Finally! She's together!
No, that's not what someone said about me after I figured it all out. (As if I ever did!) I'm talking about...another bike. I mean, what else could I be talking about on this blog, right?
Specifically, I'm referring to the 1973 Mercian Olympic (I mistakenly identified it earlier as a King of Mercia; Grant at Mercian confirmed that it's an Olympic) I bought in June. The funny thing is that I didn't have to do much to it, but it took me longer to finish than it took to get Dee-Lilah, my new Mercian Vincitore Special, ready after the frame arrived.
In the case of Dee-Lilah, I had all of the parts, and Eli (of Ruth SF Works) made a couple of bags for me and once Hal put it all together, it was ready to go. I haven't found any need to adjust or change anything yet.
On the other hand, for the Olympic, I had to look for a couple of things, and make a couple of other choices.
Right from the beginning, I replaced the tires, which were cheap and mismatched, with a pair of Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons. I also swapped out the SunTour freewheel for another SunTour--the ProCompe that came with the bike (and is now on another) for a New Winner--and the unknown-brand chain for a Sedisport that'd been in its package for 30+ years.
After a couple of rides, I knew I wanted to change the stem from the 9 mm extension that came with it to a 10. The stem and bars that came with the bike were Cinellis, in the old 26.4mm clamp diameter. I like the bars, so I didn't want to buy new ones. That meant looking for a stem in the proper diameter. I also wanted to find one that had the old-style oval logo, like the one that came with the bike, but had no luck there. Oh, well. Cinelli has never produced an ugly logo, so I don't mind having the newer one. Besides, the logo switch seems to have been made not long after the frame was built.
Now, stems before the 1990s didn't have "faceplate" clamps. So, if you want to switch stems, you have to unwrap the bar tape. I didn't mind, as the tape that came with the bike was a mess: It was faded and felt as if it had been epoxied onto the bars. And the rubber hoods were disintegrating on the brake levers.
Luckily for me, I managed to find a pair of original-style Campagnolo gum hoods for not much more than they cost 40 years ago. Best of all, they were fresh and supple. As for the tape, I decided to go with something basic but classy: black Tressostar cloth tape. I spiced it up a bit, though, with red bar plugs.
To match those plugs--and the red parts of the frame--I found some vintage red Christophe straps. And the one truly unsightly part of the bike as I got it--apart from the brake hoods and tape--were the toe clips, which were rusted and pitted even though nothing else on the bike was. They were from "Cycle Pro", which offered some decent stuff back in the day. But, since we're talking about a vintage Mercian with Campagnolo parts, I thought only Christophe clips would do. And they're what I put on those Campy pedals.
Now, of course, we all know that we really make our bikes our own with accessories. I could have sworn I had a Silca frame pump somewhere--but I couldn't find it for the life of me. Oh, well. Hal had one, but it looked like hell. He made a suggestion: a Zefal HP or HPX. I just happened to have one in the latter, in just the right size. And, while it's probably from the 80s or even later, it looks good, if not period-perfect, on the frame.
And, yes, that's a real, live Specialites TA cage on the handlebars. Like the brake hoods, it was in pristine condition before I mounted it. I found, though, that I needed to use longer screws than the ones that came with the clamp. I have a feeling they were designed for old French handlebars, which are narrower at the "sleeve" area than my Cinellis.
The bag is from Acorn. I have another, larger, black bag that Eli made.
Even with those minor changes, I still can't believe my luck in finding that bike--with a Brooks Professional saddle in perfect condition, no less. And so soon after getting Dee-Lilah: It was like getting two birthday presents!
After accessorizing, there's one more thing you (or I, anyway) have to do in order to make your (my) bike your (my) own: name it. So, after putting that bottle cage on the handlebars, I christened her Negrosa.
Now I really have decisions to make whenever I go out for a ride: Dee-Lilah, Negrosa, Tosca (my Mercian fixed-gear), Arielle (my Mercian Audax) or Vera (my Mercian mixte).
No, that's not what someone said about me after I figured it all out. (As if I ever did!) I'm talking about...another bike. I mean, what else could I be talking about on this blog, right?
Specifically, I'm referring to the 1973 Mercian Olympic (I mistakenly identified it earlier as a King of Mercia; Grant at Mercian confirmed that it's an Olympic) I bought in June. The funny thing is that I didn't have to do much to it, but it took me longer to finish than it took to get Dee-Lilah, my new Mercian Vincitore Special, ready after the frame arrived.
In the case of Dee-Lilah, I had all of the parts, and Eli (of Ruth SF Works) made a couple of bags for me and once Hal put it all together, it was ready to go. I haven't found any need to adjust or change anything yet.
On the other hand, for the Olympic, I had to look for a couple of things, and make a couple of other choices.
Right from the beginning, I replaced the tires, which were cheap and mismatched, with a pair of Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons. I also swapped out the SunTour freewheel for another SunTour--the ProCompe that came with the bike (and is now on another) for a New Winner--and the unknown-brand chain for a Sedisport that'd been in its package for 30+ years.
 |
| Old Cinelli logo. |
After a couple of rides, I knew I wanted to change the stem from the 9 mm extension that came with it to a 10. The stem and bars that came with the bike were Cinellis, in the old 26.4mm clamp diameter. I like the bars, so I didn't want to buy new ones. That meant looking for a stem in the proper diameter. I also wanted to find one that had the old-style oval logo, like the one that came with the bike, but had no luck there. Oh, well. Cinelli has never produced an ugly logo, so I don't mind having the newer one. Besides, the logo switch seems to have been made not long after the frame was built.
Now, stems before the 1990s didn't have "faceplate" clamps. So, if you want to switch stems, you have to unwrap the bar tape. I didn't mind, as the tape that came with the bike was a mess: It was faded and felt as if it had been epoxied onto the bars. And the rubber hoods were disintegrating on the brake levers.
Luckily for me, I managed to find a pair of original-style Campagnolo gum hoods for not much more than they cost 40 years ago. Best of all, they were fresh and supple. As for the tape, I decided to go with something basic but classy: black Tressostar cloth tape. I spiced it up a bit, though, with red bar plugs.
To match those plugs--and the red parts of the frame--I found some vintage red Christophe straps. And the one truly unsightly part of the bike as I got it--apart from the brake hoods and tape--were the toe clips, which were rusted and pitted even though nothing else on the bike was. They were from "Cycle Pro", which offered some decent stuff back in the day. But, since we're talking about a vintage Mercian with Campagnolo parts, I thought only Christophe clips would do. And they're what I put on those Campy pedals.
Now, of course, we all know that we really make our bikes our own with accessories. I could have sworn I had a Silca frame pump somewhere--but I couldn't find it for the life of me. Oh, well. Hal had one, but it looked like hell. He made a suggestion: a Zefal HP or HPX. I just happened to have one in the latter, in just the right size. And, while it's probably from the 80s or even later, it looks good, if not period-perfect, on the frame.
And, yes, that's a real, live Specialites TA cage on the handlebars. Like the brake hoods, it was in pristine condition before I mounted it. I found, though, that I needed to use longer screws than the ones that came with the clamp. I have a feeling they were designed for old French handlebars, which are narrower at the "sleeve" area than my Cinellis.
 |
| Yes, the bike came with that saddle! |
The bag is from Acorn. I have another, larger, black bag that Eli made.
Even with those minor changes, I still can't believe my luck in finding that bike--with a Brooks Professional saddle in perfect condition, no less. And so soon after getting Dee-Lilah: It was like getting two birthday presents!
After accessorizing, there's one more thing you (or I, anyway) have to do in order to make your (my) bike your (my) own: name it. So, after putting that bottle cage on the handlebars, I christened her Negrosa.
Now I really have decisions to make whenever I go out for a ride: Dee-Lilah, Negrosa, Tosca (my Mercian fixed-gear), Arielle (my Mercian Audax) or Vera (my Mercian mixte).
In the words of the great Steve Irwin "wotta leedl byooty". I really love the TA cage.
ReplyDeleteLove this bicycle. Maybe because I have one that is nearly it's twin, a 1978 Somec. If someone magically switched all components on the two one dark night, it might be several days before either of us noticed it, perhaps when we were going over the drive train with dental floss.
ReplyDeleteMine has a Cinelli stem with a 10 mm extension. My LBS owner, a co-conspiritor with a fleet of vintage bikes, says that Cinelli made stems with extensions up to 14mm.
What's with the little Italian flag thingies on the inside end of the bar tape?
And how much does it weigh in at? My Somec is 9.2 kilos.
Gear ratios? I have 42-52 in front and 13-14-15-16-17-18 in back.
Beautiful. A very thoughtful restoration.
ReplyDeletePhillip and Leo--Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLeo--Isn't it funny that our bike are similar in so many ways? The freewheel is 13-15-17-20-24 and the chainrings are 42-52. I don't know the weight. The Italian flags are finishing strips from another set of handlebar tape: I thought they'd look good on this bike.
Cinelli did indeed make stems to 14 cm. I'm pretty sure 3TTT did, too, and Nitto makes them today.
MT-_Thank you!
ReplyDelete