Here's a good one for you old farts that like old bikes. Yep, I and many of you were like him, back when I was 16, can't afford them but found the Italian bikes a work of art like a bunch of Ferrari.

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^^^ I'll take the Pinarello! And it's my size. :cool: Very nice collection. My own collection is expanding to 8 as of late. I've got a new vintage frame incoming today or tomorrow :D

I would travel to Italy solely to visit this shop:

Italian Steel Bike

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^^^ Speaking of old farts ... I got dropped by a 70+ year old the other day :eek: Well, technically not dropped because I was doing a disciplined zone-2 training ride when the guy blew by me. I could've hopped on his wheel, but that's impolite at best. Either way, this dude was motoring!

And now for something completely different :eek:


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A new project. It's always a gamble buying online :rolleyes: Frame arrived well packed and in an undamaged box. Open it up and immediately see 2 dents in the top tube and some distortion of the tube ... none of this disclosed of course. Luckily, the seller stepped up and made it right by refunding most of my money and me keeping the frame. I was thinking wallhanger for the man cave. But yesterday I got out the trusty kitchen rolling pin and started to massage the dents. I've done this before with good success. Unlike frame blocks and a vise, this doesn't damage the paint. Still working on it, but at least a 75% improvement already. The frame was repainted by CycleArt and they did a great job other than one of the decals being crooked - how does that happen on a high-end paint job!! :rolleyes:

I've always wanted a Bob Jackson. I had a Columbus KL (equivalent to 753) frame built for me in 1979 by Matt Assenmacher who apprenticed with Jackson. And one of my brothers bought a Jackson from Bikecology in 1977 (he still has it,mint and largely unridden). If I get this frame to where I want it, I'll do a full period-correct 1983 Campagnolo Nuovo Record build on it. Right now, I've got 2 projects ahead of it.

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It that about a 52 c toc? 83 was Stupid Record by then. I remember they brought them in around 82 at Bikecology, that and Mondonico. We use to ride the 18 miles one way to the bikecology or Santa Monica and back once a week after school as our training ride. Man, I tell ya, talking about interval? We has to constantly sprint around the cars and especially the buses the entire way there and back in rush hour traffic on Santa Monica Blvd. Fun times. We would be home just in time for dinner. We had clips and straps then and did track stands at all the lights and stops on the way out (took our foot out at the turn around point) and back in rush hour traffic. I was only able to do that twice in all those years of doing that ride. Stupid things kids do for fun.

Joe Bob normally do a very nice job. I am surprise the decals are not straight. He painted a frame for me about 20 years ago. The work was good only I broke it in a crash few year later.

Would it be fun if we can get together and go to the concourse at L'Eroica?

It's a 51cm. Both dents are now 95% gone. 85% with the rolling pin. Remaining 10% with a crude frame block I made and a clamp. I've got a bit more to do on that front but the frame has been saved. I didn't think they'd come out this good.

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Thanks, that is a very interesting read.

Back then (I can only relate to around the mid 80s) most pro shop were the typical boutique shops catered to the typical road racing crowd with their bread and butter on mid end frames and service, of course. Bikecology sold volume, cheaper them most around at the time and piss off a lot of the local smaller shops. Are you from LA? That was a shop near Bikecology called Ernie's in Brentwood. Everything about that shop was high end, like going into a Ferrari dealer. They hated Bikecology. I rode for Erine's / LeGrandge for a year.

I remember a lot of the European steel frames that came off the pegs were not straight nor were they faced at the factory. The couple of Gios I worked on were very good but some of the smaller frame builders were pretty bad including their painter who has too many glasses of wine after dinner having to go back to the shop to finish the batch of frames that needed to go out the next morning. You should see some of the lugs that were hand painted. A Jr high kid can do better that in art class. As much I like a Rossin, the three frames that came out of the box were not straight. Cinelli were no better, as least the ones I came across.

Oh man, I wore out that catalogue. That was what keep me awake during Biology class. Tubasti glue. I remember that, what a trip.

Anyone want a Merlin? Small frame, I think it is a 51. I bought it for my kid when he was little and he out grew it in a hurry and never really rode it. I kept saying I will sell it one day but that day will never come because I am horrible at selling stuff. Too lazy

What model, frame material, year on the Merlin? I'm interested.

I'm not from LA but of course ordered from the Bikecology catalog on a regular basis :D



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If Curt doesn't want it, put me in line-the early ones had TK geo.

^^^ Greg, I'm pretty much looking for 2 things to add to the stable: a. a titanium frame road bike and b. something to build into a gravel bike. If it's not one of those 2, it's all yours.

If we can make a deal, it can be as simple as dropping the frame off at your local bike shop. I'd arrange to have them pack it and BikeFlights would pick it up.

Its a very nice old school ti bike Curt, go for it, they are very well built.

Picked this up from FB Marketplace for cheap:
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^^^ Wow. Serious downhiller!

Not so much about the bikes, but the company. 50 miles. 5700 feet of climbing. 39 degrees, feet in the air to stay warm, and an awesome SAG support table of food and goodness! :)
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Its in storage, I have to go get it out. After I realized he looked like a circus bear on a little bike, I had a long stem on it with a bit of seat post sticking out for myself. Rode it no more then 10 times, if that much? Its the Extralight. Not sure what year, I am thinking mid - late 90s? If you aren't in a hurry for it, I will get out there this weekend to get it out and get you a bunch of pic of it under daylight. Its really clean, not a scratch (can't scratch ti:D) on it.

I wanted to keep it for myself since I was too poor to buy one during the Ti craze only to realized that I will never ride it. IMO, they are so much better then any steel frame.

Whenever you get around to it, no problem. Just PM with the details and we'll see if we can work out a deal. I've got enough projects to keep me busy for a while :cool: A gravel bike is next on my list. We've got miles of gravel roads through the orange groves around here and it seems like it would be a fun change up from road riding once in a while.

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