what the crank was. I agree the yellow cushy tape is wrong. I suspect black would be correct.

You can probably take care of a bit of rust with Evapo-Rust. It will take a few days and you'll need to keep it moist, but wrap an Evapo-Rust moistened rag around the tube, then wrap plastic wrap around that to minimize evaporation. Lather, rinse repeat. Once you're satisfied with that, wax it to protect the bare metal. Velocals will have what you need in the way of decals. I'm not sure you need much more than downtube decals and a small "Nuovo Record" for (I think) the top tube. My ItalVega Super Speciale shows approximate placement. (My down tube decals were missing. I purchased replacements from Gus Salmon, but Velocals is well-regarded.)



As for the crank, you should be able to find a 52T or 53T Stronglight chainrings without much trouble. Oh well, you've got some crank arms to trade. I doubt you'll need to actually pull the crank to replace the chainrings, especially the outer.

juvela

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pedals and saddle pillar are fine upgrades from what was there originally

front brake caliper has been replaced


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repechage

Not a lot of access to switch out the chainring bolts, correct crank pullers are available, I did find a double sided one out of Poland, 23.35 ans 23mm
I would invest as unless the seller can confirm and is trustworthy, repacking the bottom bracket is a good idea. Leave the crank on, and the pedal has to come off. LH threads that side.

Those pedals are nice but for the slender of foot.
I would seek out some toe clips and straps also.
If you ride in your "tennis" shoes...a wider pedal I think would be appreciated. MKS makes and Lyotard made a wider touring pedal.
There are also plenty of "Campagnolo" form factor quill pedals, lots of makers, including Campagnolo. A good choice is you will be considering cycling shoes and cleats.
I really encourage toe clips and straps, not necessary to cinch them up at first.
My son fought me about them, but after he slid his foot off the pedal a few times, always uses them now.

oneclick 

This can be done, but

a) the pedal needs to come off;
b) the spider bolts have very thin heads, access is difficult, and they are not particularly hard steel. If you decide to do this either separate the two rings, or get a good fitting spanner and bend the shank of it so it will grip them securely; and you will likely need an appropriate pin spanner for the nut portions (a decent home-made version can be made from stainless table knife with a Dremel).

p.s. good score.

smontanaro 

OP needs to balance that against tracking down the correct crank puller. Stronglight cranks of that era will have a slightly different thread diameter than your normal Campy & Shimano cranks 23.35mm vs 22mm).

Kabuki12

Nice bike. I love my ItalVega. Bartly is the resident ItalVega guy so I expect he will be along.

mpetry912 

this bike looks like it is in exceptionally good shape. take good care of it

the comment about the crank puller is particularly apt ! from memory it's 23.35 mm and if you try to use an alternate, you'll strip the extractor threads.

it's entirely possible they are already stripped.

/markp

KenNC

Nice bike! FYI you can get some Italvega decals at Velocals, I've opted for the UV laminate myself. Down tube decal and seat tube/head badge decals here:
https://velocals.com/italvega-down-t...-choose-color/
https://velocals.com/italvega-head-b...cal-red-green/

Bad Lag

Needs nothing but would benefit from:

Unicanitor or Selle Royal saddle
Black bar tape
Skin wall tires (Challenge or other premium tire)

I like the crank. Replacement chain rings are available.

Cratecruncher

Thanks for all the helpful comments everyone. Being there is some surface rust on the top tube I decided to do some exploring with my endoscope. As soon as I get out of BF Newbie Jail I'll post some pictures. This bike is in great condition except for the paint which is terribly thin in places and with some surface rust underneath. After a lot of thought I've decided to repaint the bike in the original colors with Italvega/Nuovo Record waterslide decals from VeloCals. It will be bare metal with etching primer, DuPont Chromabase for color coat, and finally Chromaclear over paints and decals. The Columbus and Made In Italy logos will be 2 mil stickers applied over the clearcoat. I'll take pictures along the way and update the thread as I go. I've restored cars and motorcycles and have all the equipment and experience to do it right so don't worry about the bike being in the hands of a hack that's gonna wreck it.

machinist42

You can always "restore" or "repaint" or whatever you want to call it in the Future,

But,

You Can't Go Original Again.



“I have to see a thing a thousand times before I see it once.”



Post them to your Album; someone will ferry them over here.


“Make your mistakes, take your chances, look silly, but keep on going. Don’t freeze up.”

Cratecruncher

Yes. (sigh) It's only original once as they say. I have a Bertone X1//9 with 36 year old original paint that's holding up remarkably well other than some door dings and rock chips. I kinda like a few chips and scratches on an old bicycle frankly. It makes it look it's age. The only reason I'm wanting to restore the paint on the Italvega is because the rest of the bike looks brand new and the paint is blotchy with rust underneath. It's just not attractive patina and really hurts the rest of the bike. I can't treat the rust without taking most of the paint off the top tube and that really should be addressed.

Cratecruncher

This will be my second attempt at posting pics. I wanted to see inside the frame to get an idea whether there might be corrosion on the inside. I was also curious to see if there was any coating or surface treatment done at the Torpado factory on these early bikes. The first picture is at the bottom of the seat tube looking at the bottom bracket. Notice the metal shavings still present from final fitment fifty years ago. The next photo is about mid-span inside the top tube looking toward the head. Both areas confirm there is no corrosion and it looks like bare metal. I'd heard these were braised but it looks more like silver solder to me. I'll poke around in the head when the bike comes apart later this winter. Right now I'm just enjoying riding the bike during what's arguably the best time of year in the Central Texas.

EDIT: After disassembling the bottom bracket I discovered what I had assumed were metal shavings turned out to be sand and gravel particles that stuck to the spindle. The bottom bracket had been serviced fairly recently as evidenced by fresh grease and a badly worn raceway from overtightening(!) the cups. The inside of the bike is completely corrosion free though.

Kabuki12

It looks pretty good given the age. When I did mine I just use a small light that drops down and it looked good . Your bike is great, mine was left in a field to rot for years and I spent a year or so getting it back on the road. I wrote about it on my blog, Rusty Resurection at joesvintageroadbikes.Wordpress.



After a lot of effort it came back to life! I plan to keep it as my patina bike, one of the best riding bikes in my stable.

Cratecruncher

I checked out that blog and enjoyed reading about ALL your bikes Kabuki12 including the rusty resurrection of your Italvega. You mention in your blog your is a Gran Sport model. What is the difference between models? I'm really interested in knowing the original specification of my '71 if anyone can point me to more information. Perhaps someone knows of a catalog page or advertisement somewhere? I think it came with Universal brakes and levers originally. It currently has one Universal 61 caliper, one Weinmann 610, and new Diacomp levers and hoods recently added by the previous owner when he did the cables and bar tape. He gave me the original parts that were removed from the bike so I also have some well-worn MAFAC levers but I don't think those were original either though their condition looks it. He also gave me a pair of "christophe" clips with "lapize" straps though I haven't had time to try them out yet on the Suntour pedals.

Cratecruncher

I received a package in the mail yesterday from a recent auction purchase. It's a Stronglight chainring with 53 teeth to replace my worn and broken original. The listing said lightly used but if it was ever installed it must have just been for a moment before taking it back off. This part is in NOS condition. It had a lot of light scratches on the surface likely from being tossed around in a spares box for decades. A date with the polishing wheel brought her back to new in no time. My concern is that the wear on the original was largely due to the chain rubbing the teeth while in sixth gear. (In an earlier post there is a closeup showing gouges on the inside surface of the larger chainring.) Being new to bikes is this common on 12 speeds or should the forward derailleur be pulling the chain away from the larger alloy chainring in that gear? Is there a spacer used somewhere that might be missing?

repechage

Those Mafac levers are not original, those have the uncommon integrated J quick release. They fetch a handsome sum on eBay often.
depending on the other hardware in the brake system, you might wish to keep them for the quick release feature.
many liked the shape of them.
while there is “production” correct, truth was many bikes were modified to suit the owner’s preference.

the front derailleur mechanism- once it has shifted to either ring, it should be able to run with adjusted with no noise, no rubbing of the chain after it is trimmed. The approach is shift with authority, then trim away the noise.

as I was just working on a similar Stronglight chain set, make sure the two front rings are 100% compatible- older chain sets used slightly smaller bolts connection the rings.
later use an Allen key attachment, earlier hex head bolts. They really do not mix.

repechage

hopefully the body coolant tubes have not rusted out… that X1/9 had a great appearance.

repechage

Forgot to mention- the extreme combinations, big ring : biggest cog or small ring : smallest cog in general should be avoided.
if you count all the teeth and consult a gear chart of the various ratios, you will find those combinations are near duplicates of other more wear friendly combos.