Okay, so I'm cruising eBay, looking at all the bikes, when I see this one frame. Looks interesting, in good shape, and the price is right. I throw out one of those "If I get it, cool, but if I don't I'm not losing any sleep" bids. Two and a half days later, I win the frame.

I have no clue as to its history or what Excel tubing is. Very nice looking frame, though.







Campy Chorus bb, Huret shifters, Gipiemme seatpost.

I have seen similar Gardin frames. Those are for triathlon I believe: the curve seat tubes changes the effective seat tube angle.

Excell is French steel tubing. Pretty light I think.

Gardin was located near Toronto. Of Italian origin, he had some Italian framebuilder come over to Canada. Has made very decent frames as far as I can tell, some mid-range.

Nice bike. Makes me dizzy to look at it though; I'd feel better if the s-bend went the other way. It'll make an interesting conversation starter. I haven't ever seen a bad Gardin, btw.

This may not be too helpful, but I have a 1994 GT Edge frame with Excell tubing. It's definitely French and steel. Other than that, I haven't been able to find any info on Excell. Attached is a shot of the tubing sticker. I know this is not very useful, but I provide this scant info because Excell info is so hard to find.

The model you have appears to be a circa 1990 Triathlon Shred. The fork is likely a replacement, as the ones I've seen were painted steel and usually with straight blades.

As stated, Excell was a French company. They used super high strength, plain gauge, nickel-chromium steel, sometimes reinforced with carbon and Kevlar fibre. The heaviest set I'm aware of had a main tube wall thickness of 0.6mm, the same gauge as the unbutted section of Columbus SL. The lightest set had 0.3mm main tubes.

looks like maybe someone had a fork from a Vitus 979 lying around?

Thanks for the information. I showed the frame to the group ride yesterday and nobody had a clue about it.

I did find these:

https://www.bikecult.com/works/archiv...gardinRTT.html


https://www.bikecult.com/works/archive/gardinB.html

https://www.bikecult.com/works/archive/gardin.html

From 2002 Old Roads: Joe Gardin set up the company in the West end of Toronto after he got Canadian distribution rights to Cambio Rino derailleurs. At the time, he was running a forklift company (where he earned his money). He then brought over a master frame builder from Italy. He initially sold bikes under the Cambio Rino name in the early 80's, then moved on to sell Gardin bikes in the mid-80's. While far from being what I would call high quality, they offered an incredible value for the money, giving competent bikes for comparatively little money. At the time, if you wanted a quality bike in Eastern Canada, you would go for a custom-built Marinoni (they are still around)out of Montreal or a Mariposa out of Toronto. I heard that the Gardin went bust in the 90's under perhaps questionable circumstances.

Excell tubing info: from the Serotta board: https://www.serotta.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7719

Lemond, Giordana, Pegoretti and some others used Excell tubing. https://www.bikyle.com/GiordanaFrm.asp#Geometry


Earlier, Google kept thinking I wanted information on GARDEN bicycles.

fwiw- the old roads quote consists of a mishmash of speculation, confused details & outright errors bound together with some factual information.i'm still trying to sort out the specifcs of the gardin/cambio rino stories myself. imo, you'd have to have been there...

k

Well, I was there. I was part of the Montreal racing team (still have my Cambio Rino skinsuit) that was sponsored by the Centre du Vélo, the bike shop that brought these into Montreal. I owned a Cambio Rino (a brand which later became "Gardin"). It came equipped mostly with Cambio Rino parts, except for the brakes which were Modolo Speedy. A very nice ensemble, and ultralight, at 19 pounds, which was exceptional at the time (a Marinoni weighed in at 21 lbs and was double the cost and sluggish in comparison).
The frame I ended up with was a dream-ride... however, unfortunately, we came to realize that there were significant manufacturing inconsistencies with these bikes... now I'm not commenting on the bikes in the pictures above, but on the "normal" racing bikes with straight seat tube... some arrived with a gap between the bottom bracket lug and the seat tube or downtube, because their "master" framebuilder (probably just a family member who could never call himself a "master framebuilder" back home in Italy), instead of changing the BB, would force tubes to fit at angles different than which the BB was designed for, hence the resulting gap that some of the frames we received would have. It's almost as if, he didn't have the parts on hand, so he'd force things to fit. Not much quality control there... and if you had one that was a sweet ride, didn't mean the next one would be as nice.
I had the corsa I believe, but I'm not sure, can't remember... had a mix of Columbus SL and SP tubing (because of my frame size), with a semi-sloping Columbus crown, and it was an extremely stiff bike with tight geometry. It was both amazing up (and down) the hills, and excelled at criteriums too. Handled much quicker than anything else at the races... but then again, as I said, I got lucky! Mine had no gaps, and unfortunately, was totalled in a crash that I was lucky to come out of alive.

As for the bike above... makes me wonder if this "master" framebuilder had a drinking problem! Thinking back... I feel like I had won the lottery with the bike that I had!

Does anyone else own a Cambio Rino? I'd be curious about the frame geometries, average that up and try to extrapolate what the average may have been.

To add a little bit to that, Excell is very high quality tubing. I believe some of the earlier Italian Masi 3Vs were made with Excell. The French builder Haral also made a curved seattube bike using Excell - one was listed a couple of times on ebay recently. Excell was apparently a very small (i.e. possibly one man) concern located in St. Etienne. The guy must have been some kind of eccentric semi-genius. From what I've read some of the tubesets he designed would have been produced by Mannesmann, others (I believe possibly including the curved tube models) by the French outfit Gautier-Trousell. Most of this comes courtesy of various CR archive bits, mainly from the British builder Norris Lockley, who used Excell tubing and visited the producer in France. Bottom line: Excell seems to be pretty cool stuff.

March 6/09 12:05 pm - Sad News
Posted by Editor on 03/6/09


We are saddened to report that Joe Gardin passed away on Wednesday, March 4th. For those readers newer to the sport, this name will be unknown, but Joe was an iconic member of the Canadian cycling industry in the 1980s.
His main business was Mobile Industries, which made pallet trucks, but Joe had the Italian passion for cycling, and set up part of his factory in Mississauga (on Mavis Road) for bicycle manufacturing, bringing in Italian framebuilders initially to run things and train others. Gardin Bikes were, of course, road and track bikes. He eventually opened Veneto Cycle, a retail outlet, but bikies in the know could always swing by the factory to discuss an order, or pick up a part or two.
Joe was also a strong supporter of Canadian cycling - both men and women - sponsoring members of the national team, particularly Canadian Olympian Curt Harnett. When Clara Hughes, who was racing for my wife and I, needed a track bike (our sponsor didn't make track bikes), Joe custom built one for her. He could come across as a gruff man, but once you started talking cycling, all his passion came out.
Our best wishes to his family. Visitation will be held today from 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm at the Turner & Porter Chapel, 1981 Dundas St W, Mississauga. A funeral Mass will be held at St Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church (2340 Hurontario St, Mississauga) tomorrow (March 7th) at 10 am.
If you have memories of Joe, please post them in the Forums.
National team member Denise Kelly (and now Ontario provincial coach) passed along the following memories:
I just received the sad news that Joe Gardin had passed away. I have never forgotten this man and his family who did so much to support me and the cycling community. In fact, one of my training routes in Halton passes by his old house where I happened to ride by yesterday, so he is never far from my memory.
Joe was instrumental in helping amateur athletes reach their potential in the sport. I was very fortunate to benefit from Joe's big heart and his passion for cycling. He sponsored me during the entire time I was racing on the National Team in the eighties and early nineties. When I was on home soil, I'd proudly wear the Gardin jersey and then the Veneto Cycle one, named after the store his son opened up on Bloor St. I won both the High Park and Queen's Park races in Toronto while racing for Gardin, something he was very happy about!
His famous line was, "I won't give you money but take all the equipment you need." He wasn't kidding. I'd go visit him at the warehouse on Mavis Rd. and literally take a shopping cart to pile it high with wheels, tires, components ... you name it. I was one of the first riders to try out the prototype frames he built on site - the 'compact' frame (with the curved seat tube) and his first carbon frame. I always had custom built frames and rode them around the world. I kept the last one he made for me in 1991 complete with first generation Shimano components and down tube shifters.
Joe and his wife, Bette, welcomed me into the fold like one of their family. The Toronto Italia Cycling Club was a huge beneficiary of his generosity with many a young athlete sporting the Gardin logo. I became good friends with Curt Harnett at that time as he was Gardin's big name athlete for many years.
I will for ever be grateful to Joe Gardin. Whether out on my bike or motorpacing athletes by his house, I'll be sure to say a prayer for him and his family.
Also, from the Bicycle Trade Association of Canada:
The Canadian bicycle industry has lost a champion of cycling with the passing of Joe Gardin. Mr. Gardin was an leader who established the Gardin Bicycles in Canada to build custom road bikes. A generous man who over the years he sponsored and supported many athletes and assisted in establishing cycling as we know it today in Canada. The Bicycle Trade Association of Canada expresses our sincere condolences to Mr. Gardin's family.

Also some words from Curt Harnett.
March 6/09 17:47 pm - Curt Harnett Remembers Joe Gardin
Posted by Editor on 03/6/09


Canada's three-time Olympic medallist Curt Harnett has provided some of his memories about Canadian bicycle manufacturer Joe Gardin, who passed away earlier this week (see Daily News earlier today):
I think "Soprano's" when I think of the first time I met Joe, as he sat behind his massive desk in his not so small office on Mavis Road. He was intimidating, he didn't pull any punches and I learned very quickly that he didn't suffer fools wisely. But he had a heart larger than the sun. The moment he decided to let you into his world, he threw you the keys - and yes, as Denise pointed out, that included ambling up and down the aisles of his warehouse with a shopping cart and no cashier waiting for you on your way out.
It seemed that no request was too big or too small. Bike needed to be built? No problem. You needed someone to pass water up to us at Springbank? No problem. You needed to borrow a car for a couple days/weeks/months? No problem, you chose the one you wanted from his stable at home.
And, although I outgrew the training rides around Acton with a man that had no business wearing Lycra, all full on espresso and homemade salami, I never outgrew Joe Gardin.
It was something special to stand next to Joe and Giorgio (Gardin Bicycles master frame builder) as we discussed adjustments, some subtle and some not quite so, to my new bike for the season. We quickly built a trust that remained with me throughout my career as we constantly pushed the limits as to what Columbus tubing could do and what it was meant for, to varying degrees of success and failure.
In 1996, we both retired from the competitive bike racing business, just as we had started it; with passion, creativity and a lust for feeling the wind blowing through our hair (one of us did have more hair than the other).
That's who Joe was and that's how Joe lived. I will miss him.

I ordered a custom made Gardin "team" from the Joe Gardin's son who ran Veneto bicycle store in Toronto in Decemer 0f 97. Joe Sr. liked my colour choices for the frame and apparently used them for the "team" units for 1998. It 's blue with white , red and yellow at the head ,seat and crank joints. Frame was "Chrome" and equipped in full Campy( 12 speed). Put on several thousand kms on that bike. No cracks or failures ,though I dumped a couple of times ( strap pedals).
It's still 20 years later an attractive road bike and almost all is original including Campy "strap" pedals, and Campy "slimline" water bottles and "triathlon" seat . Still used one of those bottles 30 times this year. Workmanship was first rate right down to the etched steel inscription on down-struts" JOE GARDIN".
IT hangs in the basement for now., but I might go to larger Campy speeds next year and put it back on the road just for fun.

I have owned several Cambio Rino and Gardin bicycles. Cambio Rino was built under Joe Gardin's unbrella as was the Gardin featured in this thread.

Generally, the Cambio Rino and Gardin bicycles are OK but that is about as far as I would throw the ball. In some instances, however, the bicycles are indeed works of mechanical and functional art. Most of the Cambio Rino and Gardin bikes are all but forgotten but a couple do stand out...

My Cambio Rino 2000(black and white) was pretty darn nice as was a sligltly older Cambio SP(red), which I still have in my collection. Of course, several other Cambio Rinos have come my way and a few are still tucked away in The Old Shed.

I used to own a Gardin Special(green), a Gardin Team Issue(brown repaint), a TNT(no pic) and a 400(black) and not one of those bikes impressed me with their quality of construction. Then there was, and still is, my Gardin Anniversary. A really beautiful bike that rides like a charm and looks just great. The bicycle was built to commemorate Campagnolo's Fiftieth Anniversary. But even my Gardin Anniversary, a top of the line and special issue offering has assembly flaws present. Too bad because it is a really beautiful riding bike.

So, you might have a great bike and you might not. Hope this was a help.

Thanks to T-Mar I was able to determine that My odd looking find was indeed a Gardin Shred. (He did it sight unseen) Now that I'm having some success uploading pictures Here we are.

Neat bike. Unusual seat tube curvature, to be sure - I've seen a lot of curved seat tubes, but none quite like that.

I have a bit of a 'thing' for Canadian-built bikes (my Cyclops and Marinoni are favourites, and I used to own a nice Brad Proctor) but have never owned a Gardin - though I have admired quite a few.

A fair bit of variance within their production, with some very nicely finished frames out there.

Would love to see more pics! And to hear anything more you could say about that unique example.

Yes, that's definitely a Gardin Triathlon Shred. The reverse S-bend allowed it to be built with the ultra steep seat tube angles becoming popular on triathlon bicycles in the early 1990s, while still using off the shelf lugs with traditional angles. To achieve angles this steep using a straight tube, the frame would have to be built using non-lugged TIG or fillet brazed construction, or resort to the added expense of custom angle lugs.

Dear Sir, I came across this thread and your comments while searching for information regarding my old Pinarello Montello frame which I had purchased from Joe Gardin(Jr) at Veneto Cycle in Toronto back in the '80's.
I am presently in the process of restoring this bicycle and am having problems in dating the actual year it was produced. 1985-86-or 88-89. I contacted Pinarello directly on several occasions and sadly, never received a reply!! There are several discrepancies/oddities regarding the frames paint scheme, decaling, serial number, and lugs which adds to the confusion of pinpointing the exact date. I no longer have the bill of sale and now that I am much older and less wiser, it seems I cannot recall the date of purchase. I have been searching the web over the years and am receiving information from various forum Pinarellos lovers and am trying to decipher all the replies which is very time consuming and sometimes even more confusing in narrowing it down.

I am hoping yourself or someone whom you may know that may be in contact with Gardin family members, might possibly help me sort this out by going directly to the source, which would be a record of store receipts with my name.
Perhaps if they had been archived away it might be possible to find receipts for the 2 Pinarello's I purchased back in the 1980's( a Yellow Pinarello Treviso with Modolo Master Pro groupset and later a Pinarello Montello frame only with the 4 color Arco LA '84 paint scheme.

I just want to bring this old bicycle to its former glory and I need to find out what year it is to complete the restoration. I had many a fond memory of this bicycle and it would really mean a lot to me.
I will send you a private message with my full contact information if you would not mind passing it along to any family members that may still be living in the Toronto area. I would be greatly appreciative for any help you could give me.
Regards,
Paul R