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Near Unmolested Barn Find Zeus Competition - 1970s?
Baina ze demontre!
Another lucky stroke when a neighbor cleaning out his garage in order to move across the country told me he had a “couple of old bikes” from his father-in-law that he needed to get rid of. :) This is one of them, and I snatched it up as I have many connections to cycling in Spain and a soft spot for Spanish bikes. I’ve wanted a high-end Zeus for a long time and though this isn’t the high-end I had in mind, it was way too nice to pass up. This is a comparatively mint Zeus Competition from the (late?) 1970s (I think). If anyone can provide more specifics, I’d love to hear them. It looks amazing given it hasn't been ridden in decades. You can't even see the dirt unless you look closely. I think it’s fairly original. The exceptions I’m aware of are the HKS pedals / Christophe cages, the Weinmann 27x1 1/4 inch rims, the Avocet saddle (though it’s on a fluted Zeus 26.8 seatpost), and maybe the Cinelli stem? I suspect the rest is stock. Reynold 531 Butted Frame Tubes (not sure about the rest of the frame). Zeus downtime shifters. Zeus forged dropouts. Zeus “Alfa” hubs, with Zeus QRs, Zeus branded pump and associated hardware, cable clips, seat binder bolt, etc. Super Alfa brakes and Alfa levers. Zeus “Especial Alfa 72” RD and matching FD. The large foil Zeus down-tube and seat-tube decals have been removed, but all of the rest are still present. I haven’t had time to clean her off or take a closer look at the components as I’m pretty happy about this score. She’ll compliment my other Spanish bike, the Vipch pretty well (and is in much better shape as can be see in these as-found pics below). Viva España! :speedy: https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a055fba32.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...81c013de0.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...eb6a094a6.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...dcba8c0ba.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ee572c607.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...de50abe7e.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...89e1b7e69.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...053aa9eb6.jpeg |
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date somewhat earlier than suggested final year for the Zeus Competicion chainset Ref. 32 was 1971 https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...46faaf254.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0678d2fcbd.jpg would expect tubeset to be Durifort from Ateliers De La Rive possible tubing transfer may not be original ----- |
An older one then...
Originally Posted by juvela
(Post 23176729)
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date somewhat earlier than suggested final year for the Zeus Competicion chainset Ref. 32 was 1971 would expect tubeset to be Durifort from Ateliers De La Rive ----- Wow... or as they say over there... GUAU! So 1971 at the latest? Thanks for that juvela ! Thanks for the catalogue pics as well. |
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suppose it could be as late as 1972 with the manufacturer using up parts on hand for the chainset however the Super Alfa centrepull brakes received a minor revision in 1971 and the calipers from that time and later are marked "71" https://velobase.com/CompImages/Brak...30F56BD9F.jpeg while the calipers on the cycle lack the "71" marking https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...dcba8c0ba.jpeg again, this could be a case of using up the parts on hand... --- one California distributor for Zeus cycles and parts at this time was the firm D-I-N Sales Co. of Mountain View purchased all of their odds & ends leftovers after they discontinued the line about 1980 ----- |
That is a very lucky find. Cool bike.
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https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...de50abe7e.jpeg chainset - someone has replaced the stock 16mm fixing bolts with the one-key release mechanism in the Zeus design the removal thread is the standard 22.0mm and the fixing bolt head is 16mm this means a standard 16mm socket or spanner will have a too thick wall to fit so one needs a special tool or a thinwall socket the one-key release is convenient for the cycle owner but has the double-edged trait of making it possible for a thief to silently remove the machine's chainset and pedals in about ten seconds while the chainset has a familiar looking five-pin pattern it is unique - not the standard 50.4mm BCD - interchanging with nothing else since it has been out of production for over a half century replacement chainwheels are somewhat thin on the ground; at OEM use the standard offering was a dentition of 45-52 for the chainset so the few chainwheels which may come up are nearly all one of those two sizes the BCD for the inner chainwheel is the old Campag one of 151mm with the smallest chainwheel produced being 43T pedals - the HKS brand for pedals is a new one for me checked at VB and at the Speedplay Museum and there are no entries for this brand tried enlarging photo but was unable to make out clearly any of the markings the only Spanish pedal brands am familiar with other than Zeus/Alfa are Iberia, Notario & Olimpic stem - have never known the producer for the Cinelli 1A replica stems found on some of the Zeus cycles of this time they are completely without marks as recalled one possible manufacturer might be AKRONT ----- |
Very nice!!!
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Nice bike and seriously lucky find in that condition. Enjoy riding it after you get it cleaned up. Could the pedals be MKS? Those are more common. Joe
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Oh yea! That is in great shape @CriticalThought . I too have a soft spot for Zeus. I don't have a connection to Spain. It is because the importer was local to me in the early '80's so I went there with a bike shop co-worker and was impressed all of their stuff and they treated us well there. I did buy the Zeus pump. I looks like the same pump that you have. It is much sturdier than the Silca with about the same weight. I know, somehow the Silca became sacred, but this is a better pump. I still have it and my Silca's are gone. I would have loved to buy more there.
One of my dreams was of a Cuevas frame with all Zeus components. I thought that would be neat. The importer was in Rockville Centre, NY at the time of my visit. I believe that when your bike was imported is when Zeus had their headquarters in Manhattan, NY. I'm not sure when they moved to the suburbs. |
Very cool find(!), nice chrome, nice color and I can't wait to see what the other bike is.
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I have a very similar model that I believe is a 1972 and I also believe every part except the front brake pads and tires are original. Reynolds 531 tubes, but fork is probably a lesser alloy. Cook bike, great find.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b009f5bbcb.jpg |
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manufacturer pages from Zeus catalogue Nr. 101 of 1970 - https://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?...serialNumber=3https://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?...serialNumber=3 https://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?...serialNumber=3 https://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?...serialNumber=3 https://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?...serialNumber=3 https://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?...serialNumber=3 ----- |
sleek crown. paint reminds me of gitane.
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Spectacular score! A nice Zeus is high on my list of remaining grail bikes....
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Thanks for the info!
Originally Posted by juvela
(Post 23176800)
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chainset - someone has replaced the stock 16mm fixing bolts with the one-key release mechanism in the Zeus design the removal thread is the standard 22.0mm and the fixing bolt head is 16mm this means a standard 16mm socket or spanner will have a too thick wall to fit so one needs a special tool or a thinwall socket the one-key release is convenient for the cycle owner but has the double-edged trait of making it possible for a thief to silently remove the machine's chainset and pedals in about ten seconds while the chainset has a familiar looking five-pin pattern it is unique - not the standard 50.4mm BCD - interchanging with nothing else since it has been out of production for over a half century replacement chainwheels are somewhat thin on the ground; at OEM use the standard offering was a dentition of 45-52 for the chainset so the few chainwheels which may come up are nearly all one of those two sizes the BCD for the inner chainwheel is the old Campag one of 151mm with the smallest chainwheel produced being 43T pedals - the HKS brand for pedals is a new one for me checked at VB and at the Speedplay Museum and there are no entries for this brand tried enlarging photo but was unable to make out clearly any of the markings the only Spanish pedal brands am familiar with other than Zeus/Alfa are Iberia, Notario & Olimpic stem - have never known the producer for the Cinelli 1A replica stems found on some of the Zeus cycles of this time they are completely without marks as recalled one possible manufacturer might be AKRONT ----- I thought the crank bolts looks much to modern for the bike. Surprisingly, I don't think I mind the 16mm fixing bolts being replaced by the one-key release mechanism types, though I might keep an eye out for the old Zeus ones (and grab or make an appropriate socket) at some point. We shall see. Thanks for the info also about the chainset mount size. Mine rings actually 45-53, not 45-52... so maybe a less common pair. Kabuki12 was right. The pedals are actually MKS, not HKS. My mistake there. I'll correct my original post. The stem is a real Cinelli one, not one of the Zeus copies. I think I saw in some old spec sheet that the Zeus Competitions came with Cinelli stems at one point. Though I could be wrong. If I can find that spec sheet I'll share it. I'm really looking forward to getting this bike cleaned up and out this Spring/Summer. The light blue color is a bonus as it goes well with the repro retro Zeus jerseys that are easy to find. I might go all out and pick one up. :) Thanks again. Thanks for your info as well Velo Mule. I'm glad I got the pump with the bike. I think with white cables on the bike, the pump will look really nice, especially if I can clean it up a bit. wschellen Thanks for sharing that pic of yours... it's gorgeous. |
Originally Posted by CriticalThought
(Post 23181278)
I thought the crank bolts looks much to modern for the bike.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a465a8783f.jpg Surprisingly, I don't think I mind the 16mm fixing bolts being replaced by the one-key release mechanism types, though I might keep an eye out for the old Zeus ones (and grab or make an appropriate socket) at some point. We shall see. |
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two small ZEUS items you may wish to add are the spare tubular carrier (also works well for a rain cape or spare tube and tyre lever set) and the shift lever covers there are two generations of shift lever cover - your bicycle is right near the changeover time betwixt "early" and "late" type so either would be plausible the tubular tyre carrier is ZEUS Ref. Nr. 19 and the ZEUS shift lever covers ae ZEUS Ref. Nr. 18 https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...90ef897451.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a96e26ec8d.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...21e2bbe157.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...424211b5b.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fbbabd17f8.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...18c2c793f5.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f203ce1f23.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2efca7503a.jpg ones which resemble a cough drop are early type and late type are the ones with the waffle pattern --- pedal note - MKS/Mikashima pedals come from Japan and nearly all production is of the 9/16" X 20 thread the bicycle's chainset was manufactured with metric ("french") pedal thread of 14mm X 1.25 which is smaller in pitch diameter than the 9/16" size if pedals are 9/16" someone may have forced them in with great torque or they may have tapped out the crank arms to the 9/16 size if you go to remove them and it feels like you are going to need The Incredible Hulk to operate the pedal spanner for you they have been forced in and the crank arms should be tapped out to the 9/16 size if you wish to continue to use them - alternately you may wish to find some ZEUS Gran Sport pedals in the metric size for the bicycle https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c31c811111.jpg https://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?...serialNumber=3 [pages from catalogue Nr. 101 of 1970] ----- |
Originally Posted by juvela
(Post 23181378)
pedal note -
MKS/Mikashima pedals come from Japan and nearly all production is of the 9/16" X 20 thread the bicycle's chainset was manufactured with metric ("french") pedal thread of 14mm X 1.25 which is smaller in pitch diameter than the 9/16" size if pedals are 9/16" someone may have forced them in with great torque or they may have tapped out the crank arms to the 9/16 size if you go to remove them and it feels like you are going to need The Incredible Hulk to operate the pedal spanner for you they have been forced in and the crank arms should be tapped out to the 9/16 size if you wish to continue to use them - alternately you may wish to find some ZEUS Gran Sport pedals in the metric size for the bicycle https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a60888fa56.jpg Zeus metric thread crank arms were unmarked: https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2a5729a8da.jpg But as @juvela noted, a metric-thread crank may have been re-tapped to English by a previous owner. |
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1c850e0c8d.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7770a13866.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e10d17e712.jpg ...this one is very similar, but orange. I did the same thing after removing the original crank bolts, which as has been mentioned, are a PIA to remove without grinding down a 16mm socket. I think you'll find it's styled after the French bicycles, with tubing diameters and BB threading along those lines. It's not the best shifting derailleur to ever adorn a bicycle, but it works OK...mine came up with someone from Mexico. The original pedals resemble medieval torture devices for the feet, which is why they get replaced, mostly. |
Up for grabs when I get back to Canada...
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d854d19a75.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...55656fee3a.jpg |
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