Paganini

[SuperSonic]

Hi.

I've got this Paganini which was bought by myself in 1994 it was my first proper racing bike. I eventually moved on from it and gave it to a good friend who sadly allowed it to rust away in an old damp out house and it's a mess!

After seeing it and realising he had not used it in years I took it back of him and I'm just gutted with the condition it's in. It took an hour to get the seat post out, the chrome on the rear triangle is just rust and the groupset has no hope of being used again. The columbus folks are missing as they were given away by my mate!!

I would really like to restore it but I've not got a clue how to go about it. I was thinking of taking it to a frame restorer and having it striped down re-chromed and painted. If I do that than I lose the original colour and the decals.

I've included a photo of the bike the photo is not of my Paganini, I nicked the image of the Internet but it's the same frame and colour. I would place a picture of mine but I'm out of the country and I don't have the frame with me.

Any advice from any of you would be greatly appreciated.

Does anybody know the name of the frame?

Thanks.

 

[grilla]

Well that sucks massively.

These threads will probably be of use,

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... sc&start=0

and

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=148645

If you live in England there are loads of people who do refurbishments, depending on budget and geography. Mario Vaz near me in South London is cheap and OK, or you can spend more and get a better job. It's easy enough to source new decals, it'll be re-chroming which will probably cost you the most.

You should invoice your mate for the work...

 

[Johnsqual]

Ello,

Paganini was originally the house marque of Plum-Vainqueur cycles in Gent,
Belgium. You might want to try contacting them about decals and maybe even a replacement fork - not sure how helpful they are but, but worth a try.

http://www.plum-gent.com/

The Paganini name somehow ended up being used by an Irish company as well,
but I don't know so much about that. Maybe it was sold on at some point.

In any case, lovely frames, well worth restoring.

Good luck,

Johnny

 

[SuperSonic]

grilla, Johnsqual,

Thanks for the comments and links lads.

When I get back to England I will look into it all.

I might have to bounce back with some questions at a later date.

 

[grilla]

No problem! And good luck with the restoration, just shout if you need any further help

 

[jet sanchez]

There is a painter near Gent who did a lot of painting for Merckx and (I believe) Plum, he may be able to help you out.

Here is his site:

http://www.frankhoste.com/

 

[Johnsqual]

Frank Hoste is also a green jersey winner (1984) in the TdF.

I made an inquiry with him about having a frame resprayed and he said
he would need to see any old steel frames in person before deciding
on cost and timescale, because of possible rust and dent problems.

That's pretty decent of him, but obviously a bit inconvenient for anyone
who's not local to Gent.

Johnny

 

[jet sanchez]

Yes, being local to Gent certainly would help. For what it is worth, here is a thread over on Bikeforums that shows how Mr. Hoste's company painted a Merckx Leader

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.ph ... highlight=

 

[SuperSonic]

Once again thanks very much to you all for the great replies, very much appreciated. Good to know about Gent and all the other links too. I will do some investigating in a few weeks or so and see what the best options are.

It will be great if I can get it back to how it once was as it has sentimental value what with it being my first proper bike.

Thanks again.