Hand-me-down ... need help
 

I was recently given this bike by my father who's arthritis has been getting bad as of late, so its been doing nothing but sitting for quite some time. Here's what I've been able to get from him, the frame was purchased some time in the 70's (wish I could be more precise, early? late? I don't know) from a shop. Based on what he wrote down as the name of the bike I'd guess it's a Mirella. I also have a few questions which I'll post after the pictures.

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/8...side8id.th.jpg
Side view

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/1...ront2ne.th.jpg
Front view

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/3...ars17tf.th.jpg
Handlebars

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/3...ars24kf.th.jpg
Handlebars again

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/7438/stem5op.th.jpg
Stem

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/4...ewer3pc.th.jpg
Skewers

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/4213/hub6bf.th.jpg
Hub

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7...post2it.th.jpg
Seat Post (says 26.4 Patent Campagnolo)

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/8541/crank9oe.th.jpg
Crank

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/6...leur3fl.th.jpg
Front Derailleur

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/5...leur3fl.th.jpg
Rear Derailleur

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4...rake3jl.th.jpg
Rear Brakes (front are the same brand)

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/5...dals6hb.th.jpg
Pedals

All the dropouts are stamped "brev campagnolo"

First off can anyone identify the frame? Is it even worth fixing? If its a cheap frame no reason to spend a lot getting it usable again. Next, the reason the front brake is off is because it was bent and will need to be replaced. Also the rims/tires are garbage (dry-rotted knobby tires and schrader valve? :eek: ).

Any suggestions on brakes? I was gonna get some new Records to match the derailleurs (was told those were the best to get at the time, so why not get best campy has now to repalce broken stuff?). What about rims? Since the components are mis-matched (campy, suntour and gran-compe) anyway I don't really mind getting new stuff. Not trying to restore it, just making it useable again.

Let me know if a better picture of anything would help and thanks for any help you can offer.

With this bike I'd join the CR list:
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/
go down to where it says join the list --etc.
I'd do nothing till the experts have a go at it.--sam

Thanks for the link, I just signed up.

The more I look into getting new components the more stuff I have to end up changing. The rims on there now are 630mm, all new ones are 622mm. If I change those I (might?) need long-reach calipers, but all new calipers are recessed mount :(

Yeah, I'm definitely not going to do anything with it until I find out more about it. Either it gets good stuff or I'll get some parts off a bike from the thrift store :p

eng,

Those hubs are sweetness. I'd just find a vintage set of rims and have them re-laced and put on some nice road tires. Add a replacement vintage brake to the front, a cleaning and a tune-up, and you're on the road in style. There is likely a date on the top of your rear derailleur - near where the bolt holds it onto the frame. Itwill likely be either the same year as you bik's manufacture, or a year earlier. If there's no date there, it also will help pinpoint the date.

I have areference document that shows that make of bicycle, but it says it was founded in 1989 - which could not be right based on you father's bicycle. hmmm.

Please write back and keep us posted on this. I worked on this a little bit earlier today and got NOTHIN' so I am curious where this one goes. Thanks and good luck with it. It looks like an interesting project.

Any particular rims/brakes I should be looking for?

The derailleur has PATENT-74 stamped on it, so I'll throw out a wild guess of 1974 ;) However, from what I can remember my father bought the frame and components seperately. So how much the date on the components would help I'm not certain.


Thanks for the effort and will do on the updates. At the very least a good cleaning should make the bike look a million times better :)

Why do you want to change the rims? That will make your project much more expensive. It's not hard to find tires for that size. You can get adapters to use presta valves.

There are lots of vintage brakes that would be appropriate for that bike on eBay and other places. I'd look for some decent used Campy Nuovo Record myself.

Need better shots of the head lugs, forkcrown and front of the seat lug.
The type of threading would help as well.

from what images are there:

26.4 seatpost, points French but not conclusive
Thsi bike looks assembled from avail. parts, don't trust any date codes.
Fork blades appear Columbus in section, not Reynolds.
Fork reinforcements, Good
Chrome lugs and crown, Good
Seatlug looks not filled in with brass around seat binder bolt, points away from Italian
A pressed lug bike, pre investment casting.
Stay caps are flat it appears, points away from Italian.
Cannot tell for sure but that fork crown looks solid, therefore sand cast in that era.

Remove front wheel look at and feel inside steerer, ridges? If so Columbus for sure.
Look at thread type on BB cups, 1.370 X 24, is eng. 36 x 24 is Ital, 35 x 1 is French

I suspect that the hubs, seatpost, stem, bars and derailleurs are original. I also suspect that the bar end shifters are a change due to preference, and that the crankset and pedals are a replacement due to wear.

What rims are on it now? There are lots of vintage rims to choose from. In the 1970's the use of tubular tires was prevalent on higher quality bicycles (which your components hint at). A lot of people either didn't like, or were intimidated by tubular tires, and changed them out for clincher rims (which is what most people are familiar with - tires that are open and have a separate tube that you put in them). I'd guess that at some point your dad changed them to what's on there now. What I'd suggest would depend on what you prefer. The only hard and fast rule would be to get rims that use the same number of spokes as your hubs. I'll throw out two manufacturer names for you though so you can do a bit of research on good quality (not the absolute best necessarily, but very respectable major manufacturers) : Mavic (French), Ambrosia (Italian). Both companies made both tubular and clincher rims.

As for brakes - you could either try to match the rear, or look for some Campagnolo brakes for front and rear. You do need to know what size rims (700c or 27"?) you will have on the bike before you get the brakes though. The length of the arm of the brake caliper (top-bottom) should have the brake pad solidly contacting the wall of the rim. The length of the arms on the front and back will not necessarily match, so use care in figuring that out.

If you have questions, feel free to keep asking. There's no shortage of advice (sometimes a bit conflicting) here on this forum.

I am going to school here, thanks :rolleyes:

The crank is original, father was told by the guy selling him the bike that it was nearly as good as Campagnolo but less than 1/2 the price. Unfortunately, the rims on their now are 630mm/27". They're clinchers now which I'm apt to stay with, tubulars have always seemed like such a hassle to me. I'd like to get some Mavic rims, but they don't seem to make any 630mm only 622mm. I'd need to get long-throw brakes if I got those size rims, correct?

More pictures:

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/8...ket25bt.th.jpg
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8...cket9hf.th.jpg
Bottom Bracket

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/9...idge6ro.th.jpg
Brake Bridge

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/4...idge9qz.th.jpg
Chainstay Bridge

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/6...rks13sf.th.jpg
http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/7350/forks25kd.th.jpg
Fork Crown

http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/4066/headlug5em.th.jpg
Head Lug

http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/920...lug15dm.th.jpg
http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/456...lug23vo.th.jpg
Seat Lug

Thanks again for the help.

geez. it's a beauty. The guy who sold the bike is probably right, the difference in performance between campy and sugino is not noticeable, but the resale value is very significant. If the bike were mine I suppose I'd try to drive it back to full campy, but that's just me. It may be every bit as important to you to restore it to how it was when your dad rode it. It'd probably be more fun to ride if you lose the tractor tires, though, unless grass criteriums and cyclocross are in your future. Please - keep us posted on the progress you make!

If the rims are in good shape, and the wheels don't need complete rebuilding, there are still a number of decent 27" tires made. I just picked up some IRC Road Winner II Duro Tire from Nashbar in 27x 1 1/8. They haven't arrived yet so I can't say now much I like them, but they are 1 of about 4 or 5 different 27" road tires I've seen. Nashbar, Sheldon Brown, and even your LBS should have several 27" tire selections.

Yes, the brakes would likely need to change. As long as you have brakes fitted properly, and you have appropriate tires and good, serviced hubs, wheel size is simply a matter of your preference. I happen to have fallen for tubulars, but I can see the disadvantages to them as well.

My 'A' rider has a very similar Sugino crankset. I've not ridden a bike with Campy, so I can't compare, but I like my Sugino Mighty Competition a whole lot (well the 44 tooth smaller chainring makes climbing steep hills a chore, but aside from that...). I'd tend to concur with that fellow's assessment of them.

I'm eager to see how this one turns out. I think 15 minutes with a cleaning solution and a medium-stiff nylon brush will produce a vast improvement.

It needs more than that unfortunately :(

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/5953/paint3do.th.jpg

Going to get some paint stripper tomorrow after work and try cleaning up the fork (might change the color too, probably black) and see how that turns out. If it works well I'll do the rest of the bike, if not I'll have to find someone with a sandblasting booth big enough to fit a frame.

Oi - you're turning this into a huge task.

Truly is hard to judge the condition from photos, but once you start to strip off paint, you've pretty much committed yourself to disassemble the entire bike and to do a repaint. Getting the bike professionally painted is a couple hundred dollar proposition. I'm not going to try to sway you one way or the other, but I figure you might want to know before you head down a path you can't come back from.

It's also worth noting that, while a fresh paint job looks great (when properly done), it doesn't necessarily add to the value of the bicycle. Apparently, originality is more prized than condition - to a point.

The one other thing I would suggest finding out is what would be needed to protect the chrome. I'm not sure what effect blasting would have on it, but it sure would be a shame to lose that wonderful asset on your bike. I wish I could tell you myself, but I don't have experience with that. I'm sure others here have though.

Yeah I know, but if I'm going to ever ride it I'll have to fix that paint job. It'd bother me to no end if I didn't. I'm not really worried about the value of the bike. CR has pretty much proven it's a Mirella, which isn't a particuarly valuable bike anyway.

That's why I was going to try chemical stripper first, hopefully that'll keep the chrome intact. Only if that doesn't work will I go the sand blasting route ... plus there's always metallic paint :D

Well, it sounds like a grand project, and you'll have a beautiful bike that you enjoy riding once you're done. I realize it may be some time before it is completed, but I'm definitely interseted to see how it turns out.

While not super valuable, do try the stripper route, "aircraft stripper" is what you want, plus gloves and a breeze and or a proper respirator, not a dust mask or even a charcoal filter dust mask. There are different types of gloves, Gauntlets type(longer) made for chemicals. Good paint stripper burns fast on the skin. a stiff nylon "tooth brush" and or a brass version works well.

Save the chrome, it be worth the hassle.

Go back to 700c wheels, hubs are worth saving, spacing is probably too narrow for mod stuff anyway. tubulars or clinchers, Campagnolo long or standard reach calipers are not very expensive on ebay, especially if you do not require the shoes and or holders. Sugino was the sensible alt. to Campagnolo, just not as pretty. also not super important, the bike geometry was designed for 700c, it will handle better.

Any suggestions?

Also, where to get "aircraft stripper"? I was just going to go to Lowe's or an auto parts place and get some stripper.

Are you settled on clinchers? If so, that narrows things down a bit.

aircraft stripper can be found at Walmart, auto stores, etc. just look for anywhere that automotive paints are sold.

Pretty much.


Thanks

Couldn't find "aircraft" stripper at Walmart, so I got whatever they had.

Results so far (I apologize in advance for the crummy pictures, but it's dark out and I didn't want to set up a tripod so the built-in flash will have to suffice).

Before:
http://img274.imageshack.us/img274/5...ownb0gu.th.jpg http://img274.imageshack.us/img274/7394/lugb5bi.th.jpg http://img274.imageshack.us/img274/3129/forkb8bd.th.jpg

After:
http://img274.imageshack.us/img274/9...owna6rw.th.jpg http://img274.imageshack.us/img274/4731/luga1wr.th.jpg http://img274.imageshack.us/img274/116/forka2fi.th.jpg

Crown was cleaned up a with some blue magic metal polish (that stuff is the best ;)) and the rest was after 1 coat of stripper. Of course I forgot to buy a paint brush so I had to spread it with a tooth brush :( It worked pretty good, got almost everything up except for a few spots where primer is left in the file marks. Another coat should take care of that.

I know it's hard to tell from the pictures but it almost seems like the whole fork is chromed. Is that how it's normally done?

Wow - that was fast. I've spent over 20 hours hand-sanding a frame down to bare metal. Might need to re-evaluate the process as I'm trying to get the paint off the lugs.

As for the chrome - some did the whole piece, and some only did parts.