Elev12k

Maybe some of you remember this bike from the Dutchbike-thread ? =>



More pictures

It are pics from right after I picked it up. It was the start of the project. It is a late 60s (me thinks, or maybe early 70s) bike that got a refinishing and new bits in the 80s and since than wasn't hardly used. Paint looked shiny like new, but unfortunately little rust worms develloped under the paint here and there. Probably it had been parked away in a moist environment. That had to be corrected. After a few failed attempts with cleaning and touching up by myself, off it went to painter Brady van Dalen, who did a thorough job.


Headtube and panels were wrapped. They were in excellent shape. I can tell the result doesn't show any transition from black to panel or headtube.


Non covered area sandblasted.


Maybe some of you recognize the red frame? My next project.

I had already decided to stick to the concept how I got it, what means 60s bike, 80s refinishing. That is its history. For the parts I decided to go a bit more exotic and quirky though. Months before I got hands on a RIH Bustraan with Super Record, Roval wheels and Weinmann Delta Pro brakes. About the most exquisite and obscure 80s stuff you can think of on it. The RIH was way to tall for me though. The RIH got the honour of donating his magnificent parts to the Zieleman frame.

Like all my bikes I built my bikes with surgical precission so moons later, last Saturday, I got it finished. Fellow bike addict and professional photographer Erik Boschman took a few 1st pics on the last Sunday 'Bikes and Coffee' event for unique/special bicycles. See 2nd post.

Elev12k

...and here they are !




..and here with its proud owner =>




Ko Zieleman, Holland. Reggestraat, Amsterdam to be exactly. Also a first glimpse of Cinelli lugs and the Weinmann's =>




Built by the older Ko Zieleman. Have been told stays with ''Zieleman'' tops denoted they are built by the younger.




The Weinmann Delta Pro brakes =>


Still have the caps, but prefered the setup with tape, just to prevent from losing them.

Dart Vader approved.


Zieleman pantograped Cinelli 1R stem =>




This pic should show you a transition area =>



Nothing (well done Brady)


Type Special, let there be no doubt on that =>




Speclist

Frame: Reynolds 531 tubing, Cinelli lugs, Campagnolo dropouts
Fork: Reynolds 531 blades and steerer, Cinelli crown, Campagnolo dropouts
Stem: Cinelli 1R, Zieleman pantographed
Bar: Cinelli
Brakes: Weinmann Delta Pro brakes and levers
Headset: 600
Rear mech: Super Record
Crank: Super Record
Shifters: Nuovo Record
Front mech: Nuovo Record
Bottom bracket: Pragmatic and buttersmooth DA-NR mix
Pedals: Nuovo Record (on the pics Nuovo Gran Sport)
Wheels: ROVAL Aero wheels, flat spokes, sealed cartridge bearings, black flange, silver body, Campa QRs
Saddle: TURBO Bernard Hinault
Seatpost: Stronglight Aero
Seatbinder bolt: Campagnolo
Bar tape: Benotto

cuda2k

Beautiful!

USAZorro

Looks like you did right by that. Congrats on a beautiful bicycle in the best size made.

cudak888 

Outstanding.

-Kurt

lotek 

and my favourite marque too!
couple of comments if I may.
The under top tube cable stops are newer than early 70's. I'm guessing the bike was
resprayed at some point in time? I've also never seen a Zieleman with two colour paint job
(and I like it very much).
as for the KZ vs Zieleman on the seatstay tops, I'm not 100% certain that's the way of
determining if Ko Zieleman (the father) built a frame or his son (also Ko Zieleman).
I think we are going to need one of our Dutch members to go to the Zieleman shop ( hopefully
when Ko is there, not just his son-in-law who now runs it) and get some definitive history.
Most of what I know is hearsay, and gleaned from old articles in Fiets magazine and talking with
other enthusiasts (Herbert Kuner and Otto Beaujon).

Are the decals painted on or arey they transfers? I've thought I need some replacements and would
love to find some.

I love what you've done with the bike. If it's anything like mine it has a superbe ride, one that
I'd put up against the best of Italy and England.
You'll have to update us with pictures of your other projects.
Marty

Elev12k

Thank you All for your kind comments



Marty,

I still have the phonenumber of the previous owner, so I should give him a call. Currently the only story I know is the story the bike told me right after collection.

A repaint is very likely. The paint was so shiny, without marks and modern in style, that I can hardly believe it is the age of the frame with its design and detail characteristics. I think that with the refinishing also new parts came on. Some parts contemporary at the moment it was refinished (for example stem) and some parts NOS then (DA brakes). The parts all showed the same level of wear. Hardly wear. Like the paint. Bicycle isn't moved much after its refinishing.

Judging by the newest parts I concluded the refinishing must be done somewhere late 80s.

Cable braze on's added with refinishing? Could very well be. Would be a bit odd if you did a proper refinishing (not resto!) and put the cable back with clamps.

The panels are not painted. Could be they are partially clear on a silver painted surface though. I do not know.

The site classical-bicycles does show a two colour Zieleman too. 2nd frame, the yellow one =>

lotek 

Every Zieleman I've seen on M'Plaats, Kapaza, or private collections had less glossy paint
than yours (not saying thats a bad thing) or the yellow one. I've spoken to the owner
of the Classical Bike web site (he used my verbage about RIH on his site) maybe I'll ping him
and find out.
So, after all is said and done about the finish, how do you like the ride of your Zieleman?

marty

Elev12k

Hi Marty,

Not ridden it yet. Rearwheel needs some truing. Fortunately decent alternatives available for daily ride

javal

You know it already but its all professional! Weinmann Delta Pro - how extraordinairy cool!

MattPare

Hi, I am the new proud owner of a late 70's Zieleman Type Special, the frame is in need of a little TLC and is being re-sprayed and chromed to bring it back to its former glory. Can anyone tell me where I can get a set of Zieleman transfers?

Elev12k

I do not know of a source that has decals ready, but of course they can be reproduced by someone with more serious computerskills than most of us have. Without any doubt some people on BikeForums do know to who you can go than. Moreover I know Freek (s70rguy) is familiar with someone in Aalsmeer, Netherlands who has the blueprint and is able to spray the decals on. Helps, if you're nearby.

Elev12k

Under this link you'll find multiple shots of the Zieleman graphics present on the frame. Let me know if you need measurements.

lotek 

MattPare,

Another Zieleman? cool! they are without a doubt my favourite marque.
I also was seeking Zieleman decals, without luck. What I found was it was better to either
have someone like Jrrestore (BF member) or Cyclomundo (ebay seller of decals) produce decals,
or what some other folks who restored Zielemans did was have the decals painted on with a paint
mask.
So, where are pictures of your bike? and give us some details and a ride report please!

Marty

MattPare

Hope the picture comes through OK. The frame is currently at Argos in Bristol for some TLC re-chrome and paint in faithful mat red - group set planned to be a little more up to date in the form of Campag Athena, record headset, BB and hubs and Mavic rims - Should fly along. Argos are getting the decals printed although the olympic rings will not be as accurate - Love the 'Z' embossed lug work! I'll let you know when I take delivery and get the first ride under my belt.

RatedZeroHero

beautiful bike!!!

I see Vader... but no signs of his approval... looks like to me he is busy taking Echo Base there on Hoth...

did I tell you all things should be black? motorcycles, cars, guitars black is the bestest!!!

the Stones knew it!!! PAINT IT BLACK!!!

love the bike!

Elev12k

Very nice. So you got it. Spotted it for sale already. Offered by an English Vintage bike journalist/ enthousiast/flipper. Great to learn you will be taking good care of it starting with a proper refinishing to preserve it into the future. To teach next generations how a proper bike was made

I think your frame dates from 2nd half 80s. You found out more about the frame yourself already?

Vripper_76

Hi,

My first (real!) racebike was a Ko Zieleman. 20 years later I decided to buy back my fist love. At least the brand, not the exact bike. It took a year or so to find a Zieleman that was in good condition and the right size but I found one.



It's a Type Special with mostly Sugino 75 stuff on it. Campa hubs though. And Alesa tubeless rims. Sugino 75 carbon brake levers which i think are real cool but also tell me the bike is not that old. With white sugino brake claws.
Seatpost is SR custom and stem is 3ttt. Steer in SR again but I put that on since there was a 3ttt citybike handlebar on the bike when I bought it. Brooks is also my own. There was a white damaged super turbo saddle on it.
Headset is Tange Industries (japan) which I never heard of.

I revised it and i'm curious what you all think of it. I ride it a lot so it's not as beatiful as it was when i just finished the project.

Here are some pics:





I could use some help on dating the bike and deciding which tubing. I know Zieleman sometimes used different tubing (i.e. reynolds 531 + Colombus) on 1 frame. There are no tubing sticker on the frame what so ever. Frame-number is 7606.

Best,
Vince

Elev12k

Hi Vince,

Very nice. Congrats you found your bike you were hunting for for a year.

It is younger than my black Zieleman and like my black Zieleman I am sure it has been refinished and rebuilt at a later point. Frame is without any doubt pre 1980 and I would guess early-mid 70s is most likely. The carbon levers among much more were no original spec. Tange was a large Japan based company that manufactured headsets and more. The one on your bike is a quite good Campa clone of good quality.

Vripper_76

Hi Elev,

Thanx a lot for your comments! I was pretty sure that bike was refinished at a later point.
That's what made it hard to date the frame. Thanx for your vision on that. I thought it would be mid 80s but that was based on nothing. Happy to hear you think it's about 10 years older.

Thanx again for your comments. And b.t.w. I love your 'black panther' zieleman as well of course. I used to be very jealous. Not anymore though. I don't see any sugino carbon brake levers on yours ... ;-)

Greetz,
Vince

PS. Are you dutch? Did you see the zieleman bikeframes on Marktplaats recently? There small but real nice. They're from a grandchild of Zieleman (jr. I guess) 5 year old and build by Ko - after closing his shop - especially for her. She's a pro rider for Rabo. Nice story right. I don't have money for them nor do I have a girlfriend small enough to ride them.
Anyway, If your dutch, surf to marktplaats and check 'm out. Used to be 3, guess there are 2 left now.

V

lotek 

Another Zieleman afficionado!
Vince, It took me a bit over 20 years to find my Zieleman.
Saw my first one early 80's in Virginia U.S., long story but the shop closed suddenly
and the bikes were gone when they reopened with different owners.
Ko imported 238 bikes to the US so they are not easy to find. Mine came from the Netherlands
and was sent to my by s70rguy (he's in Rotterdam).
can't wait to see the photo's of your bike (I'm at work and can't view pictures).
here's a link to some Zieleman photo's I've been collecting, some are members bikes,
others are from marktplaats. Mine is the bike in the photo's with the yellow background (bike
on work stand, taken a few years ago when it was still in Amsterdam)
https://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/...Zieleman-Pics/
Marty

Elev12k

V,

I think I did spot those newish frames in the old Zieleman shop a year ago. I didn't pay much attention to them, but for as far I recall they were small welded aluminum constructions, what is a totally different technique and concept than with all other Zielemans I know. Must say I would be surprised if they were of the hand of Mr Zieleman. No doubt about the origins of the mountainframe I acquired with that visit >>>



It must have hung there for 15 years at least. It was covered with a cm thick layer of dust.

lotek 

I've seen a few of those aluminium frames, not sure if Ko actually welded them or they
were outsourced from some asian factory.

Marty

Vripper_76

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the reactions, tips, compliments and Zieleman pics. Nice to feel part of a community for the first time of my life. ;-))

The ad of the new Zieleman frame can be found underneath this url:
https://link.marktplaats.nl/285008969
The are several which you can find when you click the advertisers name.

And this is the frame in action by the female (semi?)pro rider.





No idea about production of the frame. Whether it was built in Amsterdam or in Thailand i.e. I still think it's beautiful. Although my own is the best and nicest Zieleman ever build of course.

Greets,
Vince

Vripper_76

PS. @Eleve: I totally LOVE! the purple Mountain frame you just posted. Jalouse! Real nice.