Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
One of the best groups I have seen. All beautiful, you should, rightly be feeling very pleased with yourself
Thank you!One of the best groups I have seen. All beautiful, you should, rightly be feeling very pleased with yourself
Actually, Indurain and the other Banesto riders did ride a combination TVT92’s and something similar to this ML34 for the 90 and 91 seasons. It was around 92-93 that Big Mig and others started using those tig welded Excell and Dynalite tubed Pegorettis.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.