Originally Posted by
RobbieTunes
I think that ship sailed before the Gerc showed up.
Background, folks:
I have known the seller of that Gerc for about 10 years. I helped him a bit with advice when he was "restoring" the Gerc and a Cinelli Equipe Centurion. I gave him a standing offer on the Equipe, but he said he was going to give it to his son. He had a jersey made for me, but we lost touch over the years.
Years pass and an Equipe came up for sale here on BF, sort of. A member queried me about value before/after restoration, and I made an offer, picked it up. As I went through the box of parts, the brake pads, decals (that I created) and hoods I recommended showed up, not that I remembered right away. The envelope for the Velocals had the return address of the same man I helped with restoration advice 10 years ago. Seems I ended up with the bike after all...
So, when
nomadmax mentioned the Gerc, I vouched for the seller and the bike. Turns out his definition of condition differs from Allan's and mine. I still feel bad about the expense Allan went through. I find some relief knowing that the bike is prettier now than it would ever be in the original green and orange.. At least there is a good ending.
It couldn't be with a better owner. I have seen it in person, and the pictures don't come close to how great it is.
Let me clear the air here. I originally saw the bike on Atlanta CL and contacted a member here @
embankmentlb who actually designed the original colorway for the race team that got all the bikes from TSDI. The team was the North Georgia Wheelmen out of Gainesville Schwinn in Gainesville, Ga. I had the bike simmering in the back of my mind thinking about a drive to Atlanta. Fast forward to Robbie getting in touch and telling me of said bike, knowing I'm a Gerch fan. From there I made contact and arranged to go see the bike. Just before I was to leave, the seller became a fan of shipping the bike in lieu of me coming down. I can't say why that was, maybe he was uncomfortable having someone come to his house or I sounded like a felon on the phone, who knows.
I've never really been a fan of shipping bikes for two reasons; one, your EC and my EC may be two different kinds of "excellent condition". That's not to say that all sellers are want to stretch the truth; some are just ignorant to things that really affect value/desirability in a negative way. The second reason I'm not a fan of shipping bikes is my wife works in the shipping business and has worked at every big name company you can think of off the top of your head. The way things are handled and beat would make you cringe. When I'm buying a vintage bike I don't want the insurance money, I want the bike, I have money, I don't have the bike. That's why I'll drive 700 miles one way for the right bike.
The bike was shipped and the problems were documented. I contacted the seller and he offered to GIVE me the bike and refund my money. I can't take something for nothing so I insisted he keep what I would have paid had I come and looked at the bike, he agreed and refunded me the difference. So the suggestion from Robbie that the seller an honest man was 100% right on the money. The decision to save the bike was 100% me, I could have had the bike for nothing and let it hang on the wall. I'm the one who wanted to pay fair market value for a damaged bike and then sink more into it. For the record, I'm even happier today than I was yesterday for doing it. I've already been in the basement/gym where it resides next to Robbie's Merckx he has here to ride when he visits.
Originally Posted by
jethin
Man, I didn’t make it through the whole thread (I’ve had more wine than you) but it sounds like you did a proper restoration based on love of the game. For that I salute you. Still, I wonder if the bb was cracked? I say it was just the paint, but if I’m wrong I’ll edit this post to correct my historical record.
Yes the BB was cracked and had to be replaced. The brazing had failed at the down tube and the resultant pedaling forces caused the crack in the shell. Jack had to source another BB which he drilled and filed a Guerciotti star into. He also replaced the right side chain stay, did some chroming, aligned and then painted and decaled. As soon as these roads are clear she's going out on her maiden voyage. I can't wait.
@
embankmentlb can you post the photos of your bike and the jersey in this thread for anyone who might come along later?