Bianca Pratorius wrote:
> About five months ago my friend viewed the movie American Flyers.
> He is already an avid roadbiker, but the movie inspired him to go
> classic. For the record the American Flyer movie is 1984, but there
> is every possibility that the bikes used were constructed in the
> previous year, 1983. List member, Lou Deeter happened to have a 54
> cm Specialized Allez that appears to have been made by the 3Rensho
> factory. The thing is as stiff as any bike I have ever ridden, but
> it has lovely details in the frame. We disassembled the bike and
> bagged everything up. Most of the parts appear to be some variety
> of Suntour Superbe or Superbe Pro or mystery Specialized Pro look a
> likes. Michael of Velographics re-did the decals and added some
> that only appear on the movie bikes. The paint was done by Gary
> Cole in Miami and the frame looks stunning.
>
> Today we started on the reassemble but ran into the usual problems,
> and the bottom bracket now needs to be tapped out again English.
> The owner of the bike has been super nervous about getting all NOS
> parts or nearly perfect ones to replace a few of the tattered or un
> original parts. While I was hammering on the headset parts, I went
> for another tool and my bud was so nervous about wiping off the
> green grease I was generously layering on the bike that he swung
> the frame into my hammer resulting in a small paint chip. I told
> him that many bikes have touch up paint before they even leave the
> bike shop for the first time. He's still fretting it, but I'm more
> concerned about the buildup of paint around one lug in a visible
> spot. A touch up here or there doesn't bother me much.
>
> Photos will be available soon. I too am sentimental about the Kevin
> Kostner movie but you could go crazy trying to match every detail
> as the bike changes wheels and groupos from one frame to another.
> It's skitsoo to see the bike go from Campy to Suntour in a blink of
> an eye.
Third bike down on the Velo Pasadena vintage bike web page is a
replica American Flyers Specialized bike in all NOS condition:
http://www.velopasadena.com/
Probably for sale even, if the offer is right...
Chuck Schmidt
South Pasadena, CA USA
http://www.velo-retro.com (reprints, t-shirts & timelines)