Dear Cheesehead ,
( did I see you with a Helga-hat on ? )
Before the guys who really know what they're talking about tell you all about IDEOR . . .
Let me just say that I'm still feeling very bad about the IDEOR frame-set which I let slip away on eBay , a year or two ago . I didn't really fully understand about the "Open C" Campagnolo lettering . I knew it was older , and more valuable . It had not really sunk in that road racing bicycles from before 1960 are really not around in large numbers . . .
And speaking of large , I thought the frame-set might be a shade small for me . It didn't sink in until later that it was 59 cm center-to-center , not center-to-top . So in reality , it was my "perfect" size , for a real racing bicycle ( as opposed to a slightly taller touring set up ) .
Sigh . . . I let that nice old IDEOR slip away from me . I still think about it . It was lovely in its wonderful patina of age , with those "Open C" shift levers still attached .
What was I thinking ?
Raoul Delmare
( the guy with the froggy name )
( yes , I'll have the fromage , merci )
Marysville Kansas
> Hi, to all--
>
> Though I'm no youngster, I am brand spanking new to
> the world of vintage lightweight bicycles and I must
> say a bit awed by the immense brain trust of this
> group, to which I post for the first time. So please
> forgive my naiveté. My previous experience with
> lightweights has been limited to fitness riding and
> short- and long-distance touring on the typical
> Japanese bikes of the '70's. But underneath I always
> had an unarticulated hunger for "the real
> stuff"--Italian, French, British and U.S.--that I
> couldn't afford back in my starving student days.
>
> After many detours I've now taken the first fledging
> steps toward satisfying that hunger by acquiring a
> 63.5cm c-t-c 1960 IDEOR Asso Olimpic frameset in a
> faded flamboyant red. Though the frameset is in need
> of extensive restoration, including chroming, it's
> quite a handsome bike, well made, with early Columbus
> tubing (red sticker still intact), ornate decals and
> the coolest headbadge (a winged lion flying across a
> spoked, sun-like wheel) I've ever seen. I'm not
> restoring it for resale, or for whatever value it may
> have, but merely because the bike strikes an emotional
> chord in me. I suppose you've all had that experience.
>
>
> Here's the problem. Extensive Web searching has
> revealed almost nothing to me about the bike or the
> company. It seems to be a big black hole. I'm
> delighted that Chuck Schmidt at Vélo-Rétro has a
> reproduction of a late-'50's Ideor catalogue, which
> I've sent for, but I'm also hungry for knowledge
> beyond what that printed matter may reveal. I would
> appreciate hearing from anyone who knows anything
> about the company's lifespan, its history, reputation,
> racers, etc. Does anyone in the group own--or has
> anyone ever owned--an IDEOR? What did/do you think of
> the bike, the company? What were the original
> components on the 1960 version of the Asso? About the
> only thing I think I know for sure is that it had an
> IDEOR-branded Magistroni headset and seatpost clamp (I
> have only the clamp). Does anyone have any parts
> they'd be interested in conveying? I'm interested in
> tapping your collected wisdom.
>
> Thanks to all! Wondering in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
> Peter Jourdain