Ed.

My Father acquired this sometime after 1970 - I don't recollect any details.





The TTT stem is likely not original.





27 mm seatpost





Grease fitting on BB, original style front derailleur.

rootboy 

Very nice, Ed. I presume you've checked the serial number against some here:Frejus serial number chart
You can get a rough idea of date there, but rough only. Looks similarly outfitted as
mine, which is number 105xxx. The original owner told me he bought it in 1963.
Is the crank set 151 bcd? Have you got a full shot of the bike from the drive side?
Looks like that will clean up real well. Nice!

juvela

definitely a pre-1970 machine. the hub locknuts should provide a date. likely somewhere between '63 and '66. the weinmann wood-filled rims are a nice touch. the fiamme bar is a rare item; fiamme stem and bar stock is not oft seen. yes, the 3t record stem quite a bit later than the cycle. it is great that the bike is so original. nice to see these bikes from when emilio was still alive...

take good care of this treasure, and thanks for sharing her.

KonAaron Snake 

I have a set of Fiame bars, different than these, and have always wanted to know more about them. There isn't a whole lot on line that I've come across.

Agree with RB on age, but I'm hardly an expert. The tubing and parts say it's high end, congrats! Mine is surprisingly nice both in ride and build character; I'd always thought of Frejus as lower end and more sloppily built than some other Italians. I have been pleasantly surprised by mine.

satbuilder 

Nice. Can you get a photo of it against a garage door?

rootboy 

By the way, I think, given the components, it's a Super Corsa, or Professional, model. Same thing, basically, but the nomenclature changed at some point.

rootboy 

The Fiamme bars are very nice. And provide a valuable clue for me, FWIW. I could never find what came stock on these, as mine came with a non-stock upright city bar that the original owner had installed at the time of purchase. Near as I could tell, it was originally Ambrosio, so that is what I sourced. Thanks to Aixaix again for those.

The presence of small flange hubs on your bike are also of interest. I believe most of example pics I've seen of these bikes large flange was standard. Interesting little details to me.

juvela

wrt to ex-works stem and bar stock: iirc it would have been either ambrosio champion with a frejus stamping or else a 3t early type grand prix with a frejus stamping. have not previously seen one with fiamme.

rootboy 

Look what showed up on mine, Juvela. Branded Frejus on the back side of the levers. From a city bike model.


Kind of funky and cool, but I removed them.

rootboy 

By the way, Ed, you might consider joining the bi-annual Cape Cod Rail Trail ride with us this April….uh…26th? 20th?
Crikey…I have to look it up.

It would be nice to see that nice bike, and meet you, if you get it cleaned up and rolling in time.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...rail-ride.html

juvela

thanks for this great pic rb. think you will find that the stem & bar set is schierano. the handgrips are rampinelli (reg).

some years back had the opportunity to see the cutest frejus townie at a vintage shop in santa cruz california. it was white w/blue trim, lugless with a gian robert derailleur 3v gear system. iirc the stem and bar set was similar to this. could not get a complete look as shop closed and was limited to an oblique view through the front window.

retyred

Very nice Frejus from the early to mid 60's. Frejus is one marque that has eluded my grasp. Probably because I want one from the same year(s) as yours but in a 62cm frame. Not too many out there. I may have to settle for a 70's rendition. Take good care of yours.

juvela

wrt dating, one simple check that can be made is to examine the outer faces of the bottom bracket cups. see if it says by chance "con sfere da 3/16" ." there was a year ~1963 when campag manufactured all of the record bb fittings in a version for 3/16" ball. this came up last week in another thread and the machine in question had these fittings. since it was only done one year it is a convenient dating indicator.

Stevensb 

Such a nice bike. Looking forward to more pics and seeing it all cleaned up. Show your centre pulls and barcons please.

Brad

rootboy 

Thanks Juvela. I noted in my copy of the Data book that this shape was made for several companies, eh? And the levers embossed for each manufacturer. Found on many "city" bikes I guess, back then. They are comfortable bars. Thought I'd keep them with the bike for when I'm too old and stiff to reach drop bars. A too-rapidly approaching inevitability. :<

juvela

greetings rb,

data book: now that brings a memory. have not looked in mine for a spell. had to pack away me books to make room for a gas line repair a spell back and have not pulled them out o' storage.

iirc agrati did this pattern of bar as well. then there was italmanubari, or the company that became it.

at one time i knew the name for this pattern but cannot now recall it. [sound of elderly gent typing]

when one sees photos of the town bikes actually used in italy there are quite a good portion which display this shape of bar.

have you erected imagery of thine bozzi to which you could direct readers?

iab

rootboy's bars are sometimes referred as condorino. A company called Varese produced many including those for Bianchi.

rootboy 

Not really, but here's a few pics, which I've posted before…. though I don't want to step on the OP's thread. Eagerly awaiting more pics of his.

As found



Later, but with non original wheel set in place.






Thanks for all the great info on the bars. After owning it for many years, the reprint, I sold my copy of the Data Book here on the forum last year. Don't see these bars mentioned in my new copy of Rebour's drawings.

Ed.

Would you like a full profile? Drive side, off side, or both? Yes, I think it can very easily be done!

Ed.

Don't worry about stepping on my thread, you may serve as inspiration.

juvela

thanks very much rootie,

emilio now looks to have been kitted out con una ambrosio potenza d'accaio. looking fine he is.

always love to see the first generaton record mech anteriore.

how did that maillard qr get in there? is that the way he arrived?

wrt the mudguards: it was commonplace at one time for quality road machines to come with them for use during winter training rides.

the most beautiful frejus i have ever seen was this colour, only with the addition of gold metal flake. metal flake sounds tacky i know - something appropriate to the discotheque or a stingray... but this was most tasteful. it was a new machine that came from tom avenia and was perpetrated ~1971/72.

your cycle looks as though its annuation is quite close to that of the example under current discussion.

juvela's crystal ball says you must have been in heaven during disassembly, cleaning and polishing.

rebour drawings: this would be one of the tomes issuing from nippon, i presume?

thanks once again for the pictures. am sure they will now be enjoyed by many other readers as well.

don't believe we are being discourteous to Ed. since this is a Frejus discussion and we eagerly await his next update.

Ed.

And hoping I've covered the requests:



Against garage door, as requested.



For good measure.





I believe someone wanted brake photos.



Suntour. My Father really liked bar-end shifters. Perhaps the originals are in the junk pile. It also has Lyotard platform pedals, which he liked. I don't know if they came with it or if he changed them. The junk pile may tell that tale.

And yes, a very beautiful example, rootboy, and in no way 'stepping on' this thread. I've never seen such handlebars.

juvela

thanks very much Ed. - much appreciated. you not only included the obligatory "garage door pose" but the obligatory off-side pose as well!

btw the blue brake lever cover thingies are reg.

somehow i don't think you'll be able to reuse those tyres...

photobucket link not working for me. clicking takes me there but pictures are not displaying. perhaps a browser problem?

juvela, a turing thingus tyro

rootboy 

Thanks for posting those extra pics, Ed. Beauty. I love the deep and wide form of those bars. A couple of observations, which others may well chime in on too. Those chain rings look awfully small, comparatively. Can you tell me what sizes are marked on them? Perhaps it is not a 151 Record crank, but a later version. Hard to tell.

It looks as though your dad's bike experienced some weathering too. Mine was similarly grungy, if not worse, and the owner told me he had unfortunately left it out in the breezeway for a season or two so my chrome suffered more than yours appears to have. Alas, quite a bit of loss on the fork crown and fork ends. Your head set may clean up quite well, however, with the judicious use of 4/0 steel wool and a little oil. Light touch. No hard rubbing.

Plenty of room under that brake bridge and fork crown for fenders, which I was lucky enough to obtain with mine. It took a bit of careful work to get some crinkles out of them but they are nice to have. Great to see that old Brooks saddle on your bike too.

Do you know where your father bought the bike? Was he from New York, by chance, where the importer, Tommy Avenia, had a couple of shops?

Great bike, Ed. It should be very gratifying to overhaul and ride. Thx.

rootboy 

Juvela. Some answers to your queries. The bike came with that wheel set shown, a mis-matched set of 27's with French hubs, probably added a bit later. Hence the skewer. Good eyes. Luckily, he still had the original set too, with the No Record hubs, but the Nisi rims were horribly corroded and unsalvageable. I have a new old set of rims but just haven't gotten to making up the wheels yet.

The overhaul process was very enjoyable, yes, except for trying to save those rims. The bike was filthy. Covered with 30 years worth of oil and grime, but nice under it all. And all the bearing races in that bike looked fine as can be. Good old Campy Record.

The Rebour book is a relatively new tome by Van der Plas Publishing. Rob Van der Plas and Frank Berto, authors. A worthy addition to the library.

Thanks for the appreciation. And again, great bike, Ed. All the more so because it was your father's.