1976 Austro Daimler
03-15-13, 09:02 PM
#1
WV is not flat..
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1976 Austro Daimler
Picked this up when I was following up on a Craigslist ad. 1976 Austro-Daimler Vent Noir. I went to pick up 4 other bikes that were not in great shape and saw this leaning against the house. The seller said he would throw this one in if I took the rest of them. He had no idea what he had. The frame could use a strip and paint, but I think I may leave it alone just to see if anyone knows what it is. Full 1st generation Dura-Ace with Crane RD. I like the crank the best. Excuse the fuzzy picture of the whole bike. I-phone pics do not always turn out well. Rides like a dream.
As I picked it up:
After a little bit of work:
As I picked it up:
After a little bit of work:
03-15-13, 09:25 PM
#2
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Beautiful!
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You see, their morals, their code...it's a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these...These "civilized" people...they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve
03-15-13, 09:39 PM
#3
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Words fail me. I had a chance to get a Vent Noir a year or so back and I've been kicking myself ever since. Glad it wound up in the hands of a forum member instead of at the mercy of some dude's Dremel!
03-15-13, 10:34 PM
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It definitely is a beautiful bike! Congratulations! I few weeks ago I facilitated a beautiful Ultima in the lavander/rose color with all 531 and Campag Athena for a good friend of mine! It has an incredible ride and looks just lovely. Enjoy your Vent Noir, love all that DA!
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03-16-13, 05:20 AM
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You cleaned it up nicely, well done. Thanks for the photos and the ride report. Enjoy!
03-16-13, 05:39 AM
#6
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03-16-13, 07:26 AM
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Well done, welcome to the A-D club!
Scott
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03-16-13, 11:31 AM
#9
WV is not flat..
Thread Starter
It is cool that this is my first pieces of Dura Ace in my collection. You can still see the remnants of the letters on the downtube on the non drive side so if anyone looks closely they will see what it is. I can't wait to show up on my first group ride and see if anyone really knows. Kinda looks like a beater from a distance.
09-05-13, 11:06 PM
#10
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I just came across this old post. It looks like a nice road bike by A-D, but I'm not sure it's really a Vent Noir. The decal on the TP was hard to read in the pic, but it may say "Vent Noir." The pics seem to show black paint, but I believe that Vent Noirs were not painted, at least mine wasn't. They were finished with a dark smoky sort of metallic lustre, which is quite durable and doesn't chip like the paint in one of your closeup pics. The full frame/forks were Reynolds 531. The ends of the upper rear stays were stamped "A-D." I could be wrong about the paint and some branded Vent-Noirs may have been painted. I posted some pics of my VN on BF a couple of years ago.
09-06-13, 06:48 AM
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^^^ You're referring to the "Smoked Chrome" finish. That was not done on the first year or two of Vent Noirs. The originals are painted just like the OP's bike in a sort of flat-ish black.
Also other A-D models received the Smoked Chrome finish, not just the Vent Noir.
Not all of them had the seatstay caps stamped/panto'd. One of my AD's has that, another just has scalloped caps.
Also other A-D models received the Smoked Chrome finish, not just the Vent Noir.
Not all of them had the seatstay caps stamped/panto'd. One of my AD's has that, another just has scalloped caps.
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09-06-13, 06:57 AM
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Yep, the VN I picked up a few months looks EXACTLY like the OP's, the only thing being different is the saddle. Definitely a VN.
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09-06-13, 01:04 PM
#13
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OK, I didn't know that the first ones were painted. Based on its SN, my smoked chrome version is from '78/79. I guess
that would be the "VN II," so the OP's must be the "VN I." Although the smoked chrome finish seems as tough as Teflon,
it didn't seem to hold onto the frame decals as well as paint does. Anyone know where I could get the correct VN II decals?
that would be the "VN II," so the OP's must be the "VN I." Although the smoked chrome finish seems as tough as Teflon,
it didn't seem to hold onto the frame decals as well as paint does. Anyone know where I could get the correct VN II decals?
09-06-13, 01:36 PM
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09-08-13, 08:04 PM
#15
WV is not flat..
Thread Starter
Yes this is for sure an original Vent Noir. These are such cool bikes. The ride is awesome and the shifting of the Dura-Ace components is top notch. I have been spoiled by indexed shifting and STI's, but these can be shifted just as smooth. The link for the decals are the same ones I may get. However as I said earlier, it is fun to make people look harder at the bike to see what it actually is. When someone notices it, they are the guys who really know bikes.
Thanks for keeping the post alive.
Thanks for keeping the post alive.
09-08-13, 09:59 PM
#16
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02-20-16, 07:42 PM
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It was nice to run across this post. A great friend of mine rode an early series flat black Vent Noir with the full Dura Ace group like in your photos. It was an awesome bike and, although the frame was too tall for me to ride, it was his encouragement that prompted me to buy an AD Ultima frame as a build project. I still enjoy my AD and I hope he still has his. Awesome bikes! Congratulations on your find and the nice restoration.
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