Once again I'm in need of your guys help. My friend at the LBS hooked me up with this "old hand-made Belgian racing bike". By hooked up I mean gave me for free. It came equipped with all Shimano 105 components. All the comopents have a golded arrow on them. I'm guessing they must me some of the early 105 stuff. It also has Gipiemme dropouts. Have you guys heard of this old bikes? I've seen the newer Lugano bikes on Ebay but never an old one like this one.

How about my home made bike stand.

Don't know much about the bike, but a Golden Arrow group for free is A Good Thing.

That's for sure!

While taking the bike apart I found out that I could not take one of the dustcaps to remove the crank arm. The "hole" on the dust cap where one inserts the allen wrench is completely rounded. How should I go about removing the darn dust cap?

Thanks! I'm going to either have to waste 20 Euro to get them now or I can order them from the states and wait 2 weeks to have it shipped to me. Either way seems crappy, since I really wanted to get this bike ready for the weekend. I think I'm going to wait. Thanks again.

If you decide to upgrade those components and part with the 105's, please let East Hill here on the forum know - if I'm not mistaken, she is looking for the crankset and brakeset from the 105 Golden Arrow group.

Take care,

-Kurt

Those wheel hubs may be from that same gruppo too. They don't have the arrow logo on them but the model number should read "105" or maybe "105A" on them, and have the black oil hole cover clips.

The bike stand looks pretty sharp. Try some padding or bar tape on the areas where the frame touches.

I think East Hill got GA the brakeset already. I believe she's still looking for the crankset, and maybe the hubs as well.

I'll definitely keep that in mind. As soon as I give the whole bike a good "tune up" and I'm able to ride to see if I like the way it rides I'll decide whether I'll part with the 105s. Also, I'll give my friend at the LBS a call to see if they have any 105 components in the "back" they don't want. If they do, I'll send them her way.

The hubs are also 105s. This bike seems to have been an oK bike but I just wished I had some info on it. I bought some pipe insulation but I've been to lazy to put them on. Again, I'll keep her in mind if I plan on parting with them. She seems like a very cool person. Thanks guys.

gr23932, I was curious if you ever found out more information on the Lugano. I bought a lugano in Belgium back in 1996 and was curious if they are desirable bikes, but I cannot find any information on the manufacturer or history of the brand. thanks

Anonther zombie thread. Only 6 years old.

Wow, you really resurrected an old thread, 2007! I'm surprised the pics from the OP are still here.

Anyway, while I have never heard of these bikes, the value is most likely to be found in the steel they are made out of and the components. Is there a Columbus frame sticker anywhere, most likely under the saddle on the ST? Columbus SL, or SLX would be desirable to have. How about the dropouts, Campy maybe? Is Cinelli stamped under the BB anywhere? Also, what components does your bike have? My guess it's a decent bike because it sports the World Championship colors on the ST.

A bike doesn't have to be a big brand to be desirable, just well built.

Pictures would be a big help...

How come the search function never works this well for me?

It never works well for me either, but google search will always take me to the proper BF thread.

After looking over the bike I noticed it has shimano Exage 300ex gears and the bottom of the bike says Model Vitus, but no other stickers anywhere on the bike other than lugano?

Yeah google. For example "Eddy Merckx MXL site:bikeforums.net"