I'd gotten the Simoncini to get a nice Italian road bike to go with the Starfish crank Mavic groupo I had (love the groupo!). It's a pretty bike though the decals were kinda peeling slightly. A few photos of my build here: http://sports.webshots.com/
I set up the bike pretty well, and had a lot of fun with it locally in the hills around my house, probably not doing more than forty milers or so with it. I don't remember it as being memorable in its handling, but a nice racer, not really nervous, good handling and pretty comfortable. It did have the fork crown I've learned I'm not fond of, the sloping Cinelli style that necks down, in between the fork tubes and the head tube, and that's mildly teardrop shaped. It's also on my Cinelli built Centurion that replaced the Simoncini. With my weight, heavy braking on the front sets the fork to chattering slightly. It's compensated for with a bit more rear brake, but it can be annoying nonetheless. What did it for me though was the Covered Bridge Metric Century in Lancaster, a really fun metric with mostly gentle riding in Amish country and just a couple good hills thrown in, similar to Charlie's neck of the woods. While standing up and just giving my self a saddle break, the bike started to wobble enough that I had to hold a thigh or knee against the saddle or top tube to keep stable. I tried to work through it, but it just wouldn't go away. I've read stories in bike mags saying that's a normal thing, but I guess I've been spoiled. I fell out of love with that bike on that ride. Now it's Charlie's. Sounds like he's enjoying it. He's told me it never wobbled on him. I'd love to see what he's done with the bike. I hear it had mustache bars for at least a while. It could be a great bike that just didn't work for me. I'm glad Charlie's having fun with it.
Oh, and referring to Charlie's post, I rode it with Avocet Fasgrips 700 x 28's that measured around 25 -26 mm at 100 x 105 fr. x rr.
Happy trails,
Dan Artley in Parkton, Maryland USA
Archive-URL: http://search.bikelist.org/
We need Dan Artley to chime in on this one. I have Dan's old one and he didn't much like the handling. In fact, he seems to have disliked it enough that he surreptitiously smuggled it into the back of my Volvo about 5 Cirques Ago. It is a bit on the quick and probably has the steep-ish angles of the time. Paint a bit distressed but nice chroming - not the quick release sort.
My first build on the Simoncini was my typical ShopFloorBuild (i.e., dog's breakfast) with a set of Nitto Moustache bars and a decent tubular wheelset. Subsequently switched to drop bars when I realized that, like others, anything over around 15 miles on those bars has me imploring "Maes, Maes, where are ye?". I think it handles all right, but if he had a set of smallish clinchers at high pressure fitted, it may have been a bit on the uncomfortable side. I think that it is a matter of a mile or two on my quicker handling bikes before I dampen my steering inputs and get the feel. As a disclaimer, I'll ride damned near anything as many of you know.
Charlie Young
Honey Brook, Pennsylvania USA
> Howdy folks.
>
> Since this would be lugged and Italian even if later than '83 I *think*
> this
> is an okay question for the list. Are/were Simoncini regarded as being a
> good, typical Italian frame? I saw one once, years ago at Excel Sports in
> Boulder, CO and recall thinking it looked pretty nice. It had some nice
> chrome detailing and a cool engraved head tube.
>
> Thanks, Doug
>
> Doug Van Cleve
> Chandler, AZ USA