After much deliberation, I have decided that the 3Rensho TT funny bike th at I picked up from the local craigslist a few days ago would be much bette r in the hands of an individual who had the time and parts to build it up p roperly. I jumped on the local sale mostly to prevent it from being fixied as the ad had proclaimed it ready for and as much fun as this bike would b e to ride, I have a move coming up and at the time no place to keep it in the mean time, and perhaps not after the move either. A frame this rare really belongs to someone who is a 3Rensho affectionado and/or enthusiast. I have not been able to locate any photos online of a frame exactly like this one. Closest I've found was a gold fully lugged version on the Yellow Jersey website which had a curving top tube.
Andrew Muzi at Yellow Jersey informs me that this is either a late 87 or ea rly 88 frameset based on the serial number (A956-590), frame is beautiful ly fillet brazed with the exception of the traditional lugged contruction a t the bottom bracket. Andrew also stated that the beautiful pearl white an d blue paint scheme matches the team colors of that era as well. Frame siz e is 56.5cm ctc seat tube, with a 59cm effective top tube. Frame has ver tical Campagnolo dropouts, over the bottom bracket cable routing, takes what I believe is a 26.8mm seat post, and recessed mount brakes. I am i ncluding the installed shifters (right side is Pantographed 3Rensho Dura-Ac e AX, left is a 600EX lever), Campagnolo Record bottom bracket (spins s mooth with no play) and Campagnolo C-Record (or very similar) headset (also in good condition). Also, I am including the 24" front wheel which cons ists of an American Classic hub laced to an Araya ADX4 tubular rim, 24 bl aded spokes are laced radially. The Vittoria Juniors 24" tire will likely need to be replaced as it has a cut in the sidewall, but I do have a sour ce for that size tubular. Paint condition is in over all good condition, but does have some issues in the usual areas: right chainstay, dropouts , rear brake housing guides, and some on the back side of the fork legs . I have take down some of the surface rust in some of these areas to conf irm that they are indeed only surface issues, and treated the areas with a rust inhibitor. Also gave the entire frame a coat of wax to protect and brighten. Inside the tubes look very clean from what I can see.
Photos of the frame can be seen on my wooljersey account here: http://www.w ooljersey.com/gallery/v/cuda2k/3Rensho (Dale, feel free to use any phot os you wish on the 3Rensho page on Classic Rendezvous).
I am asking $480 (or best reasonable offer) + shipping for the frameset, front wheel and mentioned parts. I have a bike box here which should fit t he frame easily, but I need to see if I can get the wheel in there as wel l safely. I will lovingly pack the frame for free, so only actual shippi ng charges above the frame price. (I'll also add in a Dura-Ace 12-21 7sp f reewheel at asking price if you can use it!).
Jon Fischer Dallas, Texas, USA http://velobase.com
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