85campione

Just bought this in a dark, dusty corner of an obscure shop where it had been slumbering approximately 20 years.
I'm wrenching and completely restoring it.
The only/only marking I can find on the frame whatsoever is: Gipiemme, at the end of the rear forks.

The wheels are Gipiemme.




Seems to have a rare and unique crank set. "Lazzeretti." Anyone know what that is?
Comments welcome!

85campione

p.s., every speck of paint had been removed, revealing a gleaming chrome.

xiaoman1 

Here you go....Type in the name Lazzaretti, lots there, it's not a "Gipiemmi"...I believe they supplied parts to a lot of builders.
BTW, it would be nice to post some pictures of the entire bike..drive side a must...and tell us a little more about how you found it.
Without the pictures, it could just be a nice frame with a Lazzaretti crank.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...azzaretti.html

Best, Ben
85campione

Charles Wahl

Gipiemme (phonetic Italian for the company's acronym "GPM": Gi Pi Emme) made the dropouts, that's all. Like seeing "Campagnolo" or "Simplex" or "Suntour" on a dropout. That's a mid-80s dropout (short horizontal).

juvela

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within the past year & one half we had two threads on a Lazzaretti machine hailing from 1969-70 which turned out to have been constructed by Galmozzi (no less!) -

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...azzaretti.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...bike-56cm.html


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merziac

@85campione

That crankset is fantastic, it is also Gipiemme, time capsule condition, I would move that hacksaw off the bench at this point.

If Galmozzi built is in the best possible way.

Great score, well done.

Bianchigirll 

That hacksaw combined with “wrenching and restoring” makes me nervous.

did you take the paint off?

85campione

sincere thanks to ALL who replied. I'm posting more pictures now. Perhaps the frame is Campagnolo, but I'm not sure (absolutely no markings or numbers on it other than a "O" on the bottom of frame). The bike was stored for 20 years. It is a gleaming chromed frame. Someone said it was in vogue in the 1980s, someone else said no, the paint must've been removed. No badge, no decals, no frame markings, nothing. But it looks Italian. Lazzaretti (Gipiemme) crank set and Gipiemme drop outs which appear to have been welded perfectly grinded on the frame (i.e., they are not removeable). Is that strange? Campagnolo headset. Not sure who made the seat post but I believe it is Italian. Gipiemme wheels. The frame has a Campagnolo bracket which holds the upper end of the bike pump. The brake handles and rear derailer are not original. The bike was acquired approximately 25 years ago from a Washington DC collector and has been stored ever since. Nothing further is known about its history.

juvela

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the stay crimping technique at the dropouts is something which was done by Teddy Carnielli

it was not unique to him however so may not advance an identification

have no guesses as to maker

MauriceMoss shall almost certainly knowest...


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SJX426 

Good clean up!
Campagnolo did not make bicycle frames. Drop outs are the part the axels clamp onto, they are always brazed onto the frame when discussing C&V. AL frames can have a removable RD hanger. Frames like this are brazed and not welded. The clean joints are filed and not ground.
How much does it weigh?

Trakhak

In case it isn't yet clear to the owner of the bike in question from the various posts above, the bike brand is Lazzaretti. It was common in the 1980s for Italian builders of top-quality racing bikes such as your Lazzaretti to equip the bikes with "pantographed" components (i.e., with the bike brand name engraved in each component), including, e.g., the crank arms, chainrings, stem, seat post, and brake levers.

Stunning bike, by the way. As hinted at above, be careful with the restoration, not that it appears to need much. For example, make sure that you don't damage the threads in the crank arms when you install the pedals. It's probably safe to say that those pantographed crank arms are all but irreplaceable.

85campione

Sincere thanks for all replies. Is anyone surprised it is a chrome frame and no paint?

Trakhak

It's safe to say that it didn't leave the Lazaretti factory with no decals. Some Italian racing bike builders of the 1980s produced chrome bikes painted with a thin layer of translucent lacquer in one color or other (the so-called "cromovelato" finish). Such finishes are prone to having the paint (and decals) flake off, so maybe someone in the bike's past decided that bare chrome was a better look than worn lacquer.

Not cromovelato, but here's what the Lazaretti's decals might have looked like (and note the pantographed chainring):

85campione

Thank you for the information, ALL of you! The bike weighs just a hair under 20 lbs.

unterhausen

The chrome is polished, so this means it was either not painted or it was cromovelato, which tends to chip badly and I'm sure a lot of cromovelato bikes have had the remnants removed. Looks great until it doesn't.

francophile 

Rear mech needs a solvent bath. Shiny everything on the bike, then you get to the rear mech and it's loaded with gunk

I question whether it's actually a Lazzaretti, a pantographed crank in better condition than the frame doesn't make it so. I'd expect there to be additional pantographing on the fork crown, stay caps or elsewhere, lest it was lower-end. But who am I?

I agree with the observation this bike was probably chromvelato.

Some Lazzaretti examples:

https://steel-vintage.com/lazzaretti...le-1978-detail

https://steel-vintage.com/lazzaretti...e-1980s-detail

https://steel-vintage.com/lazzaretti...le-1982-detail

curbtender

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik...292117843.html

Vintage Lazzaretti 58 cm (c-t) - $475 (hercules, pinole, san pablo, el sob)

image 1 of 10

cudak888 

I'm trying to make sense of it. The frame looks 10 years newer than that boat anchor joke that Campagnolo called a rear derailer.

Question for the OP - was that Shimano rear derailer that's visible in the background of the first set of pictures the original RD on the bike? If so, would recommend putting it back on. It's 10 times better than this one.

-Kurt

85campione

good point, Francophile. I'm posting close-ups of frame and lugs.

85campione

francophile 

85campione are there any other stampings or markings anywhere on the frame, aside from the apparent "O" on the bottom bracket shell? In one of those pics it looks like there could be some faint numbers between the cables on the bottom bracket shell, but maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me.

Typical places you may find markings would be on the seat stay caps, top of the fork crowns, in the case of some like Faggin, into the dropouts, or cut/stamped into the lugs.

I'm just grappling with this actually being a Lazzaretti. I honestly don't think it is. I wouldn't expect such not-sloppy-but-not-neat lugwork, no branding on the main pieces whatsoever, apparently no lug filing, no cleanup of the seat cluster brazing... it seems really uncharacteristic.

I almost get an mass-prod Olmo-ish vibe off it, but it's definitely not that either.

francophile 

Specific spot I'm referencing, starting from the left it looks almost like an "S" followed by a space, then maybe a "4" and an "8"?:

85campione

Thank you for your diligence and sharp eye Francophone, but I could not find anything, even under strong light and a magnifying lens. I have sent the photos to Cicli Lazzarretti in Rome and asked if they can identify the frame as Lazzarretti or not. Will advise.

85campione

Lazzaretti Roma just looked at the photos and informed me that "unfortunately, it is not clear what type of frame. It is certainly not Galmozzi. Unfortunately, we cannot help you more than that. Sincerely, Lazzaretti."