August 14, 2020, Saturday and I managed to get to two dumps, one of them two times (on the way into the city and on the way out). On the way in, nothing. On the way out, something to keep my vintage water pump (on display in one of Mrs. Me's gardens) company
The pump will be where it is now, until the day I die. The bike, a 1988 Santini Primo, will be harvested or sold cheap. I have no room to store it, even though it is a good fit. One can easily see why the average person would consider the bike to be junk, starting with a barely used CCM butt perch...
Patina is one thing, oxidation (rust) is another and immediately robs a vintage bicycle of value...
Too bad about the oxidation since the frame, itself, is in pretty good cosmetic and mechanical condition. The tires, however, might not be safe at max pressure...
A week or two ago, I was in need of a freewheel almost exactly like this. This one will be cleaned, lubed and tucked away, just in case something interesting happens to come my way in the future. The chain will find a new home at the dump scrap metal pile...
And, for what it is worth, I heaved a sigh of relief at how nicely the patina improved. It is amazing what a small piece of crumpled up aluminium foil will do when coupled with a minute, and only a minute, of one's time...
Though not particularly high end, the Exage aero lever is one of the most comfortable I have ever used. These ones are close to blemish free. The component wear, or lack of it, suggests that this bike was a garage queen for most of its life...
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I must admit that the internal cable routing was a bit of a surprise. Anyway, today was fun and tomorrow is four dump day...
