Cratecruncher

Thank you for all this information. I will find out more about my ratios. But it sounds like the awkward alignment at extremes is an accepted tradeoff on these vintage bikes rather than poor adjustment. I don't want the new chainring to succumb to the same fate as it's predecessor so will have a plan before the new part goes on. (Both old and new are the earlier style.) The X1/9 is an original '86 survivor with zero rust and only 20,000 miles on the clock. I just finished flushing the cooling system and replacing the original hoses. It looks brand new on the inside. I even re-plated the original hose clamps. Like this Italvega, the previous owner(s) took extra effort to preserve it.

Edit: Wow. Just calculated my ratios and discovered gears 3 through 6 are nearly the same as 7 through 10 in a sense making this bike an 8 speed! I hadn't noticed because I've been trying to stay off the bigger chainring.

repechage

Very hard to avoid overlap.
There are ten combinations, but typically only 7-8 distinct ratios.

Kabuki12

mine is a Gran Rally. It is very similar to a Super Record , Campagnolo dropouts and fork tips , Columbus Tre Tubi. As I said in my blog , it had been upgraded early on with Campagnolo drive including crank. It came with a 27.0 diameter Zeus Competition seat post and I took off the Universal center pull brakes and replaced with Campy NR side pul because I didn’t feel like polishing out the oxidation on the originals. As far as I can tell there is chrome on the entire frame with the lugs and “socks” polished out. The paint was originally Rose Gold.

Fredo76

What a beautiful, classic bike. I love the simple but chromed Prugnat lugs, the colors, and the pin-striping. I don't think the yellow tape was bad, myself!

Good luck with your crank.

Cratecruncher

You'll have to trust me Fredo76 when I say the photo doesn't begin to convey how bright those tapes were. The previous owner was fond of pre-dawn rides and really needed every attention getting technique possible. It helps explain the reflective sidewall tires and also front and rear blink lights which I recharge and use on all my outings even in the daytime. But the tapes were just too much and they got dirty really fast while cleaning and polishing the bike. I have installed the new leather tapes and a replacement Universal 61 caliper on the front fork this week. It's after dark right now but I'll snap some pics tomorrow hopefully with my new clips and straps installed to update the thread. I am making progress but still waiting on my crank puller and a few other things.

Cratecruncher

Here are some pictures of my progress so far:

These new tapes are from Sella Italia called SMOOTAPE. Really, I'm not making that up. Product naming is harder than it seems I guess, haha. They are suede leather so feel nice but will attract dirt and stains. I have some nice brown top grain and thinking of doing a nice baseball stitch if these don't work out.

I was having trouble with the front derailleur not returning and the cable popping out of it's downtube guide. So I took it apart and cleaned the grime off everything. I also noticed the cable was routed wrong. I had just enough length to route it correctly through the guide and it works perfectly now with no more chains coming off or cables coming loose. The eagle eyed may notice I disassembled and cleaned the Suntour Superbe's. The anaodizing was missing and faded purple in a lot of areas so I stripped and polished them to fit the 1971 look a bit better. I can always anodize them if I fit them to an '80s bike at some point. I tried to get the clips/straps to work but that almost ended in disaster trying to use them with running shoes.

I bought a second hand caliper off feeBay the other day. It turned out to have a broken mounting bolt and a jammed cable button in one of the arms. Back to feeBay for an NOS bolt and the drill press made short work of that jammed cable button. I took the advice of others here and ditched the black concrete brake blocks for some Dia-Compe 76 Grey Matter blocks. WAAAAAy better braking performance and much easier on these old rims.

Lots of mechanical stuff left to do but waiting on more specialty tools. 1) Change outer chainring, 2) Clean and repack bottom bracket bearings, 3) Clean freewheel and add 31T cog for first, 13T/12T for thirteenth and fourteenth if possible, 4) Clean rear derailleur and replace split jockey wheels, 5) Replace chain, 6) True rear wheel.

EDIT: Yeah, that MA-31T isn't going to work with a Nuovo Record derailleur is it. Ship! Oh well, chalk that one up to inexperience. I just ordered a Maillard MA-26T I think the NR can handle. Anyone need a 31T?

Cratecruncher

Work on the Green Machine continued this weekend.

Once you have the correct crank puller the 49D crankset comes off fairly easily. Those cranks were on the spindle pretty tight. I made a special slotted tool for removing the chainring fasteners out of a can opener that worked better than expected. Photo shows my new 53T chainring put together with the 42T and the old chewed up chainring tossed aside.


I discovered the bottom bracket spindle was chewed up on the drive side while cleaning and repacking the BB. Consensus seems to be either lack of grease or overtightened at some point. There is a separate thread with some interesting discussion HERE


I live on a big hill and the streets in my neighborhood are like a rollercoaster ride. The bike currently has a Maillard 700 Compact freewheel with 13/14/16/18/20/23 cogs. Good but I decided to pull the 20 and add a 26 for a granny gear. Feebay seller "Loosescrews" had everything you could ever want and more for these old freewheels NOS sealed in bags for $15 each! The trouble was getting this beast apart. The cheapo whip wrench I bought was useless. I wound up making two whip wrenches from steel strip and the remnants of the old chain that was on the bike. It still took enormous torque to unscrew those cogs. Now the bike sports 13/14/16/18/23/26 and much easier on my 57 year old body.


Spotlessly clean Maillard freewheel with that big granny gear installed. This was the first road test and she shifts remarkably well. The 115 link KMP chain replaced a 111 chain that didn't have a removable link. Original 50 year old chain? Who knows.


My shiny new Stronglight 53T chainring in place of that poor beaten thing that was on there before. Front derailleur works like a light switch. In fact the whole bike is shifting much better now despite the bigger cog in back. Before was grinding and drama. Now just a satisfying "clunk" to another gear.


She still needs paint, decals, a period seat, and crepe sidewalls but the bike is now riding much better and I know there is nothing that needs immediate attention.

Cratecruncher

Sorry it's been a while since I updated this thread. But I have been steadily plugging away at the Italvega. There is a local park I like to take pictures at but it's been cold and overcast the last few days. Perfect weather for working on machinery...

We got some warm sunny weather today so I took a current picture. Yes, the heavy duty 700-38c E-bike tires are now gone and in their place are some Panaracer Pasela 700-25c's that I got online at a very reasonable price. I was reluctant to change them because I was still missing bumps and holes now and then and didn't want to dent my rims. But I really wanted some classic sidewalls and my attention to the road surface has gotten better.



The 25mm tires I bought look like black rubber bands compared to the steel belted truck tires I took off! Using my postal scale the tire on the left is 10 ounces. The tire on the right is 28 ounces. Total weight savings 2.25 POUNDS!!! But that's not all. I'll spare you the details but using I=mr^2 I calculated a 67% reduction in tire rotational inertia. Because my rims were designed for a smaller tire the 38's rode taller causing even more inertia and a taller frame height. this bike is already a big bike for me so gaining a half inch was noticeable. But that first shakedown ride was amazing. Even with only 60 psi the bike just wanted to fly. After a quick check to see that all was well I pumped those babies up to 90 psi and took to the streets. I was climbing up hills with hardly any effort. I still needed the granny on a couple of the monster climbs but before I'd just run out of gas half way up and have to rest. Now I was taking them in one gulp. Huge performance improvement and the manufacturer says 115 psi is nominal. Wow!



My rear wheel has had a noticeable wobble since I got it. I don't have a truing stand but saw a pragmatic Youtuber do this trick the other day and thought it worth a try. The ruler is "enhanced" with a couple of strips of shim brass spot glued together to make sliders. As you tighten and loosen with the spoke wrench the sliders are moved closer and closer to the true rim width with no space. It worked better than I hoped and so I can recommend it for folks that don't have a lot of special tools and don't feel like paying someone to screw up their bike.



To follow up on a previous post my bottom bracket spindle had seen better days but not having a source for a 50 year old replacement I put the BB back together and hoped for a miracle. Enter a miracle... in the form of a private message from fellow BF member "Ex Pres" letting me know he just happened to have the part I needed in excellent shape and was willing to pass it to a good home for not much more than postage. Hallelujah! and a huge thank you to Ex-Pres for helping me keep this nice old bike original as possible. The new part is a 120 which brings the drive side crank out an additional 2 mm over the 118 it replaces. Other than a quick forward derailleur adjustment there wasn't any visible change. But it cured the bad cross-chaining that destroyed the original 53T chainring (...oh I never cross-chain a shift! Yea right.) That's about all for now. I'm still riding the green machine about 30 minutes a day and loving every moment on it.

Fredo76

It's amazing how round boat anchors can be! Your new tires look much nicer, too. Congratulations!

Cratecruncher

A minor update on the Italvega. I responded to a Facebook Marketplace listing for a Brooks Swift in near new condition. Price and color were right so I went for it. It looked even better in person.


It pretty much feels the same as the Bontrager it replaced but makes the bike look so retro. I love it.

panzerwagon 

I remember seeing this bike for sale locally on and off last year. Beautiful colour. I’m so glad it ended up in great hands. Nice work!

glenfong

Hey Cratecruncher, you were wondering what the Italvega Nuovo Record's specs were? It's been 50 yrs and the bike's been long gone for probably 47yrs. Yours looks to be in mighty fine condition! My brother's Nuovo Record was the exact same color! I swapped out a lot of the components later on to try and get the look of the Super Speciale, the model above ours that was upgraded to a completely Columbus tubed frame vs. the 3 main tubes only and all Campagnolo appointments including brakes, seat post, crankset, Nuovo Record vs. Campagnolo Tipo hubs and Cinelli bar & Stem. Here's what I can remember came on a Nuovo Record in 1971 along with gas & bike shortages:

Unicanitor leather saddle
unknown steel seatpost, upgraded to Campy Nuovo Record (27.0mm)
unknown handlebar & stem, maybe 3TTT?, changed to Cinelli
Universal center pull brakes, changed to Universal side pulls
Nuovo Record front & rear derailleurs
Stronglight crankset (same as yours) 44/53T
unknown pedals, ofmega? changed to Lyotard platform, lower profile
Normandy or Campy Tipo hubs with Fiamme Red label rims, tubular
Regina freewheel, unknown gear ratios

Happy Trails!

Cratecruncher

@glenfong ; Thanks for checking in and providing so much interesting spec information on this bike. Factory info is practically nonexistent especially for this first year. I did some research on my Cinelli stem/bar and discovered the logo design was newer than 1971 so it doesn't surprise me that was an upgrade. But I am really surprised about the Maillard 700 freewheel. This bike has been blessed with some wonderful caretakers before me. I just hope I can keep the bike's 50 year luck streak going.


@panzerwagon : That corroborates the previous owner's surprise at my enthusiasm for the bike. (It's my first since a teen and I gave him his asking price, haha.) He said he started the Craig's Listing much higher and came down as people called but never even came to look at it. I'm also quite surprised that given the condition of components on this bike somebody didn't snap it up to part out on Ebay. If, like so many members here, I had had a garage full of Colnagos and Pinarellos this might look like a conveniently packed box of bike parts on initial inspection.

panzerwagon 

I'll admit, that thought had certainly crossed my mind, but in my eyes, that Italvega is special (and a lovely colour too). It deserves to remain whole, and in the hands of someone willing to provide good stewardship. Seems like it found the right person