toosahn

Actually, my first road bike, period.

I bought this from a nice guy here in the Bay Area. It's a late 70s or early 80s Mikkelsen frame (Bay Area framebuilder: https://www.mikkelsenframes.com/). It has Campagnolo components mostly, but a Dura-Ace front derailleur. Cinelli bars and quill stem, and Avocet saddle and seatpost.

Made of Colombus steel, not sure on the exact tubing though. There are a few paint chips, but no rust. The biggest chip is on the fork, as you can see in the picture of the front brake.

I've rode it up and down the street a bit, and it's definitely very sweet. The wheelset is kinda heavy, however, so I was wondering what would be a good replacement (can a modern wheelset with a campy cassette slot right in?). Additionally, the brakes are kinda hard to adjust (not very smooth and require alot of effort).

I actually bought this for my brother because he needs a bike to get around town and to school. But I kinda want it now, and I feel he wouldn't appreciate it as much.

Anyway, you guys could probably tell me more about it just by looking at these pictures:

toosahn

toosahn

flash2070

Hi, that is a very nice bike. It is definitely high end, and I'm glad that you realize that it's a special bike. Take care of it, ride it, and probably a tune would fix those minor challenges. I'm new to bike mechanics, so I wouldn't be ale to guide you here. I can tell you that the frame is high end Italian and the components as well. Dura Ace is high end. If your brother keeps the bike, make him aware of how special it is so that he can take good care of it, and protect it from being taken by someone on a "loan" without permission! Great job, and good eye!

Flash

frenchbikefan

lovely bike.

unworthy1

Great deal for $400, did you ask Bernie if he remembers it (or can provide a definite date)? Given the portacatena dropout it probably is no earlier than '78. I happen to know (rather knew, he's deceased) the guy who designed Bernie's logotype and that was around 1980 or '81, so unless the decal was scraped away, I'd guess it's from before Bernie started using the logo. Interesting to see he's still kept the basic logo (based on a typeface called "Stop" IIRC), but now it's italicized. My late friend also commissioned a Columbus-tubed frame, and it was also red (but a smaller size), I'd be curious if yours has a 27.0 seatpost or 27.2. My friend's used SP tubing (27.0) for the seat tube, perhaps also the down tube, but SL for the remainder...IIRC it was Bernie's choice to do so, something my pal didn't really agree with back then.
BTW, that's an early Chris King headset: you don't see many of them!
A modern rear wheel will have 130mm spacing and this has 126mm. Since Bernie built it, ask him about cold-setting the rear, if you want to go that way. He'd do it right, I'm sure.

toosahn

Thanks for all the responses.

What would be the best way of measuring the rear spacing to check if it's 126mm or 130mm?

Also, couldn't you just run a couple of spacers to use a 130mm rear wheel?

Thanks!

randyjawa 

Measure the drop space from inside face to inside face...


And, no, a just couple of spacers will not work. You will need a longer axle also to ensure you are engaging the drops adequately. Your rear wheel will have to be re-dished to accommodate the 130mm hub width.

Hope that is a help.

Coop500

Cool bike.

toosahn

Randy,

That was definitely helpful!!! So if I were to run a 130mm rear wheel, I'd have to either springing the rear stays or spreading them. That way I wouldn't have to dish. (reading sheldon's site right now)

Otherwise, I should just find another wheelset that's a 6-speed at 126mm correct?

Also, I noticed that the rear shimano hub has a bit of a "hop" in it when I spin the axle or skewer. It spins eccentrically at one point. Could that mean the skewer is bent and needs to be replaced or a hub overhaul? Considering the vintage nature of the parts, would either of those be expensive?

toosahn

Took the rear wheel to my lbs for a tightening up. I'm not going to bother overhauling the rear hub. They said they can coldset the stays to get 130mm for around $20 so I'll ride this hub til it either breaks or it bothers me.

Anyone know how to tell the difference between the various campagnolo components (record, super record, nuovo record)? I looked and the crankset says "170 Strada" an then a diamond around an "8". This means that it was made in 1978. But that's all I know.

jeepr

Nice bike. What are you, about 6'5"?

bobbycorno

Actually, it looks like it'd probably be big enough for me, and I'm "only" 6'3".

Interesting combination of aesthetic cues also used by Albert Eisentraut (seat cluster and fork crown) and Bruce Gordon (scalloped stay- and fork blade-ends). The lugs aren't quite as paper-thin as Albert used to do, but very nice work.

And if you ever decide this bike needs to move on, I'd be glad to give it a good home. ;-)

SP
Bend, OR

jeepr

Only 6"3"?? I'm vertically challenged.. lol..

toosahn

Yeah, I'm 6'3'' (dunno if I mentioned that) and it fits better than any bike I've owned.

It has a 58.5cm t-t, and a 62cm seat-tube, center-to-center. The headtube is 20.5cm.

Perfect for a guy like me who has a near 37'' inseam. I'm all legs.

GrayJay

Nice find. The campy parts are all super record. 170mm cranks are pretty short for anyone fitting that frame, 175mm would probably be a better fit crank.

If you stay with 126mm wheel spacing, note that you can also go to a 7-speed freewheel (using same or different hub) without changing the dropout spacing. Sounds as if your rear axel is bent (pretty common problem with freewheel hubs). You might be able to just fix it with a new $10 axel but check the hub bearings and make sure they are not pitted. Riding it with a bent axel will likely accelerate quick wear of the hub bearings and ruin them. The shimano hubs that came with the bike are old but not particularly collectable or as valuable (as if they were campy hubs). I wouldnt resort to heroic measure to retain the shimano hubs if they are not working well.

Note that the front wheel is way offcenter, probably makes it difficult to track strait with no-hands. Either the wheel is dished offcenter (uneven spoke tension side to side) or else the fork legs are bent toward the side.

For a better overall performance, you might also try some better tires on the existing wheels, those look like pretty old and low-end tires. Heavy and mushy riding.

toosahn

Wow you are right. I'll check the centering of the front wheel when I get home. Thanks for pointing that out.

Is there a way of checking if it's the fork without removing the fork from the bike?

I completely agree on the cranks. I wish they were 175mm.

wrk101

5mm is less than 1/4 of an inch, so I would not sweat it (25.4mm = 1 inch).

bikingshearer 

That is much too nice a rig to be your brother's "get around town and to school" machine. If it fits you, keep it and ride it. If it doesn't fit you, it'll fit me.

Bernie Mikkelsen is a very good framebuilder. Those parts are all top-drawer - defeintely both classic and vintage - and odds are the all will work great with a minimum of work (unless someone really screwed somethng up along the way). I think you got a great deal. A Mikkelsen may not have the cache of some other marques, but it is ian the same league as pretty much any other builder you can name.

If and when you decide to go to an 8+-speed rear wheel, have a good shop spread the rear triangle. Yes, you can do it yourself, and yes, Sheldon will tell you how. But for my money, I would far prefer to have someone who has done it before and has the right tools do it. As you note, it won't cost very much. (For not too many extra bucks, you can have the shop check the alignment of the frame at the same time - not a bad idea.) I am not advocating that you do or don't up the number of rear cogs, just saying that, if you decide to do it, let the pros from Dover do it.

Henry III

After my finishing my frame building course I can see why some builders cringe when people stuff a 130 wheel into a 126 or smaller rearend. The amount of work that is performed to keep everything spaced evenly was pretty anal to say the least. I spent a good 15-30 minutes getting it to 130 and then each dropout to be the same distance with a straight edge to the rest of the frame and then checking it with a Park *** tool. You can make it fit but then did you pull each side the same amount so their equal distances. Mind you frames with horizontal dropouts have a little more leeway then something with vertical dropouts to wheel alignment.

Now for this bike, I'd get your brother something else and keep this for yourself as I picture this just getting tossed around and not getting the love it deserves. It's got some really nice stuff...Campy Super Record crankset, rear derailleur, calipers, levers, pedals and the early unmarked Chris King headset.

GrayJay

Flip the front wheel around so skewer is on the other fork leg. If the misalignment switches sides, then problem is the wheel, dish it correctly. If the misalignment stays the same then the fork it the source. Could be either bent fork blades or (less likely) it might be that the fork dropouts are not level with eachother so the wheel is not aligned perfectly vertical. Also check that the distance between inside of the dropouts is 100mm, this indicate if one of the blades is bent inward or if the other is bent outward. Fork blades can be re-aligned if needed via careful bending. Dropouts opening can be made to be level by filing the low one up to the height of the other (or by partially filling the high opening with braze or metal epoxy for a quick fix).

Fred Smedley

I see you bought the Mikkelsen. Good move. I only know about him because the best mechanic and most knowledgeable bike person I ever met had two of BM's bikes and spoke highly of him . Excellent Vintage bike!

toosahn

Got home and took a look. Apparently I didn't place the wheel in the fork-ends correctly and it caused the misalignment. I rode around the block like this so I hope I didn't do any damage.

GrayJay

Glad to hear it was an easy fix. No harm done to the bike by this I am sure, just temporary poor handling.

toosahn

So I took it to my lbs today to get a few things in working order, namely the bottom bracket and the derailleurs.

Interesting things I learned:
1. My rear dropouts are at 122mm, probably from running a 126mm spaced rear wheel. This means that this frame was originally intended as a 5-speed. and spaced to 120mm Also, the rear derailleur was trimmed so that the lowest cog could not be used because the chain would then rub against the frame.
2. It's nice to have an lbs that still has all the old tools for maintaining and repairing vintage frames and components.