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2005 Litespeed Firenze.
The 2005 Litespeed Firenze frame is a general purpose titanium road frame
with classic geometry. It made an excellent platform to build my
general purpose road bike. It is ideal for short or long rides where
a mix of good performance and comfort are a plus. It is tricked out
with a full Campagnolo Record gruppo and Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels. At
17 lbs. in full road ready form,
it is light enough to perform like a race bike and the combination of
frame material, geometry and wheels, make it the kind of bike I can ride
comfortably for hours. If I were to build a no-compromise, general
purpose road bike, it would be something like this one. It is no
surprise it gets more use than anything else in
the stable. |
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1998 Basso Gap.
This classic Italian steel frame is named after Gap, France where Mariano Basso
won the 1972 World Championship, narrowly beating Eddy Mercxx in the final
sprint. The frame is beautifully filet
brazed except at the bottom where it has the famous Basso lugged bottom
bracket shell. You won't find many production frames made by hand
this way these days. This kind of craftsmanship is normally
available today only through custom builders.
Despite its racing heritage, the
Gap is an extremely comfortable frame with stable geometry. It takes
corners like a monorail train and seems to guide itself down the
road. There is nothing "twitchy" about the Gap and it is
the bike I ride when I want to commune with nature. On the days when
I'm not in a hurry and just want to enjoy the
out-of-doors, the Basso is my choice. It is not particularly light
or fast, but it is a dream to ride. The Campagnolo Vento wheels are
as solid as a rock and fit the overall personality of the Gap to a Tee.
I equipped it with a Campagnolo Chorus drivetrain with a few Centaur parts
around the bottom bracket. It is all Italian, of course, with parts
from Cinelli, ITM and Selle Italia as well as Campagnolo wherever
possible. Una molta bella bicicleta.
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2001 Ciocc Com 12.5.
Ciocc is an Italian slang word meaning "poker face" and was the
nickname of Giovanni Pelizzoli, the company founder. Apparently he
had an unemotional personality. Because of the wide diameter,
teardrop shaped steel Dedacciai tubing, this frame is quite stiff.
It behaves more like an aluminum bike than a steel one. Also it is
relatively light as steel frames go so this steel steed weighs in at less
than 20 lbs.
It is equipped with a 2006 Campagnolo Veloce gruppo
with CT crank and light, hand built DT Swiss wheels. It has an
up-to-date Ritchey Carbon Comp fork as well to help keep the weight under
control. I always feel just a little sportier than usual when
riding this eye catching two wheeler.
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1971 Garlatti.
The third member of my trio of steel framed Italian bicycles is the oldest
of the bunch, a 1971 Garlatti. It is not a common brand. I can't find out much
about it other than the company is still in Business in Parma, Italy
making bicycle frames. It appears not many of them have crossed the
Atlantic.
It has a Campagnolo Valentino Extra group and features a
chrome plated frame that has areas painted over in gray and white.
The head tube lugs pictured below are fairly spectacular and look more
like those on bikes from an earlier era. It is a classic 10 speed with lots of old time features like cottered
cranks, steel 27" rims and a bolt-on bottle cage. If you see me riding the
Garlatti be sure to wave and say "buon giorno."
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1980 Motobecane Mirage.
This is a restoration project I rescued from the junk heap. It
arrived with the wheels trashed. The cranks didn't spin. The
headset was wobbly. Since the Mirage was not a high end model of
this famous French maker's lineup, my goal was to restore it to excellent
riding condition without spending much money while trying to keep it as
original as possible. The wheels and headset are new and not
original. There was no way to avoid that. I also replaced the
tubes, tires, chain, freewheel and cabling. All the rest of the
parts were rebuilt and cleaned. Now it rides like it did in the
early 1980's with a total cost of just barely over $200. Voila le
Mirage! |
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2003 Gary Fisher Marlin.
I'm a road cyclist but I do have a mountain bike that I enjoy as
well. Only about half the time I spend riding it is off the
roads. It also makes a good machine to accompany my wife on a slow,
conversational bike ride around our country home or to take into town as a
street bike. It is nothing special but it occupies a valued place in
the stable just like the road bikes. |
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I hope you enjoyed the tour. Drop
in again sometime to see what's new. |
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