This is a nice thread in that nearly all could contribute to this quite easily. In fact, limiting oneself to just a machine or two might be diff icult. I'll mention my early '70's Razesa, from Spain, as a built-up frameset t hat, subjectively, represents a pleasurable "second tier" cycle. It's ea rly enough to have the classic three-brake-cable clips, a look that I lo ve, rather than the latter-day brazeons "at twelve o'clock" which have n ever really moved me (and which one sees on some later Zeus numbers, bui lt by the Razesa shop I believe). Patent 71 Nuovo Record rear derailleur is suspected to be original. I bought this bike about three years ago o n eBay, where a mispelling of the name as Razetta may have kept other bi dders away. I think the seller may be a listmember, and if so, I thank h im in particular for the nice respray in orange. It came to me in allege d Romagna team livery, but I have no idea if this is authentic-appearing , or simply imaginative on the part of the restorer. If anyone has infor mation or pictures pertaining to the Romagna team, especially circa Sixt ies/ early Seventies, this would be of great interest! The bike is built up with Nuovo Record derailleurs, Zeus shifters, Campa gnolo 26.6 seatpost, Campy guides (no bottom-bracket brazeons), NR crank arms with matching 54 / 42 rings, Pivo stem, metric threaded headset in steel (brand unknown), Maillard low flange hubs from the early '80s with narrow Rigida 700c clincher rims. Six-speed rear end, 13 - 26 I believe . Weinmann 500 brakes and levers which are clean but look like older exa mples. Brooks B-17 standard, Atom pedals.
Intended changes include later-pattern Mafac Competition centrepulls (I
need one more straddle cable), and possibly an alloy headset--Strongligh
t seems appropriate and affordable. The Atom pedals may migrate to my PX
-10, and be replaced by NOS Spanish-made Olimpic 64s. I'd prefer a tubul
ar wheelset with Zeus hubs but french rims, to keep that 'across the Pyr
anees' feeling going. That may mean an Ideale saddle, too--or a B-17N ra
ther than the standard.
The frameset has long-point lugs--Bocama?--with that extra flourish adjo
ining the headset cups. I haven't identified the bottom bracket shell, t
hat's not my forte. Diamond-shaped reinforcements at the brake-bridge su
ggest a hint of fanciness. Has chromed stays but only about 3" shows chr
ome on the lower rear stays, a slightly stubby look but adding to the ap
pealing slight eccentricity of the whole. There are wrapover chainstays
that do just meet in the middle, and the most detectable crudeness to th
is very decent frameset is some extra material on the underside of the c
hainstays where they meet the seatcluster. Just a bit globby in there, n
ot violently so, just enough to say 'journeyman' rather than 'master', o
r at least bespeaking time-management principles at work. One of the "po
ints"--the one on the top of the top tube--is off-center about 1mm. Tube
set is 531 double-butted throughout, according to the decals added durin
g restoration, and this seems correct. Ends are Campagnolo, with eyelets
. The less-than-perfect, but still nice, execution says 'pragmatic race
bike' to me, rather than 'I am built to impress'. It does a job, and so
30 years down the line I can use the bike without compunction--though I
won't lean it against any NYC signposts. I have other dogs for that kind
of errand! This is out-and-back--or maybe at most, lay-it-in-the-grass-
-machine for me, even if "second-tier".
The transfers are reproduced on vinyl--the 'R' and chainring for the hea
dtube, a foil sticker on the drive side that features Olympic rings, a b
lue grayhound (thus 'dog' a second ago) at speed, and "Vuelta A Espana",
the tour of Spain, of course. The 'Romagna' logo is in block letters ed
ged in black, two red stripes at either end. Again, I am uncertain about
the level of authenticity, but the thing does look plausible, and attra
ctive.
The bike has, to me, a strong feeling of transitionality, with the forks
not being as raked as '60s racers (my several Frejus, for example), and
rather tight clearances for the wheels (no need for longer reach brakes
, the shoes on the Weinmann 500s are nowhere near the bottom of the slot
s).
The bike feels to me fast and and anticipatory of the race, without bein
g skittish in the handling department despite the verging-on-criterium-b
ike forks. I only weigh in the vicinity of 135 lbs., and this may inhibi
t my judgement of relative "stiffness" in a frame--can't give feedback t
here, I am neither powerful nor heavy enough, perhaps. I just know that
despite having some "finer" bikes on hand, I do still return to the Raze
sa with frequency, as I did last night for a spirited midnight ride down
the bike path on the west side of Manhattan, leading to Battery Park at
the southern tip of the island. The waterfront park just above the Batt
ery--late on a sunday or monday night--must be one of the more solitudin
ous (yet safe) spots in Manhattan. You have your choice of meandering ju
st along the water (looking out over New York harbor toward Jersey City,
Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty), or making speed on the two-la
ne bike path which is just slightly inland, along the westside highway (
and, incidentally, past the World Trade Center site).
Query: I am pretty certain that placing the second generation MAFAC Comp
etitions--with that black logo placed assymetrically--on an early sevent
ies bike is slightly anachronistic. Yet how much so? Does anyone know wh
en said calipers appeared? Later, but how much later? I just don't have
enough reference material yet. Seems like there are a fair number of tho
se brakes in circulation, but they seem rare in photos, as sidepulls wer
e in vogue in the pro peloton. I have the earlier Competitions on my '73
PX-10, but actually the 'reach' they possess would be too much on the R
azesa, particularly in front. The shorter-reach (i.e. "medium") later Co
mpetitions appear to be a perfect fit--and the black background of the l
ogo looks good against the Molteni-ish orange that the Razesa has been p
ainted.
Rather a lengthy post here. Thanks for wading through it.
Tom Ward
New York City