Let's see some Tommy Lee Jones bikes.
02-19-10, 02:41 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Let's see some Tommy Lee Jones bikes.
I was admiring Prettyshady's Olmo (post #685 on the "Where'd you ride..." thread) and got to thinking, as much as I like all the pictures of immaculate time capsules and restorations, what I really appreciate are bikes that show the character that comes with lots of hard miles. To me, they harken back to images of the early Tour, some stone-faced rider churning away up the Col de whatever on a bike with a battle patina and frayed bar tape. Sorry I don't have a good example of my own; I'm counting on others.
02-19-10, 05:56 PM
#2
Senior Member
The top tube leg rub on my Legnano is one of the reasons I don't ever plan to restore this frame. If this looks familiar, it is a 1954 Tipo Roma featured on Stefan Schaefter's web site (www.speedbicycles.ch). I bought this from him in 2006 and ride it about a dozen times a year. All I've replaced so far since he took the pics are the sew-ups, but the bar tape is getting ratty.
02-19-10, 06:58 PM
#3
peddling fool
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Tommy Lee is too handsome. My frames look more like this...
02-19-10, 07:32 PM
#4
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Thread Starter
Those are great examples. I'm still trying to imagine the bike that matches phillyrider's picture, though.
I love the Legnano, but what's with the leg rub? Do people really rub their legs on the top tube? Or is that someone with a gimpy knee?
I love the Legnano, but what's with the leg rub? Do people really rub their legs on the top tube? Or is that someone with a gimpy knee?
02-19-10, 07:39 PM
#5
Senior Member
We think someone may have done lots of foul weather training with baggy leggings of some sort - kind of like how winter shoe covers will remove the anodizing on a crank. (One of my friends changes his cranks for winter/spring riding for this reason.)
02-19-10, 08:21 PM
#7
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Heavily patina'd but clean and in perfect mechanical condition. I love well used bikes, but leaving old grease stains, damaged housings, and ratty bar-tape is not for me (unless it was Coppi's bike). I do not believe in touch up paint though.
https://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/otis/bianchi60/
https://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/otis/bianchi60/
02-19-10, 08:44 PM
#9
peddling fool
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Last edited by phillyrider; 02-19-10 at 08:59 PM.
02-19-10, 09:24 PM
#10
Iconoclast
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These bikes are a hot mess! Keep it coming, fellas. I love tasteful patina. Can't wait to rack up the miles on my incoming Colnago!
02-20-10, 11:48 AM
#12
Photographer
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Patina gone bad .... I'm bringing this butt ugly Ciocc back to life. Here it is, first day in the shop for an exploratory exam:
Scott
Scott
02-21-10, 04:57 AM
#13
Senior Member
Last week I acquired a Presto in Celeste. Very nice bike. It showed a nice patina. A patina of the kind that will not hurt function now or in the future. Hence I decided to fully preserve the patina and ride it the way it is. 1st thing I did is resurecting the dried 'globe' Campa hoods: I taped the lever-housing properly with thin tape, I put glue on top of that and placed the hoods back. Afterwards I applied silicone based vaseline. Patina properly preserved and feels durable.
