jnymdnyt

It's been a while since I bought a vintage bike - I just could not resist this one. I bought it from the second owner who bought it in 1964, used it until 1983 and then kept it in his garage ever since. That said, it's in okay condition. I thought I would post something here before doing anything drastic. I am not looking to touch the 50-40 year old paint, but just clean what ever I can and just ride it after giving it a good tune up. It came with the original seat, Campy gransport derailleurs, miche hubs (including simplex as a spare), and Universal mod 61 brakes. It does not have the campys dropout which lead me to believe that is not a 60's bike. The serial number on the seatpost lug reads "R207". Any advice would be highly appreciated.






Thanks in advance,
John

big chainring

Oh man! Thats an awesome bike. I have bid on several Olmos on ebay but never succeeded in aquiring one.

Thats just beautiful. Just give it a clean and polish. I'd probably grease the hub bearings. If theres a bikeshop around with a cotter press you could do the BB bearings as well. I see a Northbrook sticker on the bike. Are you in Northbrook, IL. If so Garners Cyclery is the place to go. They are very reasonable with their labor prices and have every bike tool known to man.

Good luck and nice score!

retyred

Very nice find. Not too many vintage Olmos around. I've been on the lookout for an early 60's Olmo for a while and finally bought one from a bike shop last month. Can you post a few closeups of the derailleurs? A close look at that Gran Sport RD will help in dating your Olmo.

Here are a few pics of my 1963 Olmo, serial #E689. It has had component upgrades in the past but the frame still has the original finish.

Ragooch

I think the U 61's would make it at least a 1960. If the GS rear der does not have a cable adjuster, that would date it post '60 as well.

Rabid Koala

I parted one of those out a few years ago. It had a bent frame tube and rusty chrome. What it did have was a pair of Simplex large flange hubs that a Japanese ebayer was willing to pay big bucks for, so much so that I decided to keep the other components for a future project. Yours really looks nice!

jnymdnyt

Thank you for all the feedback. Clean and polish it was exactly what I was thinking of, I have removed a cottered crank before using a bench press and it was easy. Good point on the U 61, I remember the owner saying the original owner, who was the bike owner as well in Los Gatos Ca, probably bought the bike earlier than he said he did because he was "selling" - 60 to 63. Retyred, that's a very beautiful bike. I wish there was a registry for these bikes, I still wonder how the serial number dating goes. Here's a picture of the derailleur.

retyred

Using your RD picture and the Universal Mod. 61 brakes I'm confident your Olmo is a 1961-62 model. Have the wheels been changed? I'm not sure what rims/hubs would have been original to your model Olmo.
I've never seen a list of Olmo serial numbers. I was able to date my Olmo because another Olmo owner had an original one with a serial number very close to mine.
Anyway,enjoy your great find. In fact, I'm going to take mine out today for a short ride.

dbakl

I have one in blue similar to retyred's with a steel crank, Gran Sport deraillers, Camp lowflange hubs, Ballia brakes. I'd suggest your's was a model down.

retyred

Does your Olmo have a model name? Mine is the 'Gran Sport'.

dbakl

Decals were pretty much gone when I got it....

Peter_B

On the CR listserver, that style of head lugs has been said by several to be a one-piece head tube with pseudo lugs (not true lugs). Thus your bike may be a mid-range model, but I'm guessing and I love how that head tube looks. Here's my 1963 Olmo #E864

Peter_B

I should have mentioned that my Olmo is the De Luxe model, the top one. I looked further. Here's a June 1961 catalog scan for the De Luxe, and here's what Ted Ernst, an Olmo selling bike shop owner, said about Olmo models on the CR listserver.



From: "ternst" <ternst1(AT)cox.net>
Subject: Re: [CR]Olmo 1950's - 1960's on ebay
Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 18:54:46 -0700

I think I can. This is the bottom of the line we sold of the Olmo models.
Straight guage tubing, Stamped dropouts.
27" Nisi or Fiamme Steel hubs,QR, later, wingnuts earlier in the '60's,
possibly into the '50's also.
Steel cottered Olmo/ Magistroni type swaged crankset, Gran sport
dreailleurs, Earlier models rod ft. shifter, later ones box type push rod
GS.
They retailed for about $89.95
It's nice to love Olmo but the present buyer is besotted and the price has
the fine cachet of emotional and irrational exhuberance!
God love him, go for it!
One man's meat is another man's poison.
There's a cover for every pot.
The next model up had sewups, forged Campy ends, Blue label Fiammes, HF
Campy hubs, Gran Sport derailleurs, also straight guage tubing, steel
cottered Magistroni cranks, usually steel chainwheels 47/50. Retail $129.95.
Best model was full Campy as extant during those years upgraded as equipment
introduced, slight price increase according to components. Red label Fiamme
sewups, HF Campy hubs , earlier ones racing Magistroni cranks, alloy
chainrings, GS derailleurs, Brooks saddle, alloy Ambrosio bar and adjustable
stem, DB Falck tubing, forged Campy dropouts, started at $169.95.
When Campy cranks were on think the price went to $189.95
Out here in California they were brought in by the Mole Family who had
bought the John T. Bill Co in LA when the guys from the !900 age Co.
retired.
Papa and brother Mole were vaudeville unicycle performers and very well
known. They had a shop in LA before they bought the wholesale house.
Phil Mole Sr, was the So Cal ABLA (UCSF) district rep and sponsored many
races and with a few others kept the sport going during the difficult
depression and war years.
The three Kids, Pete, Phil Jr, and Kate kept the business going until they
retired.
Pete Mole was a main person these last years popularizing and developing the
Dahon folding bike line, so well-known today, He's even older than me if
that's possible, but still keeps active in the Dahon Co. so far as I know.
Just little trivia to give some provenance to the frame in case the bidding
frenzy overtakes your senses and you succumb to the
song of the sirens, or maybe Loreley.
Ted Ernst
Palos Verdes Estates
CA USA

jnymdnyt

Mine has a "Olmo Special" sticker that's been removed but you can still see the mark.

Fat Tire Trader 

I recently purchased this frame. It came with Olmo cottered cranks like the one on jnymdnyt 's bike

long john

Sweet ride

juvela

This lug pattern on the OP's bicycle is the Agrati "BRIANZA" nr. 000.8030/U.

Both a bulge-formed and a true lugged head version were offered. The OP's example is a true three-piece head. The bulge-formed version is nr. 000.8356. The upper head lug is nr. 000.8034. The lower head lug is nr. 000.8033. The seat lug is nr. 022.8039 and was offered in both Malaguti style and plain. The fork crown is nr. 000.8038.

The same pattern in both bulge-formed and three-piece head was offered in a version for women's frames. It is series nr. 000.8030/D.

Here is an illustration page from a 1950 Emilio Bozzi catalogue:

John E

I like that. Yes, it looks like an early 1960s model to me. I'll have to dig it up, but someone here told me how to bracket the age of a Campag. Gran Sport rear derailleur, based on subtle production changes over the years.

dddd

Check the Campagnolo Timeline (Google it), the width of the tension spring cover indeed will bracket the date of manufacture.

The version with 10mm cover was designed to handle a 6s freewheel, beginning around 1962, even though still no 6s freewheels were on the market until perhaps 8 years later.

However, I've had early 60's Italian bikes that apparently came with components supposedly made several years earlier!

This 1962 Olmo Deluxe came with the earliest (1959 production) crankset and the Grand Sport derailer with only 8mm spring cover.

John E

My first road bike was a bottom-of-the-line 1962 Bianchi Corsa, which I received for Christmas that year. One of my classmates had a Campi, which looked almost identical to my Bianchi, except that his was green instead of red (like mine) or gold (like my brother's) and had 12 speeds instead of 10.

dddd

As an owner of a mid-range Campi road bike, I'm always keen to learn anything about them. I've not come across another example, so wouldn't know how to properly refinish mine.

Mine did come with Campag GS shifters/derailers, so might have had six speeds, since Universal 61 brakes means it's probably at least a '62. It came without wheels however. It's the greenish frame hanging on the right in this photo:

rootboy 

The old Olmo is very nice. Would love to see more close up pictures of the frame details and especially the decals.

It's a shame the saddle is petrified as that is a cool badge.

Wileyone 

Love it... Nicest non British Bike I've seen on Bike Forums in a long time.

John E

Dreadful nationalism there.

On a ride a few years ago my English friend was lagging a bit, so I pointed to my Bianchi and told him, "You need Italian steel." A short while later a gent on a beautiful classic Raleigh International breezed past both of us, and he replied, "You need British steel."

John E

Now that is a man cave!

rootboy 

Very cave-like.