[CR]FS: 1976 Main d'Or by F. Kessels 56 c-t

(Example: Framebuilders:Chris Pauley)

Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 19:19:12 +0200
From: "Freek Faro" <khun.freek@gmail.com>
To: classicrendezvous <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
cc: faro@cistron.nl
Subject: [CR]FS: 1976 Main d'Or by F. Kessels 56 c-t

Good day all,

This beautiful Main d'Or frame has been decorating the living room for a while, and was always a conversation-starter. Now the small black Presto has taken its place (life's unfair), so the Main d'Or has to find a new owner.

I think it is a very charming frame, in the details, in the colour, the overall appearance really. It was built by Belgian builder F. Kessels, actually Main d'Or (Golden Hand) was his brand name. Kessels built Merckx bikes under license, but also a lot of Merckx racing bikes in his Molteni period. I'm not an expert in this field, but the archives give a lot of info on the subject.

This frame is built in Ishiwata 022 'Speed Gallant' tubing (this tubing is about the same weight as Columbus SP). Geometry suggests it is more meant for touring than racing: 103 cms wheelbase, 43 cms chainstay. Seattube is 56 c-t, toptube 56 c-c.

The finish of the frame is one of the best I've ever seen. Filed and thinned lugs, super-clean brazing, lug-lining literally everywhere (bb shell too!) with beautiful gold-coloured paint. Everything feels nice and soft to the touch.

Dropouts are Campagnolo. Condition of the frame is very good to excellent. A few insignificant scratches, most obvious one on the left hand side of the downtube. Some chips where the chain slapped the chainstay; was covered by some tape, but I took it off to show what it looked like.

The colour of the frame itself is some kind of very special, golden orange metallic. Hard to describe, you will appreciate it when you see the frame in real life. The pictures only tell part of the story! Other charming details are the foil decals, with the almost 30s like upheld hand.

To save the new owner a lot of trouble, I include the 27.0 mm seatpost (Nuovo Record), the Cinelli Unicanitor #4 saddle, the clamp-on gearlevers (Gran Sport), the clamp-on steel bottle cage (TA?) and the Huret toptube cable clamps. Also the headset is included (Gran Sport in good condition), and the very Belgian 1986 insurance plate.

Pictures of the frame are here: http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/Freeks-racefietsen/Main+dOr/?g2_fromNavId=x2d1d7d76

Price of the frame + stuff is $ 200. Shipping to the USA is (the usual) $ 85, which means Priority (7 to 10 days transit time), insured, and well-packed. I prefer payment through Paypal at faro@cistron.nl.

Thanks for looking!

Freek (focussing on Dutch bikes) Faro

Rotterdam Netherlands