new project: 1936 professional racing bike

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Very pretty/unusual lugs and lining. Another oldie saved and used

 

[Woz]

Great restoration and super interesting bike

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

@grantoury Check this out.

 

[grantoury]

Beauty! I love the picture of Bartali smiling away on a bicycle that was state of the art.

 

[Jesper]

While waiting for the handlebar tape and cable housing to arrive I've build a coil myself for the front tension arm as the bike came without.

I've used 2.5 mm steel wire , pliers and a big bolt with a matching diametre to roll the coils around. It took me a few attempts to get the desired shape but I guess the end result will work as it produces a nice tension.

At the end I've just burned it in oil to remove this new & shinny look .

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Thank you for showing this bike! I have a 1935 Baggi with the Simplex Selection shift system. Very similar to the Super Champion system. My tensioner arm spring was missing, and after years of trying to find an original coil spring I just modified the ends of a modern spring which fits on the stud. My only issue was not knowing the amount of tension original to the design. You may be better using an actual spring as I did to provide adequate or better tension on the chain. That may allow you to run your wheel in the front position and still maintain proper tension on the chain without having to remove a link or 2. My first attempt did not work well as the substitute spring did not provide enough tension and I could not "wind it up" to create more tension due to coil size so I tried a couple springs until I found one that functioned satisfactorily (I think it has a little more tension than the original which may help it; cost was about $2 for a couple springs as opposed to $900 to obtain a complete set-up with an original spring). My present set-up works fine and the chain still has good tension when running on the smallest cog. I missed the Retrobike poll, but you would have had my vote in that one. I like the shifting better than my Campagnolo Cambio Corsa equipped Gloria from the mid 40s, but the Campy system is silent so it's works great when sneaking up on those "modern" pulley systems.

 

[Deax]

What a fantastic bike.

I have an interest in early derailleur systems - although I suspect I'm a bit younger than @keithglos I do ride both Campagnolo Cambio Corsa and Paris Roubaix bikes.

Actually I rode a very early Cambio Corsa bike (either late 1930s or very early 1940s) at the Tom Simpson retro ride last Sunday and was riding with a Carlton enthusiast, Martin who was telling me he'd really like an Osgear derailleur bike. So would I!

Keith, I'd love hear your experience of racing with this old stuff - either shared with the group of 1:1..

If anyone else is interested in the development of derailleurs, I strongly recommend "The Dancing Chain" - a really interesting book on the subject.

Paul Deacon
Devizes, Wiltshire