gomango

Looks fantastic Malcala.

Push that bike hard in the turns and hang on tight.

You'll have a big grin on your face.

Guaranteed.

malcala622 

Thats exactly what happened on the last turn heading home. There's a main highway 3 blocks from my street and turning into it I pushed hard on the pedals, boy did it feel awesome.

camelopardalis

Miguel, your bike looks awesome. Congratulations.

lukepro

BB stamped 67 and SAB

jimmuller 

And yet another stunning Tommasini.

malcala622 

Awesome frame @lukepro

Looks like you've taken it apart for a good cleaning.

lukepro

True. Now its ready to go

gomango

It certainly is.

​ BITD, we had two local shops that stocked the brand.

I've seen a few examples of this paint scheme and owned one.

They are a great riding frameset.

Buy the nicest tires you can afford.

​​​​​​Veloflex Masters or Vittoria Corsas would be solid choices.

malcala622 

Both masters and corsas are roughly the same price for a pair at the moment and both available in 23/25c...i believe the corsa can be had in 28c but i don't see them fitting into DA calipers.

The snakeskin black stealth colorway looks pretty awesome.

shanone9

Thatsa spicey meatball Lukepro, what size is it?

Looks like we are usiing alot of similar parts, early DA.

(....a few more posts and I can post some pics of the Marbo Nero)

lukepro

56 and its DA 6 speed 7400 all the way

Dean51 

Well Tommsini loungers, take a look at the Tommasini Racing I just purchased for $450. Yup, $450. I keep thinking the police are going to show up cuz I feel like I stole this bike. A summary of how this all came together follows the pictures.


fullsizeoutput_616 by Dean Reed, on Flickr


IMG_2823 by Dean Reed, on Flickr


IMG_2824 by Dean Reed, on Flickr

OK, now the story. On June 8th of this year I started a thread in the BF C&V What's it Worth & Appraisals requesting advice on the fair market value for this bike. I did this after it's owner walked into the LBS where I help out from time to time. This person stated he had purchased an Italian road bike that he wanted to sell and was looking for input on it's value. My LBS owner looks at me with a smile on his face and said something to the effect of "have fun with this one Dean".

Next thing you know, in rolls the Tommi. It took no time for me to appreciate it was in great condition and built up with Dura Ace 7400 components from one end to the other.....and it was my size. I told the owner that the bars/stem/brake levers/seat were not right, but could addressed without braking the bank. With these items replaced, I told him that it could be worth something on the order of $1000 to $1500 to the right buyer. The owner went on to say he had purchased the bike from an estate sale. I responded with "PLEASE, don't tell me what you paid for it, but I'd like to know if the person(s?) selling the bike had any idea of it's value". He responded they were asking $600 to $800 for it, and that he had paid less. I gasped a bit.

Soooo, I offered to take a few pictures and ask the BF folks for their input on value. @Chombi1, @malcala622, @wrk101, @gomango, @onyerleft, and @thm657, stepped up and shared their thoughts.....thanks again to all of you guys. You can take a look at my June 8th inquiry to see their responses and more pics of the bike.

I copied all of their thoughts into a single document. In a cover letter to the owner, I told him he should really get the bike cleaned up so it would present better to a potential buyer....and I offered to help him do this. I also offered some coaching on how to sell the bike via CL or eBay. For another option, I suggested he could take the bike to Classic Cycle in the town of Bainbridge, WA (~70 miles from my town). I explained that Classic Cycle had helped me in the past with putting a value on vintage road bikes and that they might be willing to buy or consign the Tommi. As a last resort, I said I might make him an offer if he didn't want the hassle of selling or consigning it, but cautioned him that I'm a "bottom feeding bargain hunter".

The owner thanked me for that work I had done and went on to press me a bit for an offer. I told him I was reluctant to do so because I'd only be willing to pay a fraction of what the bike was worth. He persisted, so I said (to myself) WTF and offered him $450. To put it mildly, this did not play well. He said he would "rather put the bike out in the barn than take $450 for it". That was June 12th, give or take a day. I figured that was the end of it.

It wasn't. On June 29 the bike owner sends me a text stating he still had the bike and would sell it to me for $450 if I was still interested. After a few minutes to recover from the shock, I responded that I'd like to look at the bike one more time and check to see if the stem and seat post might be seized. We met at my LBS the next afternoon. I looked the bike over carefully for dents.....none. I found the stem and seat post were not seized. I handed the owner $450 in cash and brought the bike home.

I'm still stunned.

I'll make another post in the Lounge in the next day or so to share my plans for this bike. Right now, it is cocktail hour and I do have priorities.

Dean

malcala622 

Heck of a deal @Dean51 you better keep a low profile while the heat dies down from the police.

Very nice color and components to begin with,

Changing out the levers to DA and stem would make it a,bit more complete.

Id say farewell to the bar tape

jimmuller 

Yeah, that is nice. Yeah, ditch that bar tape! Don't worry about the police, they won't be able to see you with all the brilliance in their eyes.

malcala622 

Don't mind the Bianchi bottle. Waiting for thr appropriate bottles to arrive.

Dean51 

The bar tape, bars, and seat are already GONZO.....I too thought they were hideous. More pics and plans will come from me tomorrow, but cocktail hour(s) remains underway. You know, well maybe you know.

Dean

gomango

Dean51 

A bit moor on my "new" Tommassini......

I believe the bike is an 1986, possibly a 1987 model. 'Reasoning is it has a pump peg on the back of the head tube. Earlier in this thread, @T-Mar has provided documentation that 1986 was the first year for this item. Next, the Dura Ace drive has a six speed MF 7400 freewheel and the rear shift lever can be switched between index and friction mode. My understanding is the index mode became available in six speed in 1984 and had progressed to seven speed by 1988. Thus my 1986 to 1987 build date. I'd welcome any other thoughts/corrections/etc.

The drive train looks brand new to me. I have yet to see a scratch. The chrome cleaned up very nicely with wet aluminum foil. This was done by the seller at my advice. There are no pits or flaking in the chrome and I'll give it a good waxing to keep it that way.

The Tommasini decals are perfect. The Columbus decal on the seat tube is a bit rough, but I intend to leave it alone. The white paint has a half dozen or so small nicks/chips. I'm hopeful I can find a reasonably good match in the nail polish section of a nearby drug store. The white has a bit of "pearl" luster to it, so this may be a challenge. The only serious thing wrong with the paint are some chips and crazing just above the headset's bottom cup. Photo follows:


IMG_2825 by Dean Reed, on Flickr

I doubt that I'll be able to leave this alone....call me anal if you wish, you will not be the first! Assuming I can get my mitts on a good match for the color, I'd appreciate anyones thoughts on how to deal with it. 'Current thinking is to remove the bottom cup, sand the damaged area smooth, prime, and repaint from the bottom of the lug to the top of the lug (~1/4") on the front of the lug and blend it back to the original paint near the back side of the lug. Again, advice on how to do this will be appreciated, including "geez Dean, just get over it and leave it alone!" If anyone knows someone in the Seattle/Tacoma WA area that has experience with this, please let me know.

My short term plan is to replace the hideous bits (bars,tape,brake levers, seat, and blue striped tires) and get this bike in rotation with others for summer riding. Longer term....like next winter....I may replace the Dura Ace components and go full Campy Record/Super Record. On hand, I have nearly all the parts to do this. Missing bits are a 27.2 mm seat post and both crank arms (NOS chain rings are boxed up somewhere). I recognize fully that this may be a small step backward in shifting performance, but, hey, this is a classic Italian bike!

Enough for now. I'll post some additional pics as I get the bike ready for riding.

Dean

malcala622 

Much thanks to @nesteel for the Campagnolo bottles.

Put them immediately on my Tommasini

Dean51 

'86 Tommasini Racing update.

As purchased 7 days ago .....


fullsizeoutput_616 by Dean Reed, on Flickr

Ready for it's first ride later this morning....


IMG_2827 by Dean Reed, on Flickr

What I did over the past week.....

I cleaned up the frame paint/chrome and gave all of it a coat of wax. Many of the paint flaws cleared up with a fine rubbing compound. Several small nicks/scrapes in the paint remain to be touched up when I find something suitable. I found the spoke tension a bit low for my liking, so both wheels were tensioned and trued. I ditched the blue stripe Michelin tires in favor of some black Conti 4000s....worn, but OK for this summer. The 42 tooth inner chainring was replaced with a 39.....we've got some big hills in my neck of the woods and I'm not a youngster. The cockpit got a Cinelli 1A stem and 66 Series bars. I used a set of Shimano BL-1055 aero levers after removing the painted gray finish on the lever arms and polished the same. I hoped to find a blue bar tape at my LBS that would be a good match for the blue paint on the seat tube. No such luck, so I used some white I had on hand. Last, I replaced the....I can't remember what it was.....ugly seat with a Selle Italia Flite. All of the replacement parts came from my stash.....I did not spend one dime to get this bike ready for the road.

I'm anxious to get my "new" Tommi out on the road later this morning!

Dean

malcala622 

Aside from the white bar tape getting dirty it looks great on your Tommasini @Dean51

its installed and looks good so i say leave as is until its time to replace.

Dean51 

Malcala622, I understand your concern about the white tape, but I have two other bikes trimmed out with the same material and I have not had trouble keeping it looking nice. The tape is vintage Bike Ribbon Professional, "Made in Italy, Guaranteed by Ambrosio". It has a smooth vinyl top surface that cleans up nicely with a cloth dampened by one of the citrus cleaners. I tried white Cinelli "cork" tape once and found it to be the pain in the rear that white bar tape is well known for.

Thanks for your kind remarks about this bike!

Dean

Chombi1 

The white, vinyl "Bike Ribbon" type of tape does tend to look great much longer than cork white tape...... but eventually they do yellow a bit and crack after some time. The deterioration kinda creeps on you and you usually do not notice how yellowed they get till you put new tape next to it.
The silicone like bar tape material they have on modern bar tape should last and look good even longer than the old vinyl ones, but I have not seen too many that looks as good on a bike like cork or the vinyl Bike Ribbon type.....

Celloplus 

nesteel 

Those look really good on that bike. Way better than they looked sitting on a shelf.