I'd seen a couple of Grandis, but never expected to own one.
Got home from riding yesterday, washed, ate, checked out CL (sounds like a full life to me!)
There'd been a late 70's Grandis posted by its original owner a couple hours earlier.
No photos, but a short description of a group buy of frames, and a build with Campy and Dura-Ace components.
I replied, checked a couple of times and got no response - things go fast around here, I figured it to be gone.
7:30 pm I got a call and invite to see it.

Originally bought when the owner was in college in Boulder and put together to ride up in the mountains. I mentioned that the Spoke Shop sold Grandis here in Austin, and he said the guy that engineered the group buy worked for the Spoke in Boulder. He said the paint on the frames was already rough when they got them - so I bet they were old stock or shipping culls.

Frame's 61 x 60. Shifting is NR (pat 81), crank and brakes are DA (can't find a date letter), wheels are 27" clinchers with high flange NR/Champion on the back and NT/Mavic on the front, Phil BB, Brooks Pro & Cinelli.

I like old bikes that actually got enjoyed, and this one was no garage queen.

Looking at photos, I'm guessing that the frame is '75ish. Couldn't find serial numbers - only 61 on the BB.
Any hints to dating the frame?

Grandis never built any bikes with 27" wheels for stock. They were only built upon specific order. You can send an email to Grandis and it is quite likely that they can tell you more about them. If not, I can have a friend of mine in Verona speak to them directly.

Nice!

I have only had a chance to see a couple in person but I really like them.

CdM, just because the bike is riding on 27 in. wheels does it mean that it was built for them or does it just mean that there is room for them? I have an early 60's Cinelli Mod. B that I am pretty sure was built for 27 in. wheels but I just bought an late 60's early 70's (I think) Benotto and it is on 700c wheels with long reach Campagnolo brakes and there is plenty of room for 27s' and I am thinking that it might have been made for them also. Any idea?

vjp

If you look at the photos, you can clearly see that there is plenty of clearance even with 27". the 4 mm in brake reach is still quite considerable. It might still work but not likely to have that much space. I have already sent the photos to Verona and I should get a reply within a few days.

Remember that it came as a bare frame and the OO (original owner) built it up.
I'd assume that it was built for sew-ups or 700c, but there's enough room for the 27x1-1/8's with enough clearance to feel safe.

27's were a reasonable choice back then for somebody willing to sacrifice a little performance for ease of use. I'll be very tempted to lace up some 700 rims as I work it over.

"I have already sent the photos to Verona and I should get a reply within a few days."
Very cool! Thanks!

It's a very attractive frame and appears to have all the usual Grandis mojo and then some. Nice acquisition - look forward to hearing more.

I bet Silvino didn't do this!
Going to college and need to mount a rack on a racing frame? Just cold solder on a couple of nuts.
The far side was already gone, and this one just needed to be looked at wrong.

Ah, yes, one of those special "Grandis touches," like the extension on the bottom bracket tang ...

Nice one.

I love this bike. Something about the neon bartape with the lavender just kills me. The only tiny drawback is the bare steel on the top tube. That looks like an awfuly difficult color to match if you wanted to touch it up. Anyway it doesn't really matter - the bike is beautiful. Nice score.

Got a message back from Verona. According to Grandis, the bike was built in either 1972 or 1973. He said that it was sold as a frame only and was sized in such a way that it would specifically have worked with either 27" or 700C wheels. He was a bit shocked that it is fitted with Shimano brakes, as at the time he would definitely not have approved.

The earlier ones tend to have those holes on the seatstay caps rather than the "Grandis" engraving. Here's a circa '77 that just sold on ebay with the "Grandis" version:

https://tinyurl.com/lqr7nz

Bikes from just about any of the better Italian builders are rare to see in the US from that time period, IMO. Especially the smaller, lesser known marques that AFAIK wouldn't have come into Velo Sport or Cupertino or Kopps or one of the other cutting-edge shops bringing in Italian bikes. A really nice, unusual acquisition. I believe I have some lavender/yellow striped ribbon tape I would be happy to send you for free if you are interested and send me a PM. (My Picchio Special is also purple but a bit darker shade, interistingly.)

Slightly less gritty Grandis - Stage II.
Hubs were a mess - front Tipo had bad cones and bearings (the races aren't great either) and a SNAPPED rear axle. I'd already down a couple downhills on it before discovering the snapped axle without any interesting results. This is one STIFF bike!
Interesting too is trying to find a Campy axle here in town - luckily I dug up a spare Miche hub with a metric axle.
Replaced the corn cob with a wide ratio freewheel and a new chain.
Treated the bare metal scrapes and spotted with a vaguely similar purple metallic paint for the present.

As good as it's going to get any time soon - Stage III
Swapped the original 125mm stem with a 95. That make a GREAT change in the handling and feel of the bike.
I think a lot of the big, old bikes were usually fitted with stems that were way too long and with bigger bikes made many feel trucky.
Black leather handlebar wrap.
Found that Grandis will still supply a very close to original decal set, but at more than $100 it will have to wait for another day,
and since I'm not decalling I'll just clear coat the decal remains and ride.
Detail shots Here



Some of the answers to my questions from Grandis:
Silvino himself would have brazed the frame
The model name would be "Columbus SL"
The three lobe lug cutout is just a three lobe cutout - no meaning.
It's a '73.

very nice looking. great job on the clean up. but the front hub looks like a Tipo to me.

Very nice bike. I wouldn't bother with a decal set either for now. But I would ride the daylights out of that bike. Wow.

By the way, I am visiting my folks in Kerrville in February. What are your favorite shops in Austin or the surrounding area for vintage bikes, or even a little Italian eye candy if possible? Happy New Year by the way.

I'm sure that's what he meant by "NT".

Gritty Grandis II
Saw another Grandis bike for sale on CL, and had to go see it. Turns out that the rust demons had gnawed at it quite a bit, so ended up paying half of what I thought was a good price to begin with.
Just add wheels the ad said.


Lugwork and cutouts are exactly the same as my '73 Grandis SL, But the frame may be a little slacker and is a size smaller.


Threw on some wheels and rode around the block, and it is super sweet, but now I'm pulling it apart in hope of freeing the stuck stem and exorcising the rust demons!

Be interesting to read a handling comparison.
Mine is a bit later, semi sloping crown. I like the graphics set of the earlier frames.
Quite lucky, the bikes were not imported to the USA in any numbers till later and even then, not that many.

I first heard about them in 1976, an importer had some at the Anaheim Bike Show. A co-worker advised "you need one", but the shop owners were not looking for another line of pro bikes.

Wow! Two Grandii in one stable! Although there's probably some rich fanatic out there who has three or more

I'm surprised by your comment way up the thread that your bigger, lavender one is a "stiff" ride. The one I have feels pretty soft, those long SL tubes offering plenty of flex, especially in comparison to the aluminum, Tenax and SLX frames I have in the same size.

Not complaining; variety is the very spice of life

I got my Grandis decals here, Grandis Special / Super Leggera Decalset | velociao
Not one of the well known decal providers but they do a very nice job. Mine is also a 73 I believe.

^^ great looking bike(s)! Makes me wish I spoke Italian.

The rust is no longer in bloom. File work done and Naval Jelly application in progress.
"Rust is our FRIEND! It makes our bicycles LIGHTER!"
(stolen from the supposed Merckx quote: "The wind is our FRIEND! It makes us STRONGER!")




Stem is still stuck tight

Comment of the month and new C&V motto

Spent rainy yesterday digging out components and dry fitting them.
Now I get to disassemble it again and wait for a couple of weeks of sunny weather to bake the paint!