fmw

Did I say new? Yes it is new. The 1970's vintage Garlatti arrived to day in its original carton brand new. Never been ridden, Never been assembled. I was a little worried because the seller who admitted to knowing nothing about bikes gave the seat tube size as 55 and the top tube as 58. I knew something was wrong there and just trusted my eyes. The head tube looked more the size you would find on a 54/55 cm bike and I was right. The seat tube is 54 c to c and the top tube is 55.5 cm. It has a Campy Valentino group. I was surprised that the Hutchinson tires and tubes took and held air. The frame is completely chrome plated and then painted over the top. Oh, and yes it has lugs.





I haven't ridden it yet. I'm still polishing it up so that it looks as new as it is.

oneponychick

Sweet lookin' ride. Maybe it's rude to ask, but how much did you shell out for it?

alxra

Beautiful! Can we get a closeup of the rings and spider, and the rear der.? Looks like there's a lot of detail on there.

Mariner Fan

Geez, your like the guy who found a vintage corvette in a barn with hardly any miles. That bike is outstanding! Did you post in the Classics thread?

killsoft

Pimplicious.

Second Mouse

Oh man. Excuse the expression, but that's stiffie material right there. Well done! And nobody's going to tell you to flip the stem!!

fmw

Sure. The group is Campagnolo Valentino Extra, a budget gruppo Campy had in the line for about 20 years. You can see some really old time parts in these images like cottered cranks and steel rims. I added a shot of the seat tube so can see all the stickers and more lugs.





The steel rims are a bit of a problem because they are oh so heavy. I may do something about them before I put this bike on the road. It weighs 28 1/2 lbs. thanks mostly to the wheels. I think I can take 4 or 5 lbs. of weight from the bike right there. I'm looking into some 27" hand builts.

fmw

It's OK. I paid more than it is worth. $380. I justified the buy by reminding myself the bike is unassembled and brand new.

fmw

I did. The bike still has zero miles. I'll probably take it for a maiden voyage as soon as I decide what to do about the wheels. When I have some wheels on order, then I'll put it to the pavement.

fmw

No, it's unflippable. The stem is one of the nicest parts of the bike. It is CCC brand lightweight aluminum, made in Italy. The handle bar is aluminum as well. Belive it or not, I pumped 60 psi into the 27X1 1/4" Hutchinson gumwalls and they inflated normally and seem to be in pretty good shape for being over 30 years old.

rav

looks awesome, i guess its time for me to chrome the lugs on my 1971 peugeot UO8!! i am jealous, enjoy!! and yes the wheels weigh like a tank.

ravi

Stjtoday

Nice find Fmw..

Tequila Joe

Beautiful ride. Congratulations on the great find.

I know you probably haven't had a chance to dial it in yet but lookin' at the pictures I notice a couple things. The first one is Holy brake hoods up in the air! How do you stop in the drops? Also, the saddle angle doesn't look like it will do "the boyz" any favors.

Surferbruce

that is awesome. great find, worth the price to me.

hiromian

Nice. Very very nice. It puts my "new in box" 1974 UE8 Peugeot to shame. The steel wheels are the main item to replace as you say not only for weight but stoppin in the wet. keep the oldsteel wheels for showwhen the stock purists are around. You probably feel terific with this find. Nothing better than Italian. Sooo nice.

55/Rad

Oh man - I am so jealous! That thing is SSSSHHHHHHHWWWEEEEEEEETTTT! And purty too. Can't wait to hear how she rides.

Being in retro-mode myself, I can't help but drool. Congrats!

55/Rad

(Y(L|S+

That, my friend is a beautiful bike!

I know you plan to ride it, but did you buy it planning to ride it? Ever think of not riding it and having it as a collection piece? It cetainly is in "collectable" condition. I don't know if I could stay off the thing though if I had it .

Congrats!

the beef

Absolutely gorgeous. It truly does look brand new! Hard to come by these types of new-old bikes nowadays. Awesome find.

Cleave

Hi,

The bike looks a lot like my first ten speed, a 1970 Magneet. It was a Dutch frame with Campy Valentino derailleurs, Weinmann center-pull brakes, and a cottered steel crank. I wish I still had that bike.

You really got hold of a treasure, IMHO.

fmw

The hoods are where the factory put them. The handlebar angle is my preference. The saddle angle can't be fixed without a new seat post. One click points it down. No it isn't dialed in.

fmw

Thanks, Rad. This is a low end bike compared to your Bottechia but it is in the same shape. I was not confident it would be my size based on the seller's measurements. Luckily, he didn't know how to measure frames and the bike is actually my size. The top tube is longer than I would like but what's a centimeter or so among two wheeled and two legged friends?

fmw

Thanks. The plan was to ride it. I don't know if it has any collector value. The components are pretty run-of-the-mill for the time period. If it were a Record equipped model on a higher end frame, it would probably be collectible. I'm not a collector, just a bike rider, so don't take my collecting comments seriously. It's pretty hard to beat brand new for condition, however. You're right there.

fmw

Thanks. You know the price of comparing it to your Peugeot, don't you? We need pictures of your Peugeot!

RoadToad

CRIKEY! that thing is uber-retro-cool!!!

ViperZ

What a nice find, very nice!