smd4

Looks like a decent frame with racing geometry. Also looks like the shifter brazeons were cut off? Sante was the entry-level road racing group back in the day. Probably needs a few adjustments/upgrades (Front derailleur is too high, for example, and you might want to swap out the cables). Not sure what's going on with those brake lever hoods. I know little about the bike itself--would be interested to hear others' comments.

Mackers

"I felt a great disturbance in the Force as dozens of BF Bike Flippers suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced."

Enjoy the new ride

DBDad

Is the braze on issue bad? Also, what’s wrong with the hoods?

smd4

The clamp-on shifters should work fine. And again, I'm only looking at pictures, which may not tell the whole story. If I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing, I just have to wonder why the bosses were cut off only to replace them with a clamp. The hoods look a little strange in the photos to me, especially from head-on. Like they're loose or lifted up in front. Again, it just may be something in the photos, though.

DBDad

Ok, thanks. Was making sure that cutting the brazeons off didn’t affect the frame integrity. Newb questions, I know.

smd4

The frame should be fine. Everything should clean up nicely. Any idea what the tubes are? I seem to see a fragment of a Columbus decal on the seat tube. The chrome forks are Columbus, and should sparkle with a little polish.

DBDad

My understanding is that frame and fork are Columbus. I think it’s SL possibly from research I’ve done? Hope others can chime in on it.

smd4

That would provide an excellent ride. If you wanted a quick-handling racing bike, like you mentioned in your first post, I think you've succeeded. It's also a great base to upgrade things, if you so choose. I'd be interested in hearing what folks think about the wheels.

branko_76 

Looks like a good bike, I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Looking at the chain-rings of the crank, there is quite a bit of wear. I would look into replacing them along with the chain in the near future and at the same time think about an overhaul of the BB, HS and hubs.

smd4

The chainring teeth didn't jump out at me as being overly worn, but it's still a good idea to have everything checked out. A bearing overhaul might be a good idea as well.

squirtdad

nice bike

i would not worry about the clamp on shifterst, lots of reasons that could be, like braze on got damaged and someone wanted to avoid paint damage in repairs

Rims look solid ambrosio, with eyelets, solid reliable rim

tkamd73 

I guess I would have at least done a more complete job of removing the shifter brazeons, then put the clamp over, but as above, the clamp on shifters will work fine.
Looks like possibly not the correct hoods on the brake levers, for some Shimano levers the correct hoods are almost unobtanium.
Have fun with the new ride.
Tim

Andy_K 

Looks nice. Something's going on with the brake levers which may be cosmetic, but I'd still replace them if it were me. I'd be willing to be the bike wasn't ridden a single time between that bar tape being installed and the pictures being taken. It won't stay that white.

The thing with vintage bikes is that they're cheap enough relative to their resale value that you can buy one, try it out, see what you like and what you don't, and resell it and get something else if necessary. You might not need to do that, but if you do that's part of the fun. I just saw this thread today. Having had a Surly Cross Check myself, my biggest concern was how well you understand the size you need. Cross Checks have kind of weird geometry and just generally aren't a good starting point for figuring out the size you'll want with other bikes. But size is the hardest thing to figure out with bikes anyway. It's hard to tell how well a bike will fit from a geometry chart, even harder from just the seat tube length. The good news is, the range that you can make work for you is really big. Over time you'll get a better idea of your own preferences. Or you might be different from the rest of us here and buy one bike and be happy.

machinist42

Congratulations on your new acquisition!

T-Mar is the resident expert on the Miele marque. (Or is the ping feature triggered by T-mar or @T-Mar? I don't remember. I think it's one of them? It's aboot time the Powers that Be fixed that don't 'cha know, eh?)

bamboobike4

I'd say you answered your own question, solved your own problem, and are well on your way to N+1.
While that does not help my N-1, I can hardly complain about another enlightenment occurrence.

Miele is a Canadian bike, I think. I bought a purple one very similar to yours, but it did not have Sante.
The Sante goes so well with the lettering, I'd be hard pressed to say its better off gone.
(Even with a NOS 1055 group and wheels sitting here in a box for sale).

First impressions:
1-work on the brake hoods. I think they may be replacements. Sante may use either 1055 hoods or 6400 hoods.
2-remove the clamp-on shifters, carefully file and paint the ground-off braze-on posts, then re-clamp right over them.
3-touch up the Sante white areas. Testor's white, thinned and repeatedly applied, can be almost invisible.
4-address each bearing set (hubs, BB, headset). it's prudent on a bike you haven't owned.

You can learn a lot by investing $100 or so in some tools, and simply take the bike apart, and put it back together, replacing disposables and making sure the bearings etc are in good working order. I'm guessing you have a lot of room under that budget, so an investment in some tools and time will really make you aware of that bike and other things cycling.

Good job.

smd4

I was wondering if it might not be better to move the shifters towards the head tube, and use what remains of the braze-on bosses as stops for the clamp? might hide them a little too.

DBDad

Yeah, I’m a little concerned about size. I hope it’s not too big. My cross-check is a 52 (but known to fit like a 54). This bike measures 54 from center of bb to center of tt. On the Coss Check I find myself wanting to stretch out more. I get some toe overlap too. Cross check is known to have a long top tube, so hopefully the Miele will fit. I hope that made sense. I’m 5’9” with pretty normal proportions, maybe legs a little longer than arms, bike inseam of around 31.5.

But, like you say, there are so many of these bikes out there, reasonably priced, I’ll just ride the hell out of it and have fun with an old bike. I know this won’t be my last.

DBDad

Thanks. Should I paint/put something on the area I file the brazeons down before putting the clamp over?

bamboobike4

Since you mentioned "reach," it would be interesting to know the TT length instead of ST height.
Measure from the center of the seat tube, along the top tube, to the center of the head tube.
That's what will affect your fit as much as the ST height.

bamboobike4

Yes. Definitely. Mask it. Prime it. Paint it. Basically, two square spots on each side, which will then be covered by the clamp.
The position of the shifters on that downtube may work fine, but are probably a bit low. Most riders like them a bit higher.

There is a sweet spot between reaching too far down, and reaching down to mangle your fingers in the front wheel.
It's between those points.

smd4

As hinted at above, you have options when it comes to dialing in a frame size that may not be exact: You have flexibility in seat post length, seat fore-and aft positioning, stem length and height...

smd4

If you reach so far down and so far forward that your hand engages the front wheel, perhaps you should consider taking up jogging. Or knitting.

bamboobike4

old salt.

bamboobike4

Or actually looking down until I get it right.

T-Mar

The subject bicycle is a Miele Chic! Yes, the exclamation point is part of the model name. It is 1988, possibly 1989. In 1988, it was 4th in a line 14 road models and had an MSRP of $999 CDN.

Edit: Yes those are Santé hubs or at least the front one is. Shimano re-introduced the old AX style, plastic, dust covers on Santé and that is the correct skewer nut with the wide grip zone. However, the rear skewer nut is incorrect and there's no good photo of the hub itself.

In case anybody is wondering, the tubeset is full Columbus SL.