Caliwild

I just picked up an old Olmo on Craigslist. Bike shop says it's likely 1984 or 1985. It's going in for a full restoration, including repaint, re-decal, clear-coating, polishing/de-rusting of components, new handlebar tape, new saddle, new hoods, and new tires. The components look (pantographing galore!) and function great. The frame looks to be in good shape too. Any help identifying or dating the bike would be appreciated. The decals say Nuovo Super Sprint. After spending some time in Italy in May and seeing all the Eroica stuff in Tuscany, I convinced myself that I need a vintage Italian bike! PS: I'd love any input on bartape/housing colors, etc. As of today, I'm going for this look:

https://velofinds.files.wordpress.co...5f037ced_o.jpg

Thanks for listening!

Caliwild

A few more pics...

Ex Pres 

The attachments in the second post don't work for me, but nicely panto'd bike there. It'll look great cleaned up.

Caliwild

Here's the full set. Hopefully, you can see them now...

Caliwild

The shop is also going to put in a new cable guide (you can see the broken one in the photos). The Nisi wheels are pretty cool, although I think I would have preferred the polished (not anodized) look. They are going to match the pearlescent paint too. The paint on there now is decent, but has a some tiny cracking. Components are mostly Campy GS, but the rear derailleur is nuovo record. If the components are marked as 1984, does that mean the model year of the bike is 1984? Thanks.

lostarchitect 

Do you trust your shop mechanics? Personally I would not trust anybody but myself with a full overhaul on a vintage bike.

Caliwild

Yes, Sir! More than I trust myself... This is a shop that specializes in vintage restorations...

mtnbke

I love Olmos. Most people don't know the history, but Colnago really went all in focusing on marketing to the US during the bike boom. Olmo couldn't have cared less. Sheldon Brown couldn't have been more wrong about Olmos, they were NOT the Schwinn of Europe. During the bike boom years an INDEPENDENT importer brought in handfuls of Olmos to the US and the price point in Europe and in the US was there with Cinelli, Colnago, etc for comparable builds. Sheldon Brown repeated a lot of stuff about Olmo over the years, but it wasn't true. Available in the US the only bikes that were imported were top drawer and all would be considered top-shelf above Centurion, Miyata, Bridgestone, etc.

Masi moved to the US the market here was considered so important. Colnago staked the future of the company on marketing to the US. Olmo couldn't have cared less.

Great history with him having raced in Los Angeles in the Olympics. He was a very accomplished professional racer, and Olmo is NOT the Schwinn of Italy. They are best understood as the Cannondale of Italy.

If I rode tiny bikes I'd take a pantographed Nuovo Record Olmo over a Paramount, Colnago, Cinelli, Raleigh, Pinarello, anyway. In some models only three sizes of Olmos were imported to the US. If you look through old english market OLMO catalogs they just didn't make mass market price point bikes, not that were being imported to the US anyway. I still think you can't be a serious sprocket head if you haven't owned an Olmo. Theoretically they had some 66cm frames and bikes come over, I'm still waiting to find one.

I once bought a 60cm just because the pantagraphing was so incredible. That'd by like someone on a 57cm buying a 49cm bike because they liked the components. Yes, I'm an idiot. I sold it on the condition that the buyer had to restore it. The guy that bought it parted out the Campy pantagraphed components on eBay within a week. I'm an idiot and a sucker. I contacted him via eBay. His reply, "grow up."

bradtx

Caliwilde, Nice find, looking forward to completion photos, maybe some in progress pics also.

Those that have an Olmo seem very happy with them, myself included.

Brad

SRFS1

Nice find! I love the way mine rides and am looking daily for another to use as a winter project.

scozim 

Same here - lusted after a pearl white one in the LBS as a teenager. Still one of the makes I'd like to find sometime.

Caliwild

Very nice bike, Bradtx! I love the two-tone... Ex Pres, thanks for the tip on the year... The bike shop guy (they know their vintage) said he thinks it's likely 1985. Not that it really makes a difference...

I guess I shouldn't tell you guys what I paid for it. But I will tell you that after the full restoration, including labor and parts, it will probably end up costing me close to $1,000.00. I don't plan on selling it. I basically have a super modern Bianchi Infinito with carbon everything and I really wanted one other road bike, completely vintage and completely Italian. I've settled on the Benotto light blue bar tape, black cable housing and a black leather Concor saddle (I don't like the look of the suede ones in person). Thankfully, none of the components need to be changed/upgraded. The wheels are true and spin up really nicely. The crank and derailleurs are in perfect condition. I need new black hoods (probably just some of the newer reproductions) and a new chain. I'm going with Grand Bois gum-wall tires. I need new leather straps and want to keep it Italian but the old Binda stuff is pricey (and probably prone to tearing). The bike shop said the whole process will take around 3 months and I'm not rushing them. I know it's not PC to have the bike shop do the work instead of me doing it, but I don't have the experience or time. Any more advise as to hoods, bar tape, saddles, housing, etc would be appreciated...

bradtx

Caliwild, Doesn't matter who does the work as long as it's done. The panto'd bits are hard to find, perhaps more scarce than the bikes themselves. I can't give any advice on your last sentence, but this is where the bike shop should flex their knowledge. You can let those on this forum know what the choices that you are given for a critique as many are OCD period correct.

Mine, actually it's my son's French fit project, was only available as a frame set and by order only due to it's 64 cm size. As such it's a mixed brand gruppo.

Brad

xiaoman1 

Very nice bike and panto's, I like the "patina" and would clean, lube and polish....just me.
Regards, Ben

Caliwild

You know, I really struggled with the restore vs. clean/lube/polish route... what pushed me towards the full restore (other than the fact that I'm sort of OCD) were the broken housing guide on the top tube (repairing it would mean ruining the original paint up there), the paint cracking in a few spots, and the large-ish rust spot on the headtube. When they said all of this would be fixed up with the full restoration, I just went for it. Plus, it actually wasn't going to cost that much more (a few hundred dollars). Since I got such a good deal on the bike, I already had in mind to spend this much on the whole project, so I just went for it. Now the hard part is waiting a few months for the finished product. I'm hoping to have it ready to go for L'Eroica California in April 2016...

Caliwild

OK, the bike is almost ready to go in to be painted (yes, it's been almost 6 months!). I'm having trouble finding decals. Any idea where I can get decals like the one in the attached photo? I'm pretty sure they can just be duplicated, but don't want to reinvent the wheel... Thanks

dddd

Thanks for the follow-up!

I would start by checking Cyclomondo inventory for decals, but there were of course several different models and vintages and these are not the most common bike out there.

I'm starting with the project bike pictured below for my first Olmo ownership experience. I won't be doing a repaint though.

As for your bike's details, I noticed the unusual rims, which are likely original.
I believe these are a particularly narrow model of Nisi clincher rim, and one which requires extra effort to get the tire beads fitted.
As such, allow extra time when tire refitment is needed. And use the widest tubes that will still fit within the chosen tires, since narrow rims often leave the tube rubber surrounding the valve stem unable to readily fall into the rim cavity, leading to tears in the tube adjacent to the valve stem where the thinner rubber bulges into the rim cavity upon inflation. Always start with the valve stem pushed up into the tire, then give it a tug as the first few psi of inflation is initiated (to fully seat the thick rubber pad surrounding the valve stem into the rim cavity)!
This is a repeat of my frequent recommendation to use widest-possible tubes when relatively wider tires are mounted on the narrowest rims, and to tug on the valve as inflation begins.

Citoyen du Monde

Please be advised that the Olmo that you have was one of their lowest racing models in the mid-80's. My guess is that it was indeed built in 1985 perhaps even 1986. I saw some almost identical bikes sell in Canada in the 1983-86 time period for about $600 Canadian (about US$ 530 at the time).They are honest bikes but I would hesitate spending $1000 on such a bike unless you really love it. The bike will ride just as well without a repaint and repainting it will not change the fact that it is a lower model. The Aelle tubing is straight gauge and the remaining components were all selected to meet a price point. When these price point bikes reached North America, they originally had mainly Ofmega and Modolo components, but then in 1985 they showed up with Campagnolo parts from the ranges that were being discontinued (Nuovo Record, Nuovo Gran Sport, etc), likely because Campagnolo offered Olmo an appealing price and they recognized that the Campagnolo price would be more appealing to the less sophisticated consumers.

The Golden Boy 

How would the 'low end' Olmo compare to other marques in the same price point?

In other words, compared to like a Trek 330 or 460 or something.

Caliwild

Thanks for the advice... I do really like the bike and the price I stated includes the tires, saddle, and all other parts on top of the labor/paint, etc. I think that's a decent price and I am supporting the local shop. Plus, I like to keep my bikes in meticulous shape. To each his own I guess.

Caliwild

Plus, everything is pantographed so I think it deserves to be treated well... For some reason, I don't mind the patina if I put it there. If it's someone else's patina, it bugs me... If that makes sense.

Caliwild

Wildwood 

I like your Olmo. Appreciate seeing the progress.
Repaint or no - that's your choice.
I overpaid for a low-end, '90s, NOS Pinarello from Europe, because - well - it was NOS 'fer goodness-sakes.

T-Mar

Agreed, the subject is probably 1985. The 1984 Aelle model was the Nuovo Sprint and was equipped with Galli Sport. In 1985 the Aelle model was the Super Sprint with Campagnolo Gran Sport and a Nuovo Record rear derailleur. FYI, original price was $729 US.

Caliwild

Thanks for the info, T-Mar! I just got word that the paint is done, the decals are on and the final step is the clearcoat. Can't wait. BTW, I got a pair of Challenge Strada tires and a black Concor. Trying to figure out if I should go with black or blue cable housing. Yeah, I know... first world problems.