bikeaddiction1

I just finished overhauling a bike of a manufacturer I have never heard of. The bike just says "Di Salle" on the down tube and the head tube says Di Salle Bicycles, Toronto Canada. Based on looking at velobase.com, the bike is equipped with what I believe is a full Campagnolo Chorus group set from the late 80's to early 90's. This includes BB, hubs, shifters, derailleurs. cranks, seat tube, brake set, stem, head set, and pedals (which I added). It has Campagnolo Omega rims. It has a Atax Franco Italia D352, Guidon Phillippe Handlebar? It had a Brooks team professional saddle but I changed that out as I want to keep the saddle and the bike does not fit me.

I bought this in dirty condition at an estate sale and could not get any information on its history. Does anybody know anything about this bike or the builder? Is my identification of the components correct? I notice the frame lugs appear to be hand tapered at the ends, which makes me think it is hand built and maybe this was maybe a custom bike builder and not a larger manufacturer. I assume the frame is of a similar age as the components. I also want to know what it would be worth and thought of putting it on the "What's it Worth forum, but I wanted to see if anyone knows anything about the bike first. It is in very good condition after complete disassembly and heavy cleaning and getting all the carnalized​​​​​ grease out of the bearings.

bertinjim 

My brother had a custom Di Salle touring bike built in Toronto back in the 1970s. I believe he only built customs and my brother really liked the bike before it was stolen. If you like, I could ask him for more details.

TugaDude

T-Mar probably knows about that brand, but it sure appears to be a custom build. The red is beautiful. And the Campy bits are extremely nice and clean. Should get some attention for sure.

bikeaddiction1

I actually just found in an online magazine archive, a 20 April 1989 now magazine had a list of Toronto Bike stores and had this:

I know it is hard to read, but I looked on Google Maps and there is a Cannabis Store there. I think this is all I needed but thanks for your input.

bikeaddiction1

When I do a vintage bike I take them completely apart right down to the bearings and soak and clean and sometimes polish everything. I've got it now so I can do a bike in eight hours or less if, and it is a big if, I don't have to clean up too much rust or stickers or spend time getting parts. Fortunately this bike and the components where in good condition and cleaned up with a bit of elbow grease and polish, and degreaser for the bearings.

P!N20

Pretty much. The headset is Record, because I don't think there was a Chorus headset.

The RD might be Record too. The differences between Record and Chorus RD's of that era are subtle, but the Chorus usually had a cone shaped pinch bolt nut. Although there's every chance it just got a different nut put on.

How's the shifting in index mode? The RD is technically 8 speed, I think, but you're running a 7 speed freewheel by the look of it.

Stem looks like a Cinelli 1A.

Beautiful bike.

T-Mar

Di Salle was a small custom frame building and repair shop in the Greek Town area of Toronto. I recall the company logo being a Griffin, similar to what Gardin used. I may be able to dig up some info from my old OCA/CCA literature.

The subject frame appears to be very late 1970s to very early 1980s based on the Portacatena dropout and cable routing over the BB shell. Had it been closer to the mid-1980s, I would have expected a front derailleur braze-on, a pump peg and two sets of bottle bosses. Speaking of the latter, they are interesting in that they appear to be male studs, which has me leaning towards the earlier end of the date range. The components definitely post date the fame and appear to be a mix. The brakes appear to be Athena, as they're not a mono-planar design.

clubman 

I lived literally a few blocks south of that Danforth St address and never saw one. Weird. Looks really fine.

canyoneagle

Beautiful bike!
The groupset is highly desirable for some folks - the post C-Record Synchro era but pre-Ergo era sweet spot, where aesthetics and performance converge.

Spot-on insight from T-Mar on the likely late 70's frame date.
The groupset is worth keeping for a great late 80's / early 90's build, or could garner pretty good money on eBay on its own.

Great find!!!!

T-Mar

Here's a Di Salle business card from my files. I found a few advertisements and listings in old OCA/CCA literature from the mid-1980s but they didn't contain any additional information.

seedsbelize 

That is a beautiful bike. And I don't like red bikes.

Ross200

That groupset looks good on the bike it is on!

Paddyosonic

I know Danny DiSalle. Framebuilder, luthier, inventor. I remember seeing the machine shop he had in his basement. He could make all kinds of things, not just bike frames. Definitely the mind of an engineer. Really nice guy. Taught me a lot about bikes. The nickle-chrome finish road bikes he made were my favorites. He eventually drifted away from framebuilding and moved on to other things. That red DiSalle is a really nice find!