[CR]Early "Ti" saddles, bottom brackets, brakes, and pedals

(Example: Production Builders:Cinelli:Laser)

From: <Ebbikes@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 16:00:05 EST
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Early "Ti" saddles, bottom brackets, brakes, and pedals

This isn't about Ideale, but in 1977 I built up my lightest bike to date, an welded aluminum frame made by my brother at M.I.T. (a la Klein). It weighed 18 lbs with clinchers. I had on it a light saddle from Selle Italia called "Specialissimo Titanio". I always assumed it had titanium rails, but someone took a magnet one time and stuck it to the rails, and we surmised that they were probably tubular chrome moly.

Another neat item on the bike was a pressed-in sealed-bearing titanium bottom bracket! I was able to get a spindle from Teledyne (after they had quit producing frames), and machine the races off of it (imagine ball bearings running on titanium races!) and get some sealed bearings that fit the shell and the spindle. The whole thing was locktighted together, and works to this day. It doesn't see a lot of miles though. Also - It has a pair of the East Rochester Tool and Die titanium pedals. Remember those? I think Suntour bought or copied their design somewhat for their first Superbe pedals. And then it also has some of the Galli Ti brakes. They had Ti centerbolts and other hardware.

Bob Freeman