Last week I found this Walton on the Santa Barbara CL while I was doing my non workday coffee and Craigslist routine. It was still quite early but I knew if I didn’t get in early it would be gone, so I sent a text at 6am. I got a reply and set up a meeting with the owners wife. I started doing some google searches on Walton bikes while I ate my breakfast, but they only produced pics of NBA legend Bill Walton. CR’s American builder list didn’t mention him…I got nothing.
My wife and I drove up to SB to get the bike, so after we could walk around and get lunch. The bike did not disappoint, it had been sitting a while but it was still very clean. Full Dura Ace 7400 group, wheels were a mismatched pair of Mavic MA40 rear with a Wolbert Alpine up front. Both with the correct Dura Ace hubs and showed hardly visible brake wear. The seller wanted to keep the old tri bars it had, so the brake levers were left hanging and a Dura Ace AX stem was left still in place.
The frame is nice, with nicely filed lugs. Paint is thin, but nice as well. Decals are applied over the paint, and show some wear. The seller said it was from 1986, purchased in St Paul MN. There’s a shop decal from Grand Performance Bikes in St Paul, so I looked them up…and it’s still there. I found there email on the website and shot off an inquiry about the bike and builder. I received a reply from the then and still owner Dan. He told me that Mike Walton built frames in the shop’s basement for a few years during the 80’s and was a team sponsor for a couple years. He said this bike looked like a team frame and wondered whose it might have been. I later got the sellers full name and they both remembered each other and commented on what a long time ago it was when that bike order was placed.
Dan said that he believed that the frames were made with Columbus SL. This frame has no tubing decal, but with the 27.2 seat post and Campagnolo dropouts that would have been my guess. He said that Mike Walton had moved to Tucson in the late 80’s and that they had since lost contact.
I gave the bike a good cleaning, mounted bars and stem that I had and replaced the 30 year old tires with a set of takeoff Vittorias. I did do a quick spin on the bike with the old 20mm tires. I was very impressed with the ride even on some very rough pavement, so with these new 25mm Corsas it should be sublime.
The gearing it came with was very tall 53/42 12-21. I dug through my parts stash and found a correct Dura Ace 40 tooth inner ring and a very clean Shimano 600 12-24 6 speed freewheel. So it should be (a little) better equipped for SoCal hills now instead of the flat roads of the Great Plains.
I have new bar tape on order, so I haven’t taken proper pics yet. My main goal of this post was to get something online for the next guy that digs up one of these Waltons. Here’s a few shots, “as found” and after a good rub down.
As found
Shop decal
Head tube lugs
Seat tube
Cleaned up