Project Verlicchi DH, the Italian Stallion - Finito !

[Elev12k]

Dave Cunningham had a good year with it , and the Italian female rider won numerous races on it .

A great classic this bike .

They still produce DH frames .

There is a rumour that they were the ones making the S BIke as well .

Hi Chris,

I think you mean Giovanna Bonazzi, who raced for Sintesi.

I am wondering whether below Sintesi is Verlicchi made. It at least looks very made by a motorbike frame builder :mrgreen:

The S-bike was indeed Verlicchi made, as were the early Diamond Back Dual Response bikes and the early Carraro FS bikes.

@Steve
Yes, they are XC700s. I like them. The adjusting knob makes a chique "click-click" sound. Build from real materials.

- Melvin

 

[jez-4-bikes-max]

Well done - that looks awesome!

 

[Arran]

Bici bella!

A work of art Mel! Just not so sure about the Yeti grip shift and Rigida rims.

It's a shame I was put off that bike by the man himself.

I met Dave Cullinan, David Weins and Susan DeMatei 15 or so years ago when thay came to NZ to race the National Champs. David and Susan were fantastic people but I remember Dave was a bit of a dick. A bit arrogant for my liking.

 

[P20]

Nice bike Nice photo's as well
Isn't the Sachs stuff heavy if well made

 

[Elev12k]

Bici bella!

A work of art Mel! Just not so sure about the Yeti grip shift and Rigida rims.

It's a shame I was put off that bike by the man himself.

I met Dave Cullinan, David Weins and Susan DeMatei 15 or so years ago when thay came to NZ to race the National Champs. David and Susan were fantastic people but I remember Dave was a bit of a dick. A bit arrogant for my liking.

Hi Arran,

Thnx!

The shift grips are Quarz too, not Yeti. Together with the 36s the Rigidas build sturdy wheels. Not light, sturdy :mrgreen: I think the bike was build in '96 and at that point the high flange rims were cool to some degree.

Dave a bit of an dick? Hmmm :roll: , maybe I should relabel it 'Kona'

@P20
Sachs Quarz heavy? No idea actually. I can tell the bike is lighter than my Panasonic e-stay! The Quarz looks very well made to me. It is 90% metal/10% plastic, unlike todays stuff that is 10% metal/90% plastic. Maybe I am mistaken on the later, but to me it all looks like plastic.

- Melvin

 

[Arran]

The shift grips are Quarz too, not Yeti.

Ahhh, my bad. I'll let you off on the shifters then.

Still not sure about the rims though...



*Kidding*

 

[andrewl]

Very nice, although I would have expected a Ringle cage on there

It also the only one I've seen where the swing arm hasn't cracked and been repaired multiple times.

 

[Elev12k]

Hi Andrew,

Welcome!

On your comments: I think from a purist kind of view NO bottlecage would have been best. It is DH bike. Early Verlicchis even hadn't mounts.

Cracking/failing: Do you know an early alloy full suspension that hadn't issues? Please tell me. I heard people claiming the Verlicchis break, but also other people saying they hold up fine. I know at some point Verlicchi reinforced the swing. Maybe the people saying they fail all rode/raced early ones and the people saying they hold up well later ones??? :mrgreen:

Anyway this is my 2nd Verlicchi. This one is still mint, but my 1st was very well used. I do know it is still going somewhere on Curacau.


- Melvin

 

[andrewl]

Hi Andrew,

Welcome!

On your comments: I think from a purist kind of view NO bottlecage would have been best. It is DH bike. Early Verlicchis even hadn't mounts.

Cracking/failing: Do you know an early alloy full suspension that hadn't issues? Please tell me. I heard people claiming the Verlicchis break, but also other people saying they hold up fine. I know at some point Verlicchi reinforced the swing. Maybe the people saying they fail all rode/raced early ones and the people saying they hold up well later ones??? :mrgreen:

Anyway this is my 2nd Verlicchi. This one is still mint, but my 1st was very well used. I do know it is still going somewhere on Curacau.


- Melvin

Had a look at some old photos last night of the works Iron Horse bikes and believe or not they have cages fitted to them! but not the Ringle I had previously mentioned - that was on a friends Iron Horse race bike instead (poor memory). From the pictures I have though it looks like you may need to add a "FS Works" sticker to the swing arm though

On the swing arm from yes its an old Aluminium suspension bike and yes by now a crack would not be unexpected.

However of the bikes I remember and that still survive today (a few Iron Horses and DBRs), They all cracked on the drive side on the swing arm near the pivit - usually before their first birthdays!

Anyway I still have a soft spot for them and would love to have one like yours

 

[Elev12k]

Andrew,

If you like to see more on the Verlicchi, I scanned a lot articels, catalogues and that kind of stuff. You find it here

The decals on the downtube are result of few hours hobbying with WordART. The Iron Horse logo is very simple. It does not look 100% accurate, but you do need to see both near eachother to spot differences. So far I didn't made the swing decals. The only decals present on the frame when I picked it up were the swing decals. They did say 'Active Suspension' in the Sintesi way. In fact my bike was a Sintesi Bromont :shock: Moreover, so far nobody were able to tell me, but after some research I concluded there even has never been an Iron Horse with red swing and detailling :shock: I only know of blue and purple. Thought this is the right time to unveil, now I already got the BOTM title

I have sooooo many frames seen being destroyed within one year ...and also waaay shorter. This was space age technology for that era, there was a lot experimenting and a lot had to be discovered. I ride mine, it is deffo not a garage queen ...BUT I don't need to head to the podium with it like the team did. I've grown old and I just need some comfort We'll see were it ends. Who will pass on earlier?: Me of the bike? With wear spread over 25 bikes you never know :mrgreen:

I believe IH carried this modell in their 93 and 94 line up. By 95 Verlicchi reinforced the swing. Maybe it should help. The FS Works was a pretty expensive bike btw. $4150 it was for 1993. No matter what can be said on this frame, it is obvious that for this huge sum a lot of effort went into the finishing. They did a proper job on the welding. It is not as perfect as my little Koga Miyata TrailRunner, but it is deffo in another league as an AlMega for example.

- Melvin