aixaix 

I won't ride it in the snow, but I can pretty it up a bit while I wait for spring.

I've owned this wonderful bike since 1973. Repainted it twice. Recently I redid the seat tube decals more accurately, removed the fine, handsome, reliable Campy Record Pista cranks & installed Magistroni/Frejus cottered cranks, whose only virtues are beauty and period correctness. The wheels were Campy Pista hubs with soldered spokes & Fiamme Hard Silver rims; now they are F.B./Frejus hubs with P.C. Nisi Squishy Silver rims. They aren't that bad, really. And they polish up beautifully.

So as I lose my marbles to old age and cabin fever, I spend time (and a little money) downgrading the parts on my beloved Frejus, convinced that by making it more like it was when new, I will make it even more magical to ride than it was before.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/2816407...7625972139404/

dbakl

Mighty fine!

bloom87

So sweet. My dream bike is surely a Legnano or a Frejus track. I have what I would call a pale copy of a sixties Frejus/Legnano (same company more or less, right ?)... it is a Low End Garlatti from the mid-early 70es. I guess I could go to Marinoni and ask him to re-weld track fork ends

iab 

Very pretty!

Hard to see. Is the stem Ambrosio and the bars Cinelli? Also, are the hubs stamped Frejus along with the FB logo?

If you have way too much cash, Cinelli badged stem and pista bars would be sweet. The last set I watched sold for about $900.

bikenut2011

Gorgeous Bike!!

andy

aixaix 

The bars are Ambrosio Champions: probably original. They've been on the bike as long as I've had it. I think they are graceful and sweet. The only other things I might change are the seat post & binder bolt. I have a seat post clamp with good chrome on another Frejus. It'll eventually wind up on this one. The Brooks saddle stays. It fits me too well to mess with. A way off in the future I'll fill the hole in the seat stay bridge.

The hubs are stamped "Frejus". Hee hee.

triplebutted

I've got a fondness for Frejus's. I got schooled by a 66 year old Italian guy when I was 16 and he rode a Frejus in the early 80s. What an impact on my life. "Its not the bike, its the engine".

iab 

I noticed on your Flickr site the S.I.A.M.T. Frejus hubs. Were those original to the bike? If yes, where in the world did you find the Frejus-branded FB hubs? If no, where in the world did you find the Frejus-branded S.I.A.M.T. hubs?

iab 

Also, you are right to keep the Ambrosio bars and stem on the bike. The relationship between Frejus and Ambrosio goes well into the 1930s. Cinelli bars are very pretty but they would be out of place.

gomango 

Nice bike.

Thanks for sharing.

ColonelJLloyd 

That's a really cool bike!

aixaix 

The SIAMT front hub came with the bike, as did the F.B. rear currently on it. Both are stamped "Frejus". I posted a query on CR about whether a 1950s Frejus track bike might have come from the factory with mismatched hubs, but nobody responded.

A CR lister traded me an orphaned F.B. "Frejus" front hub that matched my rear one. The chrome is way better than on the SIAMT.

Robofunc

That's very nice. I really like the bar tape/tire combo. I'm curious--where did you get those tires? I'd love to get a set for a green Motobecane GT I'm building.

aixaix 

They are Vittorias. The all-green tread may be out of production, but they come up on ebay from time to time. You can get new Vittorias with green/black tread. I think the model is Pave Evo CG.

cb400bill

Beautiful bike! I love the colors and the bar tape/tire combo.

I have looked around a bit but couldn't find an answer. Does anyone know when Emilio Bozzi purchased Frejus?

jan nikolajsen 

Clean and classic. Beautiful example. Interesting lug/seat stay arrangement. Common for track bikes of that era?

cb400bill

My early 60's Legnano Tipo Roma Pista has the traditional Legnano seat bolt location.

due ruote 

I can't say I lust after track bikes, but that one sure is pretty. Kind of funny to see the spare tubular strap. I keep imagining someone trying to change a flat during a track race.

cb400bill

Mine came with a bottle cage and an odometer.

aixaix 

This bike's competition days are long gone. I ride it, weather permitting, around town and in NYC. Because I am no longer the invincible 17-year-old I was when I got it, it also has a front brake: a Weinmann 500 that has dimples drilled into the arms by some bozo. Probably saved .8 grams. It has a very short reach, which works fine with the fork.

This was a Frejus trademark, used on road & track bikes into the 1960s. They integrated the seat binder bolt (eliminating the separate clamp band) sometime in the late 1960s, but kept the seat stay ends the same.

I deeply appreciate the nice things you all have said about the Frejus. By the way, it rides as good as it looks. Maybe better. I ache for nice weather.

Biofuel

very nice bike!!
Thanks for posting pics

jan nikolajsen 

The crank is a work of art!

Have we gone in the right direction in last 50 years?

buldogge

^^^
Losing cotters...yes.
Looking like that DA...no.