Someone else's Frankenbike (or, assembled box o'crap )
09-11-22, 08:46 PM
#1
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Someone else's Frankenbike (or, assembled box o'crap )
So I've posted now and then about various basket case bikes I've dragged home over the years.
This spring I ended up with a real headscratcher. I blame my neighbor and his awful awful enabling behavior. And his beer.
It's a bike boom era "Allitalia". No model or tubing brand.
i had posted earlier about how this bike has a titanium spindle Italian threaded O.M.O.S. bottom bracket.
I took a bit of time to look more closely at the rest of the parts on it. There were several surprises:
-Universal Extra sidepull brakes. Never heard of these or seen them before, I thought they were Weinmann brakes at first glance
-Unknown bars. No visible marks or stampings
-Unknown brake levers. Again, no marks. Brake hoods are surprisingly not gooey or crumbling.
-Sunshine rear hub with a Maeda Industries (Suntour) freewheel. No notches for removal tool, uses spanner pins. This is laced to an "AKRONT" alloy rim, another brand of part I've never heard of
-Normandy-ish front hub laced to a steel rim. The rim has an "S" stamped in to it and the hub skewer says "Bloc G". Googling for info about Bloc G hubs finds a few hits of people asking what they are but no other info
-a 3ttt stem where the part facing the rider is open and you can see the stem bolt.
I've gotten as far as pulling the cranks and the bottom bracket. The frame has some of the worst welds I've ever seen on a bike, stamped dropouts, no braze one, and an exposed seam on the underside of the BB shell so I'm pretty sure it is nothing special.
The rest of the parts minus the seatpost (popped right out) are still on the bike.
I really feel like in the early 70s someone decided to assemble a bike with a box o'crap inspired mix of parts. Really not likely that a gas pipe bike came stock with a titanium spindle bottom bracket.
This spring I ended up with a real headscratcher. I blame my neighbor and his awful awful enabling behavior. And his beer.
It's a bike boom era "Allitalia". No model or tubing brand.
i had posted earlier about how this bike has a titanium spindle Italian threaded O.M.O.S. bottom bracket.
I took a bit of time to look more closely at the rest of the parts on it. There were several surprises:
-Universal Extra sidepull brakes. Never heard of these or seen them before, I thought they were Weinmann brakes at first glance
-Unknown bars. No visible marks or stampings
-Unknown brake levers. Again, no marks. Brake hoods are surprisingly not gooey or crumbling.
-Sunshine rear hub with a Maeda Industries (Suntour) freewheel. No notches for removal tool, uses spanner pins. This is laced to an "AKRONT" alloy rim, another brand of part I've never heard of
-Normandy-ish front hub laced to a steel rim. The rim has an "S" stamped in to it and the hub skewer says "Bloc G". Googling for info about Bloc G hubs finds a few hits of people asking what they are but no other info
-a 3ttt stem where the part facing the rider is open and you can see the stem bolt.
I've gotten as far as pulling the cranks and the bottom bracket. The frame has some of the worst welds I've ever seen on a bike, stamped dropouts, no braze one, and an exposed seam on the underside of the BB shell so I'm pretty sure it is nothing special.
The rest of the parts minus the seatpost (popped right out) are still on the bike.
I really feel like in the early 70s someone decided to assemble a bike with a box o'crap inspired mix of parts. Really not likely that a gas pipe bike came stock with a titanium spindle bottom bracket.
09-11-22, 10:24 PM
#2
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My enabling neighbor and his, espresso, whisky and red wine got me into an Audi A4 quattro....at least is is a 6 speed manual
I got even and got him into tubular tires
I got even and got him into tubular tires
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Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can
(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or for Raleigh International frame fork 58cm)
Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can
(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or for Raleigh International frame fork 58cm)
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09-11-22, 11:17 PM
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That's actually not terrible IMO, you could have done much worse.
juvela 's breakdown of the lugs, original components, etc is interesting.
Could be made into a very enjoyable around town bike.
juvela 's breakdown of the lugs, original components, etc is interesting.
Could be made into a very enjoyable around town bike.
09-11-22, 11:34 PM
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So I've posted now and then about various basket case bikes I've dragged home over the years.
This spring I ended up with a real headscratcher. I blame my neighbor and his awful awful enabling behavior. And his beer.
It's a bike boom era "Allitalia". No model or tubing brand.
i had posted earlier about how this bike has a titanium spindle Italian threaded O.M.O.S. bottom bracket.
I took a bit of time to look more closely at the rest of the parts on it. There were several surprises:
-Universal Extra sidepull brakes. Never heard of these or seen them before, I thought they were Weinmann brakes at first glance
-Unknown bars. No visible marks or stampings
-Unknown brake levers. Again, no marks. Brake hoods are surprisingly not gooey or crumbling.
-Sunshine rear hub with a Maeda Industries (Suntour) freewheel. No notches for removal tool, uses spanner pins. This is laced to an "AKRONT" alloy rim, another brand of part I've never heard of
-Normandy-ish front hub laced to a steel rim. The rim has an "S" stamped in to it and the hub skewer says "Bloc G". Googling for info about Bloc G hubs finds a few hits of people asking what they are but no other info
-a 3ttt stem where the part facing the rider is open and you can see the stem bolt.
I've gotten as far as pulling the cranks and the bottom bracket. The frame has some of the worst welds I've ever seen on a bike, stamped dropouts, no braze one, and an exposed seam on the underside of the BB shell so I'm pretty sure it is nothing special.
The rest of the parts minus the seatpost (popped right out) are still on the bike.
I really feel like in the early 70s someone decided to assemble a bike with a box o'crap inspired mix of parts. Really not likely that a gas pipe bike came stock with a titanium spindle bottom bracket.
This spring I ended up with a real headscratcher. I blame my neighbor and his awful awful enabling behavior. And his beer.
It's a bike boom era "Allitalia". No model or tubing brand.
i had posted earlier about how this bike has a titanium spindle Italian threaded O.M.O.S. bottom bracket.
I took a bit of time to look more closely at the rest of the parts on it. There were several surprises:
-Universal Extra sidepull brakes. Never heard of these or seen them before, I thought they were Weinmann brakes at first glance
-Unknown bars. No visible marks or stampings
-Unknown brake levers. Again, no marks. Brake hoods are surprisingly not gooey or crumbling.
-Sunshine rear hub with a Maeda Industries (Suntour) freewheel. No notches for removal tool, uses spanner pins. This is laced to an "AKRONT" alloy rim, another brand of part I've never heard of
-Normandy-ish front hub laced to a steel rim. The rim has an "S" stamped in to it and the hub skewer says "Bloc G". Googling for info about Bloc G hubs finds a few hits of people asking what they are but no other info
-a 3ttt stem where the part facing the rider is open and you can see the stem bolt.
I've gotten as far as pulling the cranks and the bottom bracket. The frame has some of the worst welds I've ever seen on a bike, stamped dropouts, no braze one, and an exposed seam on the underside of the BB shell so I'm pretty sure it is nothing special.
The rest of the parts minus the seatpost (popped right out) are still on the bike.
I really feel like in the early 70s someone decided to assemble a bike with a box o'crap inspired mix of parts. Really not likely that a gas pipe bike came stock with a titanium spindle bottom bracket.
09-12-22, 05:49 AM
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So I've posted now and then about various basket case bikes I've dragged home over the years.
This spring I ended up with a real headscratcher. I blame my neighbor and his awful awful enabling behavior. And his beer.
It's a bike boom era "Allitalia". No model or tubing brand.
i had posted earlier about how this bike has a titanium spindle Italian threaded O.M.O.S. bottom bracket.
I took a bit of time to look more closely at the rest of the parts on it. There were several surprises:
-Universal Extra sidepull brakes. Never heard of these or seen them before, I thought they were Weinmann brakes at first glance
-Unknown bars. No visible marks or stampings
-Unknown brake levers. Again, no marks. Brake hoods are surprisingly not gooey or crumbling.
-Sunshine rear hub with a Maeda Industries (Suntour) freewheel. No notches for removal tool, uses spanner pins. This is laced to an "AKRONT" alloy rim, another brand of part I've never heard of
-Normandy-ish front hub laced to a steel rim. The rim has an "S" stamped in to it and the hub skewer says "Bloc G". Googling for info about Bloc G hubs finds a few hits of people asking what they are but no other info
-a 3ttt stem where the part facing the rider is open and you can see the stem bolt.
I've gotten as far as pulling the cranks and the bottom bracket. The frame has some of the worst welds I've ever seen on a bike, stamped dropouts, no braze one, and an exposed seam on the underside of the BB shell so I'm pretty sure it is nothing special.
The rest of the parts minus the seatpost (popped right out) are still on the bike.
I really feel like in the early 70s someone decided to assemble a bike with a box o'crap inspired mix of parts. Not likely that a gas pipe bike came stock with a titanium spindle bottom bracket.
This spring I ended up with a real headscratcher. I blame my neighbor and his awful awful enabling behavior. And his beer.
It's a bike boom era "Allitalia". No model or tubing brand.
i had posted earlier about how this bike has a titanium spindle Italian threaded O.M.O.S. bottom bracket.
I took a bit of time to look more closely at the rest of the parts on it. There were several surprises:
-Universal Extra sidepull brakes. Never heard of these or seen them before, I thought they were Weinmann brakes at first glance
-Unknown bars. No visible marks or stampings
-Unknown brake levers. Again, no marks. Brake hoods are surprisingly not gooey or crumbling.
-Sunshine rear hub with a Maeda Industries (Suntour) freewheel. No notches for removal tool, uses spanner pins. This is laced to an "AKRONT" alloy rim, another brand of part I've never heard of
-Normandy-ish front hub laced to a steel rim. The rim has an "S" stamped in to it and the hub skewer says "Bloc G". Googling for info about Bloc G hubs finds a few hits of people asking what they are but no other info
-a 3ttt stem where the part facing the rider is open and you can see the stem bolt.
I've gotten as far as pulling the cranks and the bottom bracket. The frame has some of the worst welds I've ever seen on a bike, stamped dropouts, no braze one, and an exposed seam on the underside of the BB shell so I'm pretty sure it is nothing special.
The rest of the parts minus the seatpost (popped right out) are still on the bike.
I really feel like in the early 70s someone decided to assemble a bike with a box o'crap inspired mix of parts. Not likely that a gas pipe bike came stock with a titanium spindle bottom bracket.
Or, perhaps, the original owner rode it and replaced parts as they failed, upgrading as he went, perhaps buying random special bits that were on sale at his LBS, perhaps planning and saving up for bits one at a time, or perhaps getting hand-me-downs from a friend with a large bike and parts stash ...
It will forever be a mystery, but a fun find, and fun to speculate!
Last edited by JulesCW; 09-12-22 at 08:02 AM.
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09-12-22, 06:31 AM
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It’s quite an…assortment. I can tell you that Akron’s rims were often found on Zeus bikes.
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1987 Mercian Pro, 1985 Shogun 500, 197? Falcon San Remo, 1972 Peugeot PX-10, 1972 Schwinn Paramount P13-9, 1971 Peugeot PX-10, 1971 Raleigh International, 1970 Raleigh Professional Mark I
Curator/Team Mechanic: 2016 Dawes Streetfighter, 1984 Lotus Eclair, 1975 Motobecane Jubile Mixte, 1974 Raleigh Sports, 1973 Free Spirit Ted Williams, 1972 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Philips Sport
1987 Mercian Pro, 1985 Shogun 500, 197? Falcon San Remo, 1972 Peugeot PX-10, 1972 Schwinn Paramount P13-9, 1971 Peugeot PX-10, 1971 Raleigh International, 1970 Raleigh Professional Mark I
Curator/Team Mechanic: 2016 Dawes Streetfighter, 1984 Lotus Eclair, 1975 Motobecane Jubile Mixte, 1974 Raleigh Sports, 1973 Free Spirit Ted Williams, 1972 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Philips Sport
