Here are some more detailed pictures of the Comp I picked up at the T-town flea market. I sprayed it down with Windex today and the paint cleaned up pretty good, so I think I'll work harder at making it look nice. I'm hoping the chrome cleans up well. The Normandy Luxe Competition hubs spin super smooth and the AVA rims are pretty true. At the swap I picked up a pair of Mavic GN-4 tubulars w/ good tires for next to nothing. I put the tires on the Comp, so tires are good to go. Everything shifts smoothly and the seatpost and stem adjust freely. If its not raining tomorrow, I think I'll take it out for a spin and see how it goes. I'll post some more pictures post clean up. Here it is in it's "as found" glory....

You might want to take it out BECAUSE it's raining.

That is one very unloved bicycle. Can't wait to see it all cleaned up.

Dam shame to see a proud bike in that kind of shape. Almost the same as seeing an abused dog.

Hope you can bring her back to life...

if that seatpost isn't stuck, why, i'll....i'll....

I was amazed when I loosened the seat post binder bolt and the seat post moved without any issue. It came out and there is no rust at all on the inside of the seat tube. I'm pretty sure its a 73, it has Cappella lugs so.... It looks like it has been in a barn since 1975, it is just filthy! My kitchen countertops are almost finished so then I can start working on this.

I only wish the bike was a 56 or 58....

That was a really cool score. Cleaned up it will be really great.

Unloved? He bought it fairly early in the day and brought it to our spot at the swap meet. There it stood amongst a group of cherry vintage bikes: my nearly mint '83 Specialized Sequoia, his very clean and ride ready Trek and Bridgestone bikes. Which bike do think everyone was ogling? Trust me, it got plenty of love!

Sure is a beauty! You know, you can ride a bike that size, even if you'd prefer a bigger one. You'll just have a more aggressive riding position. Maybe not ideal for a century, but for 50 miles it'll be fine.

On the other hand, why don't you want to swap the components over to your other Competition?

Certainly worthy of a rebuild. Nice that its kept the original parts all these years. I always kind of liked those...

Well, the rain stopped and some patches of blue appeared. I topped up the tire pressure and brought the bike out into the sunlight. I went for a short 5 mile ride around town just to see how it felt. Even being 4cm smaller than what I usually ride, it actually was quite comfortable to ride. What a killer ride and SO SMOOTH! I don't know if it is b/c of the tires (tubulars) or the bike itself, but this is a great riding bike. I'm very surprised that it shifts as nice as it does, I didn't do any kind of lubing before riding.

As I continue to clean the bike up, I find more neat things on the bike. The saddle is a B17 Professional Narrow, TA bottle holder, the Jim Blackburn rack. I need to get some OA

I think I'd feel guilty stripping such a complete original bike to complete another. IF further investigation reveals serious issues with the paint, then I will reconsider pilfering.

I also need a Stronglight crank puller and a TA crank puller.

Nice! One of those is definitely on my list. I'd actually prefer one of those to the Campy GS equipped models. Be sure to post "after" photos.

Lovely find! Can't believe it shifts, the pics make it look so crusty! Hope it cleans up well. Would make a perfect poster child for AO baths!

Hmmm, I always though the Jubillee/French mix pretty cool on that vintage.

These are 10 speed right? What's the rear spacing?

Oh, right!

You know, every now and then I get this thought, "why in the world did I sell my PX-10?" and I am mystified. Then the number 23.35 comes up in casual conversation, and a serene calm descends on me once more.

I have a spare Stronglight puller somewhere.... unused...

PM me...

While waiting for the final coat of polyurethane to dry on my counter tops, I started cleaning up the bikes chrome. I used Bar Keepers Friend with amazing results! I've never used anything w/ OA before and was blown away by the results. The chrome on the forks looked pretty beat before, but now look close to new. There is still a small amount of light pitting, but you can't see it unless you are right up against it looking for flaws. I tried taking pictures to show how nice it came out, but my camera doesn't show it well at all, so good pictures will have to wait until the whole thing is cleaned up

Here are two pictures of the cleaned up fork. Top is before, the other is after. The after pic looks MUCH better in person, but you get the idea

I would do a full soak on that with the OA frame, fork and all the chrome bits. a day or two in the soup, hose off clean and polish and the results will be pretty amazing. It even may brighten up the paint a bit, I found out recently that vintage beer can collectors use a quick OA bath to brighten up old found beer cans!

I don't really have the space to do a full OA soak unfortunately. I also don't have a TA crank removal tool.... Perhaps if someone buys my '67 bug I'll then have room

Rob you might want to try bar keeper friend!
I also have a 80's Comp thats in bad shape; the chrome forks are rust pitted to the metal. I made a paste with the BKF and let it sit on the rust for about 5 mins then steel wooled the chrome total rust came 98% off will have to treat the whole frame once I get some more wool!
It made a BIG difference on the rest of the frame!

I just picked up most of a black Competition last night. 21" frame, very good chrome, no dents or rust. It is missing the bottom bracket & non-drive crank & pedal. The rest of the components are correct & in pretty good shape as well. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet: it is too small for me, my wife doesn't want it & my daughter says she'll build her next bike.

Soak the chrome fork ends and all the other rusty bits in a 5 gallon paint bucket. The frame, since its painted might not need it. Looks like a fun resto!