RE: [CR]A Newbie Writes

(Example: Production Builders)

From: "Peter Koskinen" <peter@prkbikes.com>
To: "'Lewis, Benjamin (Ben)'" <blewis3@lucent.com>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: RE: [CR]A Newbie Writes
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 08:39:39 -0500
In-Reply-To: <7D5D48D2CAA3D84C813F5B154F43B15503C9DAA1@nl0006exch001u.nl.lucent.com>
Thread-Index: AcQLOCuNDOV5ldUaTJWO0ZH10Kpx2wAI9gRg


Now that is a nice find!

Peter Koskinen Chapel Hill, NC

-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Lewis, Benjamin (Ben) Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 4:26 AM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]A Newbie Writes

Hello Folks,

I've been pointed to this list by a member of the Moulton Yahoo group. Apologies for cross-posting to anyone who is a member of both.

I found a Campagnolo racing bicycle in a flea market here in Brussels last Saturday morning. It was in a cardboard box with the wheels off and looking very sorry for itself, covered in dust, grime and cobwebs. The stall holder wanted forty Euro for it but I only had thirty five on me, which she took anyway. I managed to get the wheels on and made it pushable. With that I gave the box back to the stall holder after she asked if I had a car! After wheeling it home and giving it the once over with WD-40, a toothbrush and an oily rag it's come up looking quite good. Two new Schwable tires (which cost more than the bike) and it's on the road. The components are all Campagnolo "Nuovo Record" and the quality and finish are very high. Even after all these years they cleaned up easily and look almost new. I managed to date the bike to 1977 from the patent stamp "PAT-77" on the rear derailleur. The rims are Mavic, a red sticker still on them with MAVIC in gold letters and "Made in Fra! nce" in black.

The waterslide transfers on the frame say it's a Campagnolo "Royal King". A google and ebay search hasn't turned up anything under that name. It has a Reynolds 531 transfer (also faded and cracked) on the seat tube, thanks to Richards Bicycle Book I understand that the design of the transfer indicates it's made from double-butted tubing.

There's a picture here :-

http://users.skynet.be/fa339360/images/bike1.jpg

Since taking the picture on the weekend I've done more cleaning and put a Brooks saddle on it (one which had been maturing on my Brompton for the last two years).

A little background information, I've been looking for a hack bike for some time. I commute on a Brompton, ride a self restored Moulton Standard on weekends for pleasure but neither are really suitable for leaving outside a pub or locking up in dodgy parts of town. Nothing flash but something with a little quality, a "Q-Ship" as Sheldon Brown calls them. This bike seems perfect as the frame is dark grey, the transfers have cracked and faded and it's rusty in places but functionally it runs fine and is a joy to ride.

I've been told that Campagnolo never actually made their own frames and that Nuovo Record components are rather sort after. I'm starting to think that maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea to use it as a hack after all. Would anyone have any more information on this beautiful bike?

Best regards.

Ben