juvela

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note on Monsieur Verot Nr. LVII -

expect that you now have the spindle nr. 123 you determined was needed

in earlier message on dust covers was thinking about the potential difficulty/expense of securing the early type with the round holes

perhaps even more difficult would be to locate the historically correct spindle for the chainset at the time of the LVII's manufacture Verot was marking their cotterless spindles with a two digit number on one of the spindle's eight taper flats as shown in this image courtesy of member @wschellen -




the example above came with a model sixty-three set he recently took in on a PX-10 of 1963

the practice of putting in this marking seems to have ended in the late 1960's

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obrentharris 

Yes. There will definitely be a Legnano thread next.
Thanks for all your help Steve!
Brent

obrentharris 

juvela I am grateful for yet another lesson in my education about bikes of this era. I expect the 123 spindle to show up in the next day or two. The photo I saw does not show the stamped numbers, but the photo only showed one side... so I can hope, though it sounds like the odds are not good.
Brent

juvela

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the finish of the spindles changed at the same time the practice of putting the two digit number on one of the taper flats was discontinued

by the late 1960's they were coming through with what might be termed a satin chrome finish

also the degree of rectification was not so high as on the earlier ones

have a look at the rectification on the example in the photo, one could almost use the surface as a shaving mirror, assuming one could flatten it out a bit of course

note also how the rectification is carried all the way out to the beginning of the taper; on the later type it is done only on the bearing surface itself

happy spanner twistin'

hope you enjoy your coming expedition into la tierra di Bozzi

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obrentharris 

Crankset in Place and a Nice Surprise
Alas the spindle does not have the 2 digit stampings on the flat.




At least Peppino now has a crankset. I shall keep my eyes open for the correct spindle, but now I am a step closer to being able to ride it.




Decent spacing, I think, between the chainrings and the chain stay.




I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Ideor branded Silca pump that came with the bike does indeed have the rubber plug mentioned by juvela a couple of pages ago!



And the pump even works still!
Brent

TenGrainBread 

Late to the game on the stem slot issue - but I wouldn't TIG weld it. Dural (duralumin) is a 2000 series aluminum alloy that can be welded but isn't ideal for welding. Forming a puddle will be difficult and there are heat-treatment/aging requirements post-weld. Not to mention that welding any casting or forging is inherently difficult due to foreign inclusions in the metal from manufacturing.

juvela

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thank you for the update

good to see things moving along

spindle finish and marking show it to be quite late - well post the boom time

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how much freeboard do you have between spindle end and floor of remover opening on drive side?

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obrentharris 

Thanks for the advice. Ambrosio made duralumin stems but this one is chromed steel.
Brent

TenGrainBread 

Oh, must've seen Kilroy's aluminum Champion he posted and mixed them up.

obrentharris 

Only about 1.8mm.
Brent

Richard5158

Hello, I've been following your posts with interest since I have a similar Olmo. Mine is a 1958, serial number C871, Professional Deluxe model. I found it in mostly original condition with the exception of a 70's Campy front derailleur which I have replaced with a correct matchbox derailleur. It has Balilla calipers and corsa 61 QR levers, Magistroni crankset, 50/47 and a Regina 14-22 freewheel. The rear rim is an original Fiamme red label tubular, while the front rim is a matching Araya tubular rim and Sunshine hub. The chrome and paint are in very good shape for it's age but the decals have faded. The bike rides beautifully. I've attched a few photos. Please let me know if I can provide any additional information or photos that may help you in the restoration of your Olmo.

58cm

Chrome seat stay lug

Brake pivot is not original and bit too long.

All original open C shift levers & hub skewers.

Head badge in excellent shape.

obrentharris 

Richard5158 Your bike is a beauty! Thanks for posting it.
I do have one question for you: Are those the original Balilla lever hoods or did you find a source for new/reproduction hoods. I have the options of putting either MAFAC Dural Forge brakes and levers on the bike or Balillas but my Balilla levers are without hoods.
Thanks,
Brent

juvela

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the OEM hoods for the Balilla Corsa 61 lever have a red and white hotstamp -




one hood which is period correct and available new is the Vittoria model Giro d'Italia as produced by our own iab -

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ria-hoods.html

they are available for purchase from iab here in the C&V for sale area

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Richard5158

I haven't been able to find just the Balilla hoods as occasionally they come with the complete set of levers and calipers which I don't need. I went with new Cane Creek hoods which seem to fit pretty good and from a distance don't detract from the vintage look of the bike. Good luck with your search for some.
Richard

obrentharris 

Robbing Emilio (Bozzi) to Pay Giuseppe (Olmo)

I'm still not sure if it was an act of inspiration or one of weakness, but I purchased this Legnano from forum member Slightspeed.
I am delighted to have it even if it is too small for me. It will be the subject of another build thread.




The original reason I was drawn to this bike is that it has an Olmo headset which I need for my Olmo.
One thing led to another and I ended up with the complete bike, which is also too small for Slightspeed; also an assortment of spare parts.




Included with the Legnano was a pair of beat up Sheffield Sprint 658 pedals.







The cages were quite loose and bent, rattling around on the central tube that houses the axle and its bearings, but a couple hours spent cleaning, regreasing, straightening the plates, and peening the rivets to tighten them up left me with some decent looking serviceable pedals. These should work nicely for my wide feet!



Brent

juvela

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Very fine work; thanks for the update.

Appears that la sinistra could still stand a bit of tweaking to its endplates.

One instrument which might be helpful in this regard is the LaJeunesse chainwheel straightener:




Delighted to see the set of arrestors courtesy of Giovanni - just the ticket.

Would think you now near completeness with regard to the correct fittings per su Peppino.

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iab

Just my opinion, but those 658s are the second sexiest pedal on the planet.

obrentharris 

I'm learning what some of you already knew, that there was a lot of very cool stuff made before the bike boom!
Don't keep us in suspense...
Which pedal is in first place?
Brent

obrentharris 

A pair of those chainwheel straighteners would certainly make my job easier. I fear my tools were considerably more crude; bench vise, hammer, punch, pliers, crescent wrench.
Brent

juvela

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Aha!

So you are one of those persons who is forever gnashing up handsome vintage fittings with channel locks and suchlike "precision instruments."


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iab

I have only "seen" them in a catalog drawing. The Sheffield Modello Super. I'd post a picture but I can't. The only one I know is behind a paywall.

obrentharris 

My Education Continues
I went into this hoping to get an education in bikes built before the bike boom. Thanks to the helpful and knowledgeable members here I am getting that education. I'm also learning a lot just in the process of bumbling through the acquisition and installation of components for this bike. My latest learning experience has to do with pedals.

Happy to have the Sheffield pedals in fairly reasonable shape I was eager to install them in the lovely Stronglight 57 cranks. Standing back to admire my work I noticed that the threaded ends of the pedals fell short a couple millimeters from the backs of the crank arms. Taking one of the pedals off again I saw that the stub of the pedal that threads into the crank arm is only 10mm long and that only the end 8mm of it is threaded. Was this enough threads in an aluminum crank arm to insure that the pedal would stay in place and not destroy the softer threads in the crank? I then recalled that a pair of early Campagnolo pedals in my possession also have those shorter threads, though they soon evolved a couple more millimeters of threads in subsequent generations.

Of course these pedals were designed for steel cranks so maybe that's how I should use them.

The same Legnano that donated the pedals also had a set of Magistroni steel cranks. I could use those except that my Gran Sport front derailleur would certainly not be able to handle the 12 tooth difference between the 40 tooth and 52 tooth chainrings that came with that bike.



Fortunately luck occasionally favors those who need it. Just at this point a nice crankset with the chainrings that I need showed up on my local craigslist at a reasonable price. A little clean-up work and the new cranks were ready to install.



Yet another question for the cognoscenti: Was I courting disaster using the Sheffield pedals in the aluminum cranks? Was this a common failure in the era when steel was slowly giving way to aluminum? I'm neither particularly large or strong so the most abuse I will probably give the pedals is descending at speed on rough pavement and gravel while standing on the pedals.
Brent

juvela

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Hello Brent,

This is a whole lotta excellent news to come all at once!

Pedal thread -

yes, short threaded section on spindle presumes application with steel cranks

it is the same for Lyotard pedals; on those you can tell the length of the threaded portion by looking at the inner spindle end. if it is nicely finished and counterbored it is short. if it is relatively rougher finished and flat it is long. nothing in the pedal model number tells one whether thread will be short or long. they made them both ways.

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chainset -

that's wonderful that you were able to use the set which came with the Leggy and that you were able to get the "correct" chainwheels. count yourself fortunate to get STEEL Simplex Y-adaptors. they also produced them in alloy, which are failure prone.

Magistroni logo/emblem - for about four decades I always assumed this to be a circus tent because of the small pennants flying. then ten or fifteen years back learned that the family name for the company which produced Magistroni products, Giostra, is also the Italian word for what is termed a merry-go-round or carousel in English.

wedgebolt tip -

it is difficult to be sure from photo but it appears your registration is out by a tiny bit - perhaps two degrees or so. it may be just a photo effect but you might wish to check it. if it is off all that is needed is to file the "cut" on the pin with the lighter cut a few strokes and Bob will be your uncle. alternately, it could be that slightly different torque was applied when pressing in the pins. you might wish to keep an eye out for some acorns or false acorns for the bolts to make them look somewhat closer to OEM.

Peppino coming right along!

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obrentharris 

Uncanny!
You have a very well-calibrated eye. They were off by about 3 degrees. I was surprised how few strokes of the file were needed to bring them into compliance. Given the 1 degree plus or minus accuracy of my measuring method I shall define "Compliance" as within one degree.
Brent

juvela

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...get one correct ever' month or so...give or take...

btw - if you look at the Leggy chainset posted by Randy in the other thread you can see what wedgebolt acorns looked like around this time...two-parters they be


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