At 10:19 AM 6/11/2006, BikeMike wrote:
>I have been offered a Gold plated bicycle that is all original early
>70s Campy and has gold plated Campy components as well as Frame /
>forks and hardware. Original early 70s Michelin sew-ups as well...
>Seller has no set price in mind. Anyone know if this was a bike show
>display model. It has no headbadge and no evidence of ever having
>one. Seller has difficulty answering questions about the bike as he
>calls pedals " that platform where the leather straps onto your
>feet" ANY ideas about who might have made this bike and value
>(seller states it is for someone 6' tall or over) Thanks for any
>thoughts and insights into this mystery bike. Please email off list
>to coololdbikes@aol.com Thanks
>Bicycle Mike
>Nostalgia Bikes
>Boston MA
>800-336-BIKE (2453)
Is it really gold?
To my uneducated eye, a TiN treated frame is indistinguishable from gold plate. I have a photo of one around here someplace, but I wouldn't know where to start looking. Cecil Behringer originally invented the titanium nitrate treating process, to extend the life of aluminum Campi chainrings. He said they wore out too quickly, compared to the steel rings he was used to in "the old days". He used the process on a few of his frames. He claimed that it measurably increased the Youngs modulous of the tubing.
I never saw a bike with the cranks, hubs etc, treated. But he had a flair for the dramatic, so it sounds like something he might have done. .
BTW the the Behringer process, the TiN penetrated the surface to a depth of several molecules while Toshiba developed a similar process that was similar to plating in that it did not penetrate the basemetal. I don't know which version is now used commercially on machine tools, .
Mark Stonich
Minneapolis Minnesota
http://bikesmithdesign.com
http://mnhpva.org