The Wizard
 

My dad had this bike built for him around '74/'75. He stopped riding when I was still pretty young. It sat in the garage and then storage until a couple years ago when I decided to fix it up. Needless to say, I am slow. Today I finally got it completely reassembled and took a tour around the block. The bike rides great. It's so much smoother than my aluminum/carbon Fuji. It's a hair too big for me, but manageable.

Is anybody else riding one of these?


Parts (this is essentially the way Dad had it set up with a few changes): Suntour cyclone gt rear derailleur, bar end shifters, shimano 105 front derailleur, dura ace brakes and levers, 6 speed 12-28 freewheel, campagnolo nuovo record crank, high flange hubs, super champion gentleman rims, generic seatpost, unicanitor seat, 3TTT bars and stem.

And now for pictures:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9396.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9399.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9400.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9401.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9412.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9417.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9404.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9403.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9416.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9423.jpg


There's a thread on RBR Retro-Classic with a few "before" pictures and background.

Killer classic American bike. Lucky you!

nice to see one of these California classics...Michael Howard is back building under the "Wizard" name again, and Brian Baylis never quit building and painting, but he's trying some new business-model things recently. If you search the CR list archives you can read about them, they both contribute there.
Just did a quick look and seems there were very few of these original Wizards built, so you sure have a rare bird there...you should contact Brian or Mike to learn more and let them know another has surfaced and is on the road:
http://search.bikelist.org/?SearchSt...ssicrendezvous

Wow, that's a very special bike! Enjoy!

Neal

Great bike! Thanks for sharing the photos!

I've spoken with Mike Howard a couple of times about the bike. He was very helpful and enthusiastic about the bikes he built with Brian.

Sweet bike!! Very Jealous!! :thumb:

andy

About 12 years ago there was a guy selling one of these over in No. VA. for a really nice price. I couldn't stretch myself enough to fit into it, but it sure was a nice work of art. I think it's the one over on the CR site. I sort of remember it being up against a brick wall. 12 years ago a lot of these more desirable bikes could be had at very reasonable prices.

That is one classy bike!

Need more pictures of the lugs and in better light! *drooling over the photos as it is*

Oh, and +1 to everything everyone has already said.

WOW!!!!! That is a beauty, and being your Dads bike makes it even more special. Whatever you do, don't ever sell it, cause something like that can NEVER be replaced. Congratulations........

A few more pictures of the details. You can see how dinged up the paint is, but the paint itself is a beautiful blue.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9431.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9435.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9440.jpg

You can see "Spud 75" and a "20" the first is for my dad, he sells potatoes for a living. Lots of potatoes. Could the 20 be for frame 20?
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9441.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9442.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9446.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9447.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9449.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9453.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9443.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/_DSC9444.jpg

Speechless...

I'd rather have a Wizard than a Confente. Seriously. Don't ever sell that beauty (and add it to the homeowner's insurance policy if you haven't already)!

DD

Nice!

Thanks for all the nice comments. I think I'm going to print this thread out and show it to my dad when I bring the bike over for him. I think he'll get a kick out of it.

Really nice! I don't know who did what on the Wizards, but I consider Brian Baylis one of the best builders and painters ever in America. As said, rare bike, keep it safe!

There weren't many Wizards built, so #20 may be a possibility.

Edit: per info on the web, 85 were built.

Very, very cool...I wish my Dad didn't suck.

Ha, ha! My stepfather got me into bikes. We rebuilt an old 3-speed on the kitchen floor when I was about 12, taught me how to work on them; rode the shine off that thing. I've been hooked ever since. He rode an Allegro he custom ordered in the 50s... my first memory of a really nice bike. Years later he gave me the sewup wheels off of it. I rode them for years.

Very cool Wizard. I see quite a bit of CA Masi in that frame. :)

From an email from Brian Baylis:

"Wizard frames were built by both of us; each doing our respective jobs.
I made the drawings for the frames. Mike mitered the tubes and put the
frames in the fixtures and brazed them. I did the shaping and filing of
the lugs and the painting. So at the time, Mike did the mechanical
stuff and I did the artistic stuff."

Keeper Keeper Keeper - Did I mention that you should keep this bike???

I've seen one in a collection in No. VA. Recently rebuilt. It's unbelievably beautiful. I agree that I'd rather have a Wizard than a Confente.

P.S. -- If you print this out, you might edit the part where you say he sucks!

Keep the bike, and insure it... heavily!

Lugs and Fischer fork crowns were not easy to come by back then. At the time a few speculated that the Masi like parts were liberated. There are a number of Wizards with Nervex pro lugs too.

A few years ago there was a Masi frame on ebay that had the seat lug filed as that one is only more so, which I consider a tribute to Albert Eisentraut.

There are not too many of these as stated. There is no "James Dean" parallel here so the prices will not Match a Confente, but a Wizard would be a good addition to a California Masi and Related Bike Collection. You could start with a Carlesbad Masi, a Wizard, a Medici, a Confente, Eisentraut, Lippy, Roberson, Tesch, American Moulton, Starck, And I might be leaving one out. Not a cheap collection to acquire though.