Miele Chic
 

There seem to be quite a few Miele experts out here, so hopefully someone can help me out.

Back in the summer of 1989 I purchased a Miele Chic. I don't recall if it was a true '89 or if it was a 1988 model that the shop had carried over into the following year. It was a full Columbus SL frame (Campy drops and columbus fork tips) and was hung with a Shimano Sante group. Cinelli bars and 1-A stem and Ambrosio rims also adorned the bike and sound like the standard spec of the day. It also had a spectacular plum paint job with a pearl top coat. To this day it is still one of the best riding bikes (and looking) I have ever been on!

I'm hoping to get more information about where the Chic fell in the Miele line of that year and to also find out a little more about the geometry of the frame. I'm curious as to how the numbers compare to some of my other road bikes and I thought I could glean some information on the bikes impressive handling based off of the angles, etc.

Any information out there is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Sante was produced from 1987 to 1989. The Chic! (yes, the exclamation point was part of the official model name) was not in the 1987 lineup. so yours was 1988 or 1989. It was 4th from the top of a line of seven racing models. The sports line carried an additional seven models.

The Miele literature did not specify the geometry. For reference, a road test of a 1987 Elite-S racing frame(Columbus SL, 62cm) indicated a 75 degree head tube, 73.5 degree seat tube, 22.625" top tube, 39.5" wheebase, 16.25" chainstays, 1.675" trail, 1.875" rake, 10.5" BB height.

That's great info! Thank you so much. I assume the difference between the Chic! and the three models above it was in the component spec and the frames of the "racing" line were all the same?

The Chic! competed directly against three other SL frames equipped with Super Record (Miele must have had some leftover stock), Dura-Ace and Superbe Pro. The Chic! was listed above the Superbe Pro equipped Valdor. Obviously, Miele was trying to cover all the bases, not knowing which index shifting sysytem would become the consumers' choice. There was also an SLX C-Record model at the very top. I assume the geometry was identical.

do you got pics of this bike? i'd love to see it

I had forgotten about this thread, but was recently reminded of it. A few years ago I was able to have the bike shipped to me. I stripped it down, cleaned it up, and rebuilt with a mix of 9spd Record and Chorus. Here are some pics in its current state.

OK, that colour is called Plum. It was offered on the 1988 model. Not sure about 1989.