Dear Listees:
So now I suppose I've achieved Bicycle Nirvana, reached the top of the mountain, left with no more worlds to conquer, and there's no where else to go. While cruising through eBay a month or so ago, this beauty popped up in front of me: a fancy lugged 63cm Hurlow built Condor Superbe. Not only is it one of the more famous marques with lovely "squid on a plate" lugwork, but it's a frame built by a grand master of the art. Well, I didn't have room in the budget or bike cellar right now for another bike, but what does that have to do with anything? I made what should have been an insultingly low bid, but won anyway.
So, after anxiously waiting for the frame and gulping deeply when I saw the sparse packing, it was finally here. Fortunately damage was limited to a "closed" rear drop out that ace local wrench Steve Willis put right in two jiffys.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/
The frame is now built with a 75% Campy NR group, with just enough odd ball parts to give it flavor. Universal 61 brakes were used as the frame was built for centerpull brakes (check out the neat rear hanger), add a pair of Barelli pedals that have been sitting around for a while waiting for a worthy project, and drillium Universal levers, as a start on getting ready for this year's Lugs and Holes theme at Le Cirque. I'll have to see what other holey components I can add over time. Anyone got some drilled DT levers?
The real mystery is the story on the fork. It's a full sloping crown with ultra long reinforcing tangs (sorry, I didn't get a pic), and seems a bit starkly simplistic given the ultra ornate lugs. But I'm a sucker for full sloping crowns (they look almost liquid to me) and this one looks fine on this frame to my eye. There's a different serial # on the fork, a 4 digit combo starting with 9, while the frame has a 9 digit combination of numbers and letters. Replacement? Could be, but when you look at the chainstay junctions and the fork ends, boy it looks like the same hand to me. The frame is allegedly a 1966, so the full sloping crown is certainly possible. Maybe the buyer wanted to be avant garde, and defied normal conventions. (BTW, there's no sign of crash damage on the rest of the frame, so I doubt a hypothetical original fork needed to be replaced.)
Anyway, I'm well on my way to getting set for Cirque X, if only I had better weather for riding. The only test ride I've managed was a quick 2 mile spin around the block. But even in that short jaunt it's apparent that Mr. Hurlow knew his onions, and could put up a frame that rode as well as it looked.
Lets see now, that means I've got several frames that I can put a name to the builder: Hurlow (Condor), Purves (Algurn), Taylor, Pike, Marinonni, Nobilette, Assenmacher, Goodrich and Slawta (Landshark). Don't know waht it all means,if anything, but it makes me feel all warm inside. Thanks, all of you, for the lovely machines.
Tom Adams, with no more mountains to climb in Shrewsbury NJ
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