WGB 

My neighbor's father passed and she wants to restore his bike.

Sorry, I mean she wants me to restore his bike. All good because it gives me something to do.
Condition seems good and I'll strip completely and clean and wax and then rebuild

Unknown date Bottecchia.
Cottered cranks so assuming early to mid 70's?
Replacement rear derailleur which is now a Shimano Lark.
Front Derailleur is Huret and shifters are Simplex.
Brakes are Universal
Brake levers are , right side Dia Compe and left side ?? (maybe Universal?)
Stem and bars are Carneilli.
Wheels are old and steel and Solida. Haven't got to the hubs yet.
Seat was lost so cheap replacement.


















I'll probably seek a replacement RD to match.

Can anyone advise what model it is and what year?

Also any potential issues with threading on these? Since the Lark RD fit, will there be an issues with threading like the old British bikes have (24 vs 26tpi type issues)?

leecycle

Possibly an early 70s "DeLuxe":



The freewheel, bottom bracket and steerer threading likely to be Italian. The Huret front derailleur may also be a replacement (the Simplex front derailleur mounting bracket was plastic and were prone to failure).

juvela

-----


Frame -

constructed with Agrati lug pattern "AMERICA"

upper head lug is item nr. 007.8505

lower head lug is item nr. 066.8053

seat lug is item nr. 066.8569

bottom bracket shell is item nr. 022.8507

fork crown is from the Agrati "SPORT" ensemble and is item nr. 000.8058

chainstay stop is Campag nr. 621

dropouts are Agrati nr. 000.8002

fork ends are Agrati nr. 000.8010

fittings -

headset: Agrati or OMG, cannot see well enough for ID

chainset: OMG

gear ensemble (original): Simplex Prestige

brakeset: Universal Sport (not 61)

pedals: Sheffield Nr. 663 in zinc finish, both zinc and chrome were offered

hubs : Gnutti five-piece bimetal

Carnielli badged stem reportedly produced by ITM (Italmanubri)

-----

WGB 

leecycle
juvela

Thank you! I'll post photos when it's done. I will try to sell her on replacing the steel rims with aluminium (unless it's just a rare, sunny day rider) as not a fan of those. I'll post when done.

rustystrings61 

I have one of these - or rather, I have the better parts of it. I was going to run one in the Clunker Challenge a couple of years back, but other challenges kinda blocked it. Do try to sell her on replacing the whole wheels - I serviced the stock hubs on mine and found them to be the nastiest, gnarliest hubs I think I've ever worked on in my life. Alloy rims with decent hubs would be a huge improvement!

I still need to find a home for the frameset ...

juvela

-----

mozzi -

one of the downsides of these large flange five-piece hubs, whether all-steel or bi-metal, is that the drive-side flange of the rear oftimes works loose.

when this occurs it is only a minor nuisance as the spokes and axle set continue to hold everything in place.

an easy way to spot it is to lay the machine down on the NDS and spin the rear wheel like a roulette wheel.

if the flange has worked loose one can watch the gear block wobble lazily about in an ogival manner.

-----

WGB 

I finished the bike tonight and dropped it off.

- one brake lever was broken and had been tightened into the bars to the point bars were unsafe so replaced levers and bars and stem
- replaced the steel wheel set with a nice one I had and almost unused 23mm tires (who am I kidding? 23mm will never be wide enough for me!!)
- they found the "original seat" which is a Speedic Model 170GT and not a plastic seat that the spec sheet calls for. Saddle is very heavy as they
must have thicker cows in Japan than Brooks found in the UK. Still I'd ride it.
- Had to keep the cottered cranks as her dad engraved his name into them. One day I will find a cheap cotter press.

I just couldn't get the FD to shift and since I had no new cable housing I visited Jester Bikes and ye olde frame builder noted that the left rear seat and chain stays were longer than the right side by a small bit (didn't measure it) but enough to convince me that Bottecchia was truly the Schwinn of Italy covering the very low to the very high.

Alas, no good deed goes un punished and when I delivered it the lady was very very happy, until she decided to ride it and that's when she discovered it's a good two inches to high for her.


Yes, I know seat isn't level in photo but was rushing to get photos before it got dark

Universal brakes and the fenders really shined up nicely

Scuffed but very rideable

randyjawa 

More than one entry level Italian road bike has come my way, over the years. The absolute best thing you can do to dramatically improve both ride quality and stopping ability is to sway out those steel hoops. I am, as often as not, truly impressed by how much the ride quality improves just by switching to alloy rims.

xiaoman1 

Very nice job...and great that it was just cleaned, lubed, and not "restored"...great memories of her father!
Best, Ben

ryansu

Chapeau sir nicely done!

juvela

-----

Speedic brand saddles produced by Takahashi Saddle Manufacturing of Japan ("TSM").

Some examples bear the TSM marking on the underside.





---

When you repack the bottom bracket assembly you may discover a marking on the center section of the spindle. Most likely one is a recessed oval with the raised letters OMG. Another possibility is a simple capital letter C stamped in.


-----

WGB 

Damn you guys are good! Indeed it was stamped OMG.
Best part was a firm "No, I can ride this" followed by a scream as she realized stopping wasn't an option.
Tip of the day. I you have to stand on something to get on, getting off isn't as easy....

juvela

-----

Putting it the way you do makes it comical which is entertaining for all, except perhaps the lady in question.

We need, however, to remember that fit is indeed a safety issue as well as a comfort one...


-----

WGB 

Should have said I warned her, hence the firm response.
Her husband now wants to try riding 50km on it with me. My conscience is clear as I warned him that it might be entertaining if that's his first long ride. I'll have something a little more comfortable......

juvela

-----

They are most fortunate to have had you to put right everything on the bicycle from a mechanical perspective.


-----

Classtime 

I'm pretty new to thus stuff but what I havenoticed is that in April, May and June, reasonably priced bikes disappeared in a flash, they sit a little longer now. I'm more of a buyer and was annoyed in the early Covid times, Nwhen EVERY good deal disappeared in an hour. If you were a flipper and expecting to catch a deal when you had a moment, they were few and far between. A good flipper needed a partner on line, while they wrenched, or in many cases, they posted with the previous seller's photos. Crazy times. All fun.