bye bye, Stinky Silver

For once, a short story of a geared bike. Not a fixie, not even a single speed.

When I saw it, it was owned by an american bluegrass musician who was travelling Europe, and who took two months to do a bike ride in Germany. He was leaving Berlin, and he wanted to sell the bike. Only problem, he sort of belonged to that category of owners who use a bike, but do not take care of it.
The Schaltung (o cambio) was so dirty that it could not move back, the back wheel cog and rim where out of balance, and the frame and lenker where deadly stinky. Before this, I did not think that a bike could actually stink. To be completly honest, I once read about a stinky bike, and about someone saying " did not think that a bike could actually stink". But still, I thought it was a urban myth, a legend. (http://www.biascagne-cicli.it/bici/bici-scattofisso-bottecchia/)


Anyway, I have cleaned the bike, oiled it, changed several rotten part, fixed the mechanic structures, and taken off the superficial rust from the beautiful chromed frame. For this latter work, I used a sort of Nonna remedy: Sidol, the cream for cleaning cooking pots. Works like hell.





Here it is the result. It is not a high end bike, but I hope that Sebastian, the new owner, will enjoy it. Given the story, the smell and the color, I called it "Stinky Silver"
Bye Bye Stinky Silver, and make Sebastian have a good time!

10th of July's Primo Maggio

First an infinitly delaied choice of the wheelset, then a too short fork, finally some mechanical problems. Piling up delais, Primo Maggio has finished its constructive process yesteday, on the 9th of July, while discussing of french cinema, german philosophy and mediterranean food with monsieur Karim (thanks, pal, once again!)
It is a Freschi handmade frame, columbus SL, with a Tenga fork, Super Record crankset and bottom bracket, and a couple of low-profile flip flop wheels


To be true, there are a few adjustements to be done: that sort of Eiffel Tower on the headset (under the handlebar) has to go, the fixed cog has to be screwed in, a couple of spacers have to be put, and a decent bartape has to be found.
But today is a wonderful sunnysunday, and I could not resist to try the bike, although only on the freewill/freewheel side. I therefore put two remaining pieces of handlebar tape, using them as in a Pista bike, and I took the bike, with its Eiffel Tower, to the Tempelhof Fulghafen park


here a few photos, in the company of Santa Bruna, at a beer refill station.


and of Santa Bruna rider

Prochain Post: la version sans tour Eiffel, et avec le "fixed gear" proprement installé.

Santa Bruna

un pensierino a Zibrù, prima di tutto...

And then here it comes the other Bruna, Sambruna, whose santification trial consisted in
- long and meticoulous purification of the chromes
- elimination of sinfull gearshifters, cables
- smoothening of mechanical parts
- univocation of the double standard of the first motor (from 39/53 to 53)
- constitution d'un méchanisme de réfoulement (non freudian brakes, in othe words...)
- adjustment of the OLDness spaces
- completion of the dialectical structures by apposizione di pedali, nastri, selle e quant'altri
- reversibility of the FIXED WHEEL of MORAL (18 teeth) and of the FREE WHEEL of FREEWILL (18 teeth, as well)
((ps: technicians might remark the very good Skid Patch Ratio of the 53/18))
- alignement of the superego (crankset) and of the double standard (freewheel/fixedwheel).

Thus here is the new santina

Unmoeglich ohne der hilfe des Erste Inquisitor Karim

The Santification trial has begun

The Santification trial has begun


Santa Bruna is now undergoing a careful procedure of reconstruction of the elements composing her holy identity. Madame S and myself in the role of judges, we exhibit a partial result of the inquiry.

cattocommunism

..ossia, il diavolo e l'acquasanta
both red, both set for fight with their cromed shiningtude, these two frames will evolve in parallel into two flipflopped fixies/singlespeed.

The big one, called "Primo Maggio" in honour to its color, is a 61.5 Freschi Frame (Freschi was a grea frame builder, former chief engineer of Pogliaghi), unused. It was labeledelto be sold by an obscure German bike seller, and therefore the frame is not panto with Freschi's FF. But not only the forcellini have freschi name, but his hand is recognizable in the complex cable routing solution, as well as in the peculiar thikening of the upper part of the back triangle.


The other one is a mistery. "Sambruna" is probably a renaming after a racing team. But at the same time there is an S panto on the fork.

This 54x54 somehow looks like something that Freschi did, with the aereo scassone of the seat tube, (like here) but there are not some trademarks of him like the renforcement on the upper conjunction of the back triangle.
Anyway, as opposite to the revolutionary reference of the Primo Maggio, this one, in honour to her mistery (but also to her actual name and to mine) will have a religious name "santa Bruna".
Primo Maggio and Santa Bruna will be our cattocommunist ride in Berliner Frühling.
Il diavolo e l'acquasanta.

Blue Haways

Blue Haways


"HAWAYS, HAWAYS, BLUE HAWAYS" (P. Conte)

Madame Blue Haways was already a single speed, and therefore its resetting has been a minor job. But a job full of affective value.
It has been my RennStadtRad since, two years orsono, I arrived in Berlin.
I felt in love with the great geometry of this Serotta, as well as with the Campagnolo set. They're both from the early '90s and I remeber that this type of crankset wes in my cycladolescent dreams.

Anyway, this frame being 57x57 (somehow too small for my tallness) and having found an handmade 61,5 Freschi, I am giving it away to start this new project...
So, I have changed the gear from 39x16 to a more sportyclassyhardlifeserioufastpace 53x18, I have changed the look of all the front (bar, brakelevers etc) to have something more designy and aggressive, and I have concluded the restyling matching the white chain with white brake cables (yes, it is just decor, but I love it!)


Some specs: it is a Columbus SL frame, with Campagnolo dropouts and Cinelli central movement box, it has campagnolo wheels, front gear, headset and brakes. At the centre of the bar there are two Tektro cross brakelevers


And enfin, on the name: on the seatpost tubes there are two funky stickers from the first owner, an American from Hawaii, which are mandatory to allow your bycicle to circulate in Honolulu.
If you ever go there for holidays you can take it with you and enjoy a ride without being fined!

ENRICHETTA '68
That was a hard work, but here she is
Test drived today on the Tarmac on Tempelhof

It is a 55x55 Bottecchia steel frame from 1968
It has Campagnolo/Mavic wheels, a suede original SelleItalia seatpost, the front crown is presumably a Campagnolo Valentino
It has sparkling new almost invisble Tektro brake levers and a new Pista chain, a new tire, and a new white cabling

Enrichetta is meine zweites Single-speed, ein 1968 55x55 leicht Stahlramen. Sie habt Camapgnolo raden und einen Camapgnolo Valentino (ich glaube) Kattenblat, neue Tektro Bremsgriffen, und einen Pista ketten.
Das Hinterrad ist "re-dished" fur das besser Kettenlinie

And here is the Airport Test Drive !!!