It has arrived -- The Frejus
 

Funny where life takes you.

When I was 7 or 8, the cool neighbor kid came home with a Cinelli the summer before he left for college. It was blood red, had impossibly thin tires that glued on (that’s right, tires you glue on) and an incredible elegance taken down to the typeface on the decals. He had to go all the way to Chicago to get it. I was in awe.

On other fronts, being a good northern boy, I played hockey. I had the privilege of being one block away from a park we called the VHL (Vilas Hockey League). They were older than me, but two well known skaters were known to frequent the VHL and teach us younger kids a thing or two. 1980 was a good year for the both of them. Mark Johnson scored 2 of the 4 goals against the commies in the Miracle on Ice. Eric Heiden put on the greatest display of athletic prowess by winning 5 gold medals in all events from sprints to long-distance endurance.

Needless to say, I have always followed their careers and Eric Heiden introduced me to professional cycling.

Well, now I am old. And although I am in full agreement in the saying youth is wasted on the young, there are some benefits to being older. One of which is after a long time of working, I have a greater means than the young. You can really see their jealousy in the road forum, whining about old and slow men on very expensive bikes. So sad, too bad.

Instead of some carbon bling, a few years back I bought a nice vintage Cinelli. Not the blood red I would have preferred, but still a great bike that has brought a lot of great rides. Instead of only enjoying the visceral thrill, I wanted to learn more about the bike. I found it very interesting to find out about the Cinellis, Arrigo, Giotto and of course the most famous brother, Cino.

Prior to working with his brothers in the bike industry, Cino was a pretty good pro rider. More of a sprinter and a good domestique, he did mange a pretty impressive list of palmares include Milan Sanremo, holding the pink jersey in the Giro and the Giro di Lombardia.

In my quest for more information about Cino, I picked up the occasional Italian publication with articles about his wins. These publications also have some interesting ads. One of them, see below, congratulated Cino on winning the Giro della Campania in 1939. In that there is an excellent description of his bike.

I don’t know why, but instead of coveting a bike of a pro from today, I coveted the idea of riding a bike like Cino Cinelli raced 70 years ago. It took 4 years of looking, but here is my late 1930s Frejus. The best part? The seat tube is 58cm ctc and the top tube is 59cm ctc. My guess, there were very few 6-foot Italians with road bikes in the late 30s.

More pictures here.

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/a..._Campania3.jpg

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/a.../Gazzetta2.jpg

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/a.../Frejus001.jpg

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/a.../Frejus006.jpg

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/a.../Frejus023.jpg

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/a.../Frejus030.jpg

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/a.../Frejus043.jpg

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/a.../Frejus052.jpg

Very very cool!!! :love: :love:

What is the plan? Refirb, Clean up or full restro?

Congrats.

Great story.
I loved the intro above.
Now you know the story deserves more words and pics as it progresses.

30s - a rather ambitious project by some standards.
Good luck

Whoo doggy. Such patina! I approve!

Do you know the story of this bike?
Where found?

Man! Holy crap! Now you're really killing me that I probably won't be able to make it out for the ride next Sunday. My brother, whom I haven't seen in a couple years, is coming to town Saturday night and, even if i felt that it was okay to leave him on Sunday, I'll probably have a bit of a wine head come Sunday morning.

You've taken her for a spin? Did you give her a rebuild already? Are those Frejus branded cranks? Does she shift crisply? :)

Just going to put a coat of wax on and leave her be?

Wow - what a special, super cool bike.

The bike came from a dealer in Italy. This is his site, http://www.storiadellabicicletta.com/ For the last several years, every 3 months or so I would do a Google search on 1931 Frejus, 1932 Frejus, 1933 Frejus, etc. About 4 weeks ago i hit the jackpot.

I haven't decided yet about restoration. First will be a disassembly and a complete cleaning. Then I will think about it.

No rides yet. The aluminum bars are shot, I would not trust my weight on them. Same for the saddle. But rest assured, this will be a rider when I am done.

Grail worthy?

;)

My God, that is a gorgeous bike!

I don't know if I could even bring myself to give it a bath, Incredible find!

Great story, super cool bike! Good for you!

Can't wait to see more!

Chris

beautiful bike and wonderful story. I love that shifting system. I agree I would love an old bike like Coppi rode when he was winning big for Bianchi.

I can't wait to see the after pics, I assume your restoration will not go the same way one did in Bicycling? way back in '90ish the "restored" a '62 Frejus. the end result was something with losts of new brazeons, a spread rearend, and Ergo shifters. just like a '40 Ford with a 396, corvette rear and pinto steering is a 'classic' hotrod.

please keep us informed on your progress.

I am very happy for you. Wow. What a find. Just a frippin' amazing find. I look forward to the finished bike. I'm kind of hoping you won't refinish, but whatever you do I know you will do it justice. So how much is "correct" ?

Was that at one time a full chromed frame? kinda hard to tell, looks like the headtube lugs were chromey.

Not that I'm suggesting it, I wonder who has the oldest frame running modern parts, the amazing thing it could be done with very little tinkering, even with such an old frame. Just goes to show how little has technically changed with the frames up until the 1990s, and even beyond then with some examples.

I believe the rims, spokes and the VM derailleur are not original to the bike. Their condition does not match the rest of the bike. The derailleur is most definately "correct" for the bike. If you follow the link to my wj gallery, you will see a pic of the braze-on specifically for a Vittoria Margherita.

The prewar Italians were known for putting a date stamp on the BB spindle. When I take it apart, hopefully there will be one and I can determine if it should have a gen 1 or gen 2 VM.

How amazingly cool that you've finished this quest! What's next to top it?

Iab. This has left me nearly speechless. If old bikes could talk, what stories this bike might tell. As a side note, there was a thread over on the CR list last week concerning a fellow's Frejus and speculation on the three different spellings of the name on his bike. I note the branded brakes and crank arm on your bike are stamped "Freijus". Any speculation or knowledge you've picked up on this? I've got to say, it's the occasional jewel of a post like this that keeps me visiting the forum, hoping to see something as cool as this. Thank you. What a bike.

Words can't do this bike justice. I'm lovin' the mech on this too!

Bikes existed before the 60s? Who knew :p

Can't wait for the video of it shifting.

That's fantastic, iab. I know how much you've been wanting this. Gives me some hope of eventually finding the 60's Frejus that's on my "would be nice to have" list. I'm eager to see how it turns out. Will be definitely something to be seen "in person".

It's a beauty as-is! Congrats on your find!

Grail? Doesn't even seem to have any Campagnolo, just a dork disc...

Wow.

This is what it's all about! I love this bike.

Wow, I thought it was a good night on the forum after seeing the chrome Cinelli.

I LOVE that crank.