Steel road bike collection: Tommasini, Viner, Lejeune, Specialissima, R753 Joe Waugh, R753 Rourke, Sedazzari, Grandis, Pinarello...

[Fifthgrace]

In anticipation of the New Year and to get me readying my steel road bikes for the Spring I thought I'd share them here, adding one a week for the next 8 or so weeks, to give me time to clean, oil and adjust etc. I've been building since my late 30's and now approaching my late 50s and still riding, this is a bit of a nostalgia trip as I reflect on what's made them special to me, what they are like to ride (all are riders!), plus some spec summaries as most are bespoke builds. It might not appeal to purists as my build focus is rideability, reliability and interchangeability of components, with a nod to aesthetic considerations.

So, kicking things off with a 1992/3 Pinarello "Team" Banesto Oria ML34 frame. In memory of the first road bike I ever purchased, which was a Pinarello Banesto "Replica" in Oria ML25, this bike was really the one I'd always promised myself. Aside from being probably the lightest steel non-oversized tubeset from Oria Mannesmann, and the lovely detailed 'panto' finishing by Pinarello, it's unusual in that the decals and paint are original but don't feature the Banesto name. The Pinarello decals themselves are known for being very fragile so rare to find as good as this! Rightly or wrongly, my assumption has always been that this frame predated the Banesto sponsorship, and was the Pinarello 'donor' frame in production when that sponsorship was signed off. Forever associated with Miguel Indurain and the Banesto Team (but Miguel's frame was actually a Pegoretti), it's hard not to ride this bike with a vivid imagination and a big grin! The bike is very lightweight, in part due to its tubeset but also owing to use of a 10 speed Centaur 2009/10 all alloy groupset (with earlier Record brake calipers swapped in for aesthetics as the Centaur 'skeletons' were a little too modern for this build), and a low weight finishing kit that includes a Titanio Selcof seat post, Ti Litespeed stem, Deda 215 alloy handlebars, Selle Italia Flite Ti saddle. Exustar Ti clip-in pedals and FRM Feather carbon-hubbed tubular wheels with Ambrosio Formula 20 rims. Tyres are Veloflex and Clement Criterium tubulars and provide a good feel for the road. Quick to spin-up, it's a good climber, with classic Italian short wheelbase handling.

 

[vtwinvince]

Ah, good way to start this thread.

 

[Fifthgrace]

Week 2. 1977-80 Grandis Campione del Mondo Columbus (SL) frame in Candy Apple red. Original paint and decals. Portacatena drillings to rear dropouts. Derailleur cable guides above the bottom bracket, engravings to fork crowns ‘G’+ wreath design, headtube ‘G + Made in Italy’, ‘Grandis’ script to stay ears. Curved rear brake bridge. Grandis built frames also for a number of bike shops/ brands near to Verona including some examples from Baldi and Berardi and is still in business today. I’ve always admired the understated but detailed craftsmanship of Grandis frames.

Custom built from frame up. Matching Grandis panto chainring and tool bag sourced (got lucky!). Chainset, cranks, derailleurs and down tube gear levers are Campagnolo Super Record. Drilled brake levers and calipers are Galli Criterium -both lighter than Super Record but not quite as solid feeling, with Galli-branded fluted 3ttt seatpost and 3ttt Record stem with original decals. Handlebars are very lightweight 3ttt Record Superleggero finished with Benotto NOS celo tape-this was ‘Team Raleigh’ yellow but has mellowed to an also attractive champagne-hue. Headest is a NOS alloy A9 needle roller bearing model branded both Galli and Stronglight. Wheels are 36-hole NOS Chorus hubs (Super Record were unavailable NOS at the time) assembled with Mavic Open Pro rims. I had these wheels built as part of a wheel building course I attended at Swallow Cycles, Ironbridge. A well-built high-spoke count wheel is a beautiful, free-spinning and smooth- riding thing! Freewheel is a lightweight alloy 13-23 6 speed Everest. Tyres are 25mm Veloflex Masters. Saddle is the distinctively shaped Iscaselle Giro d’Italia which I thought was black, but which I have inadvertently returned to the original dark brown through cleaning (must have been dyed by previous owner)!

Local cycle shop Rourke’s helped secure the bottom bracket cups (sometimes an issue with Italian frames due to the threading direction with unwinding when pedalling), and they very kindly supplied me with some matching paint for touch-ups and component finishing which I undertook. Gipiemme black and silver pedals, toe clips and white Lapize leather straps complete the Eroica-compliant specification.

I rode this bike at the Eroica Britannia, Bakewell some years ago, which was a varied route of rougher paths/ trackways and roads with some fairly steep wet descents that tested the age-hardened rubber brake blocks as well as my nerve. The bike offers a surprisingly good turn of speed and a nice balance between frame stiffness and ride comfort. I prefer my handlebars wider, but decided to stick with them as they do add to the classic look and feel. Now a sunny Sunday ride bike. If anyone has a Grandis water bottle (not the Mitsubishi kind!), or knows of one for sale, I would be interested...

 

[vtwinvince]

Two for two, love the Grandis. Wish I hadn't sold my Superleggera BITD.

 

[Fifthgrace]

Week 3. 1980’s Sedazzari Super Leggera Specialissima

Original paint and decals, Columbus SL frame, chromed lugs and chromed chain stay and rear stay ears. Chromed fork crown engraved with ‘S’ and wreath. Cinelli stem and Ambrosio ‘13 Volte Campione del Mondo’ handlebars. I purchased this bike as the frame looked to be high quality and it came with a full Super Record Groupset including a fluted seatpost, a first for me at the time. In researching the marque I found little info online. Pulling together pictures from Subito listings and scraps of information from Social Media I was able to reconstruct the story of a long-established bike shop in Genoa (1912-199?) and some of its frame builders including Mario Peloso di Alessandria (1950s/60s) and Mario di Staglieno (responsible for the Specialissima models) as well as connecting the Sedazzari and Ideor bike brands. There’s also an interesting story around the wooden-framed ’Littorina “autarchica” bicycle. https://sedazzarivintagebikes.wordpress.com/

Visitor contributions have further expanded the database of known Specialissima models, the top of the range model from Sedazzari. The Specialissima furthered my interest in Italian artisan frame builders and I learnt a lot about online research methods as well as publishing with Wordpress.

Since purchasing the Sedazzari, I have made a few spec changes. The saddle is now a Selle Italia Daytona with copper rivets (I have the Corsa original), with complementary copper coloured handlebar tape and copper anodized pedals and clips added. I also swapped out the Nisi Countach/ Record small flange wheels as they were very out of true, and replaced them with another set of Nisi alloy wheels, but with Record large flanged hubs. These wheels are said to have been owned and time trialled by Brian Rourke (owner of Rourke Cycles, Stoke on Trent): the spokes are tied and soldered, making the wheels (and the ride) super stiff and they came fitted with a 6 speed and Continental Competition tubs.

 

[Fifthgrace]

Week 4. 1984 Reynolds 753 Moducel Team frame, (Brian Rourke). Raced 1985.

Built for pro rider Sid Barras by Paul “Washo” Washington (working for Brian Rourke) and later renovated by Brian’s son, Jason on my request. Characteristic Rourke wrapover seat stay, through top tube cable run and original chromed fork. Purchased from frame and forks only and rebuilt with my much favoured choice of a 2009/2010 alloy and carbon Campagnolo 10 x 2 speed Centaur groupset. Cinelli 1A stem, Specialized wide alloy handlebars, Super Record fluted seatpost and white Turbo saddle, Ksyrium SL wheels and Fortezza Tricomp tyres, white Exustar pedals, and featuring an original ‘80s Kellogg’s Tour Series Water bottle. A shot of ‘Super’ Sid Barras, riding this frame, featured on the front cover of Cycling in May 1985.

As a youngster growing up in the 80s, I’d always lusted after an R753 Ti Raleigh bike, but even a Raleigh Europa in Team colours was beyond my parents' budget. High prices have always made them a difficult purchase for me to justify, so when this frame popped up for sale at a sensible price, I was quick to drop a bid on it, though at that stage the frame material was unknown, so it was a rather speculative purchase. With a little too much rust and having been resprayed an incorrect yellow and black paint scheme, a renovation of the frame was undertaken as I wanted the bike to be ridden again and not just presented as a wall-hanger. Now finished in the original 1985 Moducel Team livery but with pearlescent paints i.l.o. flat colours, the rider’s name was also added to the toptube as befits a Team bike, and the Brian Rourke initials to the headtube to confirm its origins. Research around the frame, the rider and the Moducel Team and some great race pics from Phil O’Connor provided content for me to create the website https://moducel.wordpress.com/ . For me, cycling is a journey of discovery and this bike provided this in so many different ways. When riding it, I’m finally on my dream R753 bike and not just any frame, one that won some pro races too- if only it could recount all of its exploits!

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

@Woz check out Moducel in the link.

 

[Woz]

@Woz check out Moducel in the link.

- yup. Great time to be in Burslem / Stoke as a youth. ANC not far behind. Further up towards Fenton, other pros from Percy Bilton and Fagor.

Many happy days seeing these team frames lined up on the rack and then going for an oatcake across the road, then watching the evening Kellogs city centre racing in Hanley. Winter time some fun roller racing and a few of the stars would appear.

- perhaps have a few pictures in the attic even.

 

[Woz]

I learnt there was a lot of fuss about 753 and chroming. BR did it. My fathers road race bike when he came back as a veteran was full 753, chromed stays and forks. After years of race thrashing and then riding for god know how many years after, it was the seat tube that cracked. The 753 chromed forks are a wall hanger souvenir in his man gave.

While a lot of time as gone by, Jason was learning his torch craft and said things about 753 I should never repeat and I still won't, and I'm still sure that I did indeed see ANC Pugs on the racks with a BR decal just on the back upper of the seat-tube. There is a Jack Taylor video which accidently shows this from memory too. I've lost touch a lot with being abroad, but my father still keeps connections.

Fact is, and I will be honest in not grasping the magnitude of things back then when much younger, but since joining RB, BR was simply a go to for locals and professionals because of know how. I remember looking at Campag 50th Anniversay gruppos in the window. Had three Rourkies myself, first two were "resprayed trade-ins", and because of my unsprouting size back then they were formally owned by some top-notch female riders.

Last one was custom I had was florescent pink and yellow/green snot fade on white. It was the period, and I got matching PDM Look pink pedals too. @Imlach will like this, but I have been there. That Rourkie did me proud moving around in four countries in Europe. Think it was a Victory gruppo, but I remember buying Athena or Chorus - Monoplaner - brakes in Paris and then going around the Alps on it, and then the Pyrenees. I sold it in Stockholm eventually, and said to the buyer it really needs a re-spray and something more classic - he said no and it looked soooooo coooool What to say.

In my early teens Brian himself pulled out an old Swinny from the skip in the back yard for something for me to do a paper round on. Mental in a way considering it had curly lugs, grease nipples, lug lined and was an early 531. A bit like a carpenter getting scraps and off-cuts of wood to do something useful with. Different times. Happy times.

Going to shut up now. But still, some neurons got excited, and thank you @Fifthgrace for sharing a wonderful collection.

 

[Fifthgrace]

@Woz Thanks for sharing your recollections. Maybe I've missed it, but at some point I think it would be great if a museum in Stoke on Trent created an exhibit around the City's contribution to cycling before it's forgotten. I guess it's not quite up there with the Staffordshire Hoard! https://www.stokemuseums.org.uk/pmag/collections/archaeology/the-staffordshire-hoard/