[CR]Chiordas and other shi . . , er, stuff

(Example: Events)

Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2005 19:19:49 -0800 (PST)
From: "Syke - Deranged Few M/C" <sykerocker@yahoo.com>
To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR]Chiordas and other shi . . , er, stuff

One of the things I REALLY enjoy about getting the daily digests is the memories they bring back for me - every so often I read a bike name that I'd forgotten 25 years ago, and suddenly a whole load of memories come back.

Chiorda is a real prime example of that happening.

Steel tube, cheap Campagnolo, cheap bars (steel?), cheap brakes, wing nuts on the hubs. That was the first time I'd ever seen a Valentino, and had the realization that Campy made something besides a Nuevo Record - prior to that all the cheap bikes I knew came with Huret Allvit, Shimano Lark, or if there was any attempt at quality, the inexpensive Simplex. I seem to remember the Chiorda had a real rattle can quality paint job done quickly without worrying about how it would look when done, white with black lugs, or some combination of white and black. Not exactly impressive in quality, and usually there'd be some light sawdust from the shipping crate sticking to the light oil on the steel hubs.

The reason they stick out in my memory is that (in Erie, PA anyway) you couldn't go to a bicycle shop to buy one. The local mass-market-what-passed-for-big-box-stores-in-1972 carried them, usually as the high end line alongside the Huffy, Murray and Columbia bikes. That was their "quality" line. No idea who actually made them, and we sorta sneered at the bikes. Price? Say about $79.95 in 1972 - that sounds about right.

To the local hardcore bicycle crowd in Erie, the pecking order of bicycles was: The usual American cheap crap (see above), cheap Japanese bikes, Chiorda, Batavus (we only ever saw the base models, and they were sold in the get-on-the-bandwagon bicycle department at a local hobby shop where I worked for awhile - I like them but didn't have the extra money to pick one up, even at employee's discount), Roger Rivere (ditto on the base models, but the Schwinn/Raleigh shop where I worked carried them), Schwinn Varsity through Collegiate, mainline inexpensive European bikes, higher end Schwinns, Fuji (initially another shop where I worked only carried the upper half of the line), Paramounts and high line European bikes.

Thanks for the memories. Makes me wonder what else is still hiding in my head, to be jogged loose.

Other moments when getting back into this passion feels good: Over the past couple of weeks I've been picking up parts to put my Gran Sport back to original. High on that list was replacing the Sun Tour front derailleur with a Campy Valentino. Of course, where you just bolt on a Sun Tour and set the limit screws, you have to fine turn the Valentino to get it to work right. Damn, I still remember all the little tricks and tweaks. It feels real good. The riding's been going well, too. 20 miles minimum on my days off is normal anymore.

Next steps: Brooks saddle, GB brake levers, and a Sturmey Archer Raleigh rear hub. Start shopping for fenders, er, mudgards.

Regarding the mudgard thread: I may be a little odd, but other than for a couple of sunny weather only street burning sport bikes, everything I owned always had mudgards. It had a lot to do with my current habit of using a motorcycle year round in all weather having started with bicycles, and I was a passionate long distance tourer (radonneur?).

Future purchases: Been cruising eBay quite a bit lately, watching for any nice condition base line bikes. Currently watching a Gitaine that goes off in two days, the paint's a bit more scratched than I'd like and the biggest off-putting point is that the owner is determined to make the majority of his profit out of the shipping costs. We'll see. Maybe I could learn to tolerate a Huret Allvit again (then again, I've got a spare Valentino rear on the bench and can certainly find another front and set of levers). I've got some good memories of them being fairly nice bikes when Simplex derailleurs were installed and I'd do a set of inexpensive sew-up wheels for the owner.

I'm finding a real desire to pick up a couple of base, second or third line European bikes - I still like cottered cranks, they ride just fine for me, and somebody's got to save them before future generations get the idea that everybody in the 70's rode a custom built Reynolds/Columbus/Campagnolo top of the line bike. My big bug is that the frame has got to be fairly pristine, however. I'm not really interested in completely restoring every bike I own.

The big downside, of course, is that it's just as expensive to restore a bottom line bike as it is to do a top of the line one, assuming that all the original parts come with it. And in the end, you don't have the investment. Then again, you can paint it in the garage and it'll still look just as good as when it came out of the factory.

George R. "Syke" Paczolt Montpelier, VA 23192

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