[CR]Newbie Introduction and Question (long)

(Example: History:Ted Ernst)

From: <TADCPDAJD@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 09:59:04 EST
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR]Newbie Introduction and Question (long)

Hello,

"Optional upon joining, but highly encouraged, is for new members to provide a little profile of themselves: what bikes they have..." I am a new member. I stumbled onto this list while looking for information on an early 70s Kent 10-speed. My wife recently went looking for a bicycle and settled on a Trek hybrid to ride around town and on short tours. She wanted me to get one, too, but I have a long-term, latent affection for lightweights and told her I would get one of those. I found out they are not the same, anymore.

I looked at (and bid on) some interesting older bikes on ebay but thought I could fix up my old touring bike for less than what ebay bikes were going for. It had been a comfortable rider for ten years, but I had quit riding more than 15 years ago and the bike stood in the garage. It has been in climate controlled storage for the last seven years.

Here is what it is: an early '70s 55cm German-made, lugged, long wheel-base frame (Kent "Trento" decal on head tube, no Columbus or Reynolds decals, some brazed on bits for tire pump, cable stays, flat-plate rear brake bridge (Pletscher), and kickstand plate, but clamp-on derailleur levers on the down tube), a few rust bubbles under the paint, but no structural degradation. Paint is faded, chipped, and scraped from years in storage and leaning against trees, posts, etc. Some interesting shape to the lugs, but not highly ornate, cutout, or thinned. Lugged fork, chromed crown cap Huret Svelto derailleurs (Richard Ballantine was kind to these) Mafac Racer cp brakes (front broken, removed, and lost, hanger lost, too) Pivo stem Cottered crank (Christophe toe clips) Normandy hubs (France) with Shurmann rims (Germany) Rear cluster, chain rings, cranks, pedals, BB, headset unknown (pedal dust caps are engraved "Made in W-Germany 1970" around a stylized M) Original saddle long gone

It is incredibly dirty (dust glued to grease), but I figure to replace brakes, saddle, and wheels, and repack BB, headset, and pedals, as well as powder-coat the frame, and be rolling by Spring.

Because I had only paid $15 for it at a garage sale in '72, I never assigned any real value to it, except that it was a comfortable rider, and on January 10, Dale wrote, "But I would say that, in general, a 'house brand' made by a famous maker under contract usually doesn't razz any collectors' berries so to speak. A bike kinda needs to be marked after it's maker to get the big points. In fact the Centurion bikes were nothing like a 'real' Cinelli.. They could have just as likely been made by Romani, Atala, Carnielli, or any of a "slew" of Italian factories." So, finally, my question is, do I try and save the Kent decal (that says Made in Germany) on the head tube, or do I just take it down to bare metal and let the powder-coaters have at it? Thank you for the bandwidth.

Tom Donahue