ksryder

Greetings

Today I picked up a early 80s Jocelyn Lovell bike. Just took it for a short spin and this bike is fantastic.

I'd never heard of Lovell until a couple days ago when this popped up on my local CL. After some google research I found out he was an amazing Canadian cyclist in the 70s and 80s who broke all sorts of records before his career was cut short by a dump truck. He apprenticed with Marinoni and built his own frames until the accident.

This bike was being sold by a man who was on the Canadian national team in the early 80s. Lovell custom built the frame for him in 1982. (Lucky for me we're about same size so it fits me very well.) The seller stopped racing due to injuries and illness and said he was moving and hadn't ridden the bike for a long time and it was time to sell. He said this had been raced in Europe a few times; he was supposed to compete in the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane but had a nasty accident.

The front tubular was flat so I dropped it off at my local LBS and it will be a few days before they get to it. I threw the wheel from my other bike on there just to take it for a spin. I've never used downtube shifters before so that took a minute to get the hang of, and it's a few pounds heavier than my (not very good) aluminum bike, but the Lovell was lively and smooth and just a fantastic feeling ride. I had no idea that my local county roads could feel so smooth. This thing is a dream. Even with the extra weight I was about 1 mph faster average than I normally am. (Of course it was a short ride and I was excited but those are mere details.)

It needs a little TLC but overall it's been kept in good shape. Needs bar tape and a new saddle, obviously. The paint is in good shape mostly, but there are some nicks and dings here. Not sure what to do about that, maybe I'll send it to Marinoni for repainting at some point. It's got a mix of Shimano 600/dura ace and campy on there, but the seller included the original campy (I think nuovo record, i'll have to double check) derailleurs on there and some other parts. Overall I don't think it needs much work, but I need to figure out how to keep it in good shape because I plan on riding it a lot.

I think I paid probably what it was worth, or maybe a little more, but this seemed like the type of thing that I would always regret if I missed out, and I'm not really in this to make a profit anyway, I just wanted a cool bike that no one else has and the story behind it is really interesting to me.

Hope the attachments work. What do you think?

stingx

I think that bike is beautiful! Enjoy it!

oberthecat

Nice bike and a good story. You should get a history in writing from the person you bought it from. It is very good to have a history like that.
I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express, I watch Antiques Road show.

Henry III

Cool story! That thing is a complete hodge podge of parts.

Chicago Al 

I think just as you do--that it's very cool to have something unique, that fits you really well. What's 'worth' in a case like that? I would probably pay more than most people if a really special bike in my size came along, and be happy to do so. Take that bike fully apart, get to know everything about it, refurb it and build it up just the way you want it, and you'll have something perfect for yourself. What could be better.

Chrome Molly

That's the type of bike that I really like seeing on the forum. It is a blank canvas. You can put it back to original, or upgrade it to modern and it will be satisfying either way.

repechage

'82 is a bit early for a brazed on front derailleur but close. Cool looking bike. JL had a really interesting two speed set up on hid Kilo bike that really confounded the UCI for a time, I unfortunately cannot explain it well, but it used chains on both sides of the bike, one cog was engaged and the other "wound on" until it engaged with the hub, the system allowed a faster start in a lower gear and the higher gear engaged after the rider was up to a decent speed. Very clever.

Like many interesting concepts it was banned in short order. Kind of like Scott Drop-in bars. The argument for banning those was really interesting... The Scott bars suffered from being patented and from the wrong continent.

CompuChef

I remember Lovell, he was also doing frame repainting at Duke's Cycle in Toronto. I had an old Windsor frame that I found and brought it there to repaint, but I asked them to check if it was stolen (it was), so I never did get that repaint done. I would suggest that you keep the original paint job, to me original paint, chips, patina, old decals and all, are way more beautiful than a repainted frame. I also remember reading about his accident, very sad story. You have a great bike there, handmade.

ksryder

I've got the Zinn road bike maintenance book, Sheldon Brown's site and the park tool site. Anything else I need to start wrenching? I'm decently handy with tools but I've only recently started doing my own bike maintenance.

Also, now I get to learn about tubulars.

bertinjim 

ksryder

Jocelyn Lovell learned from Marinoni and sold his frame business to and trained Mike Mulholland of Cyclops. It all sort of links together..... This is a great frame and one actually made by Jocelyn and not one of the lower end bikes licenced with his name, built by Procycle. It's a treasure and historically important to Canadian cycling history. Great find!

JamesRL

Nice find. I'd heard of Lovell, his racing, and his accident.

Ironically, I was hit by a car on Lakeshore Boulevard in Toronto, by a car backing out of a laneway beside Jocelyn Lovell's shop. He had a clothing line with his wife, Olympic speed skater Sylvia Burka.

You found something that would have been rare in Toronto. Even in the day, you might see a Cyclops but not a hand built Lovell.

ksryder

It's funny, a few months ago when I got serious about getting a new bike, I eventually decided to look for a vintage bike because I figured "Hey, people rode fast 30 years ago and I bet those bikes are cheaper, plus they're cool."

As I learned more about different bike companies I discovered Marinoni, which became my wish list bike of choice. I think they're gorgeous bikes and people who have them say they're the greatest thing since pneumatic tires, plus I figured very few people would have one around here. But, I figured it was a long shot because they rarely show up on ebay or craigslist in the states and I guessed that the chances of one showing up in the Kansas City area were slim to none. Pretty much the most exotic thing you see around here are overpriced Bianchis. (Every bike is overpriced around here, I blame midwestern frugality.)

So when I saw a bike even more scarce than a Marinoni, made by a guy who apprenticed with him, in my price range, in my size, I knew I had to jump on it or I'd always regret it. After a couple of days I'm still kind of in disbelief every time I look at it in my living room. And the story of the bike itself and the man who built just add to the wow factor for me.

OK I'll stop gushing. When I get it cleaned up and put the original campy rear derailluer back on (the seller gave me a box full of parts, I didn't think to ask why he put the shimano on but the derailluer looks good) I'll post some more pictures.

big chainring 

Awesome find! Jocelyn Lovell was an amazing sprinter. I raced against him way back in the 70's. Incredible athlete. Did you buy this from Gordon Singleton (another Canadian cycling great), by any chance? He recently posted on the forum.

gomango

I would wager that they put on the Shimano derailleur because it shifted better than the Campy.

Many of us came to the same conclusion.

Nice frameset btw.

Tim_Iowa

Beautiful bike! The frame was handbuilt with lovely lugs and nice tubing, so it should ride really well. Campagnolo SR/NR would be the original equipment (crank and front derailer still are), but you should set it up with whatever parts work best for how you want to ride. Go all Campy original, go modern brifters, a hodge podge, whatever. It will all look fine on that gorgeous frame.

I'd definitely go classic with a leather saddle. But then I really like Brooks saddles. A SM Rolls would be great too.

gomango

That sounds good. I would likely just do an overhaul replacing the usual culprits.

Tires/tubes, cables, brake pads and saddle.

Lube everything, tighten everything back to spec.

Then I would just enjoy that nice new treasure.

ksryder

It wasn't Gordon. I don't want to post the guy's name without his permission (not that it's a big secret, it just seems like common courtesy) but by his own admission he wasn't one of the greats. There's very little when you google his name, regardless. In his words, he said there were lots of racers at his level, but the next level up was guys like Steve Bauer and Alex Stieda, whom he trained with, and there was just something about those guys that only a few elites could match.

He quit racing due to injuries and said he hadn't actually ridden for several years for a variety of reasons. This was the one bike he'd kept over the years, but he said it was finally time to sell. He seemed at peace with it but I could tell it meant a lot to him. After talking to him about racing and biking I realized what an honor it was to have this bike and assured him it would have a good home. I texted him later to tell him how great the bike felt to ride and to thank him again.

holden west

Great story; great thread.

I was walking downtown today and saw a Lovell branded Velo Bike chained to a post. An older entry-level sport bike like the one in this old thread. I would not have noticed it had I not read this thread and the amazing story behind it.

devinfan

That's a very cool bike you have there. I thought I knew my bikes but I didn't know there were actually frames built by Lovell, I have only seen the Velo Sport editions. The workmanship seems to be very fine indeed. gotta say I kind of like the mismatched shifters - this was obviously a bike that was raced with parts replaced as they wore out, without regard for matching anything. I'd be pretty tempted to go full Nuovo Record on it, but switch the shifters for Simplex Retrofriction as a nod to its racing heritage. Very nice score!

clubman 

What a flashback this thread is. There's a courier that rides a real Lovell track bike up an down the hills of Halifax in a tall gear. Never get to talk to him, he's always flying by.

Gord Singleton was the fastest thing I ever saw on a track. They built an insanely steep 50 metre short track in Hamilton one summer and he won just about everything and he was in his 40's.

Thanks for showing the bike. He was a great loss to competitive cycling in Canada.

ksryder

Finally got my new tires glued on and took it for a proper ride this morning; still rides great. I really don't notice the 3-4 extra pounds it weighs over my other bike, and it's feels a lot more snappy when I accelerate. I was a little slower this morning than normal but I think that's because I toasted my legs this weekend.

Discovered an interesting quirk as I was adjusting the rear derailleur last night -- it's got a 7-speed cassette but you can't actually use the little gear because there's not enough clearance between the cassette and the dropouts. I adjusted the derailleur so it wouldn't shift into the little cog.

Not sure if I should find a 6-speed cassette or a narrower hub + rebuild the wheel.

Also still playing with the drop bar angle (it was a little more aggressive than I'm used to but I haven't dialed it in yet) and the blue bar tape I put on doesn't look very good, so I'll probably just stick with black.

At some point in the next couple weeks I hope to have time to completely strip it down and clean everything with a fine tooth comb/toothbrush/other small grooming brush as appropriate. Unfortunately this weekend I have to leave town and my boss has this crazy notion that I should do some work? Weird, I know.

due ruote 

Really cool bike. I would not repaint it; no way.

I would just go with a 6 speed fw if it will serve your needs, or use a thin spacer under your locknut to allow the 7 speed to function. You may not even need to re-dish the wheel. No reason to rebuild the wheel in any case.

inkandsilver

What a great find! I love the story. Please post more pics as you make progress on getting it how you want it.

ksryder

No new pics yet; hope to have some time this week to start taking it apart to clean/maintain etc. I've taken it on a handful of ~20 mile rides and it's fun as hell every time; I almost hate to start tearing it down because I won't be able to ride it for a few days but I know I've got to do it.

Some more things I've noticed as I've gotten familiar with it:

This was a true racer's rig, with just about any part that would work slapped on there. Since it was custom anyway there's no real spec sheet so it's kind of a blank canvas.

Back wheel: 32 hole Campy hub. Front wheel: 36 hole hub. As I mentioned previously, there's a 7 speed cassette on the back but there's actually not enough room to use all the cogs. (A 50 cent spacer did the trick though.) At any rate, my guess it that it was originally a six speed freewheel at at some point he threw a 7 speed on there. The seller said the bike was built in 1982 so that seems like the correct time when freewheels started going extinct, if I'm reading Sheldon Brown's site correctly.

Also, this bike came with a box of parts -- including a Gipiemme FD, band-on. I'm thinking he had the braze on mount added at some point, because it's got the Campy braze-on FD mounted now. Other spare parts include a Shimano 600 32-hole freehub, and a Campy BB.

In the spare parts box there's also what I think to be the original Campy RD. A google image search makes me pretty sure it's an early Super Record. Also, the jockey wheels both say Suntour on them which I'm pretty sure wasn't original.

The spare parts box also included a bunch of tools, including a few campy-specific wrenches. BB, headset, crank puller, etc. And some tools I haven't identified yet. I'm learning as I go.

Front crank def. is campy, so if I'm not mistaken I'll need a campy chain whenever I replace it, right?

This thing is fun. Like a choose your own adventure bike.

Also I'm slightly disturbed that the bike is 2 years younger than me but considered vintage. (I also remember the exact place I was when I first heard Pearl Jam on a classic rock station.)

ksryder

Greetings everyone, so I finally have an update and some pics.

Please disregard my yard, we're in a drought. Also, the sun has been blazing all day but the minute I went outside to take pictures a cloud kept covering it. These pictures really don't capture the blue very well which is a shame because once I cleaned it and put wax on it the bike shines like a sapphire. I need to dig out my actual camera instead of my phone one of these days.

I call this Phase I at this point because there's a little more work to be done with this bike than I thought. But I finally had time to tear it completely down, clean everything with a q-tip and grease the things that need greased. (Also, I'm a little perturbed that I've had the thought, several times "gee I can't wait until I have time to clean these parts with a q-tip!") Waxed the frame with some Meguiars (sp?); sprayed a couple treatments of frame saver in it, and finally had time to put it back together this weekend.

As I said, this is a work in progress. Things that still need to be done include a) get a new saddle; b) fix the rear derailleur cable housing that I screwed up; c) do something about the paint (more on that later) and d) wrap the bars, obviously, but I was waiting to go for a couple rides so I can get the position dialed in again; e) deal with the freewheel issue; and f) get some proper gumwalls.

Saddle: I want something that looks like the kind of saddle they raced on in the 80s, but also that is comfortable. Keeping an eye out on ebay for various things.

Rear derailleur: OK, this was more of an ordeal than I thought. The bike came with a Shimano 600ex RD. The guy also included some spare parts, including a Campagnolo Super Record RD. Well, as it turns out the jockey wheels on the Shimano were toast. The teeth were worn down to nubs. (As an aside, I'm impressed by the number of miles it must take to do that to a jockey wheel.) The replacement Shimano jockey wheels that my LBS ordered were actually too wide for the 600. However, they fit in the Campy just fine. I could order jockey wheels from Tacx that look like they might actually work, but they're like $20 and you can get an entire Shimano 600 RD on eBay for about $25-30 so I figured I'd try the Campy RD first and save. Well, I had already ordered the derailleur cable and housing set I didn't have the right ferrules for either the diver's helmet braze-on or the Campy derailleur. I sort of made it work for now with some electrical tape but it looks like poop. I will fix that. Anyway, the Campy RD seems to work just fine; I had a little ghost shifting issue on the test ride up the block but I think I just need to adjust the cable tension.

The paint: I kind of like all the dings and scrapes. It says "this bike was raced", so I figured as long as I keep it clean and waxed the frame will be fine. Well, when I really got into it I discovered a pretty bad rust spot on the underside of the top tube. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that, if I can spot treat it or if I should just spring for a complete paint job. Simone at Marinoni said a repaint would be about $200 Canadian, but they don't have the decals. No one has the decals since Jocelyn Lovell only made frames for a few years, as far as I can tell. So I'll need someone to reproduce them, which I know there are companies out there but I haven't researched them yet to figure out who will do the best job.

The freewheel: As an early 80s bike it has 126 mm dropout spacing. It must have originally had 6 speeds, at some point the guy put a 7 speed on there. Which is fine; but there's not space between the seat stay and the cogs so the chain can't actually shift into the smallest cog. I can jam a couple spacers in there but that seems inelegant, and also seems like an easy thing to lose if I'm changing a tire on the road. I'm going to take it to my LBS to see if it's maybe just an issue that can be fixed with re-dishing, otherwise I might just put a 6 speed back on there. I don't really care how many gears I have as long as the big and little ones are proper.

Tires: The black Continental Sprinter tubulars are all they had at the LBS. In the future I'll deal with my own tires, but since I'd never had tubulars before and knew nothing about them I had the LBS put them on so I could get this thing on the road. Once they get a little wear on them I'll order some gumwalls.

The red cable housing was my wife's idea, I think she made a good choice.

I'll go with black bar tape because that's what I see the most of in pictures of races from the 80s.