polymorphself 

Meh, nothing wrong here. You made a choice you could afford and will have a bike you love that you can hop on and ride. Hard to argue with, especially in your described predicament. Just don’t forget to post pics when it arrives!

FML123

Here’s what I bought, for $2067.
https://steel-vintage.com/guerciotti-210318-01-03

FML123

LOL, “fra-gee-lay.”

merziac

Atta boy, one of the ways to get what you want.

krakhaus 

I think you did alright. That Guerciotti pantograph stuff isn't cheap.

BMC_Kid 

Looks like a great example. A word of advice, when you get it, the first thing that I would do (I do this to all my bikes and cars) is buy some self-healing paint protectant film and cover the known wear areas. This will practically eliminate any chance of paint chips and keep that bike looking pristine. It won't take much to do a bike and is an easy-to-do project. I even use it on my crank arms. With the self-healing type, any scratches can be removed by heating it back up with a heat source such as a heat gun or even a blow dryer. With the new UV-protected and glossy films out now, you can barely even tell it's on once installed. Very durable stuff.

FML123

Great tip! Thanks!

FML123

I don’t know how I’ll ever ride it up a hill, though, with the 52-42 chainrings and 24T rear cluster.
I guess I could find an old Campy touring drivetrain to swap in for hilly rides.
I really didn’t think this thru, but it was just so sexy to me. The kind of bike I lusted after as a teenager in the ‘70s. 😂

3alarmer 

...I have that same frame, that I repainted over the summer in a color called "Candy Razz", which is much less tasteful than your blue.
I ran out of good weather outside, to put it back together, but am looking forward to riding it in the Spring of 2022.

I looked at some photos of Guerciotti's online, and decided it would be hard to paint one brighter than the brightest of them.
I don't have all those way cool pantographed parts like the chainring and stem, though. And mine would be too big for you.

3alarmer 

...just a guess, but I think that's new paint. So if it was done right, it's been cleared over with a 2 part urethane as the final coat. Which is pretty rugged just by itself. That's what I use, and it's what most repainted bikes get these days. The guys selling it to you might be able to tell you. I think that particular business sells a lot of repainted bikes. Original Italian paint from the 70's-80's can be a little iffy anyway.

FML123

You’re right, in the “Condition” paragraph, they did say the paint had been “refurbished,” which is a little vague. And yeah, I’m only 5’6”-5’7” (and shrinking every year!), so I have a hard time finding bikes in my size, old or new, esp. with the COVID inventory shortage.

sced

I think that Super Record RD is good for 28 teeth and you may get more with a Wolf Tooth Roadlink (or cheaper copy). I am running copies on two classics. Another option is to swap out the Super Record RD with a high capacity RD like a 1st gen Chorus RD (check Ebay, does 34+ and is beautiful).

FML123

Yeah, good idea. I’ve seen RD hanger extensions, but also Campy NOS Rally RDs, with long cages. I’ll also either swap in a 39T inner chainring, or try to find an old Campy touring triple so I can get a lower granny gear.

cb400bill

hose

2k for an old steel bike. You could have found Titanium locally for cheaper

repechage

When it arrives take it to American Cyclery and have them pull the cranks and check the bottom bracket for condition and adjustment.
the only chance I think you will get to negotiate.
if problems have them take snapshots.

trust, but verify.
same could go for the hubs. At least remove the wheels and feel the bearing adjustments.

BMC_Kid 

I was just there at their location near the Brandenburg Gate back in August. When I was there they were building up a very nice 90s Willier. They really do a thorough job, it’s like getting a brand new bike. I can attest that it was built with very experienced hands, you’ll have no issues with it and they stand behind their work. This is what a lot of people don’t realize, for the extra cost over something off of eBay or CL, you’re getting a vintage bike and components in like new condition that will be ready to ride and which will not need anything to be rebuilt or placed. This is a specialty shop for those that can afford it, and there are lots of folks out there (probably not frequenters of forums like this) as they turn over their inventory remarkably fast.

Catnap 

As a part-time restorer / reseller of vintage bikes, and having rented space from an entrepreneur who launched a retail store in NYC specializing in restored vintage bikes, I find Steel Vintage very interesting. It’s quite difficult to operate that kind of business and make a profit at it.

on one end, you have to be able to acquire rare vintage bikes and components at low cost. Then you have to be able to restore the bikes at a low cost, but without cutting corners. On the other end, in order to sell a restored bike you need a buyer who knows what it is, is willing to pay anywhere from a grand to several times that amount for a vintage bike, and the frame has to fit them.

If it’s not a well-known brand from a company that’s still in business (Colnago, DeRosa, etc) then you’ve lost many potential customers. If you clear that hurdle, you lose most buyers at the price. Aficionados of rare old bikes typically enjoy the “chase” of scouring goodwills, garage sales, eBay, CL, FB etc for their next purchase. You need only look at this thread to find examples of these folks.

The only way to mitigate the challenges of finding buyers is to aggressively market your business. You have to cast the biggest net, which means a lot of investment in social media and advertising. You also need to keep a fairly large inventory in stock.

SVB has shown it is possible to succeed at this business. Shinkai Cycle in Japan is another good example; they are selling $2500-6000 bikes at the rate of several a month. I suppose that’s nothing compared to a regular bike store that sells modern carbon bikes at the same price point, but it seems to sustain them.

FML123

Yeah, I just saw an old video about SVB on the GCN Tech channel (I’d seen it a couple years ago but didn't make the connection). For all the mechanics there it was a labor of love, with more resources than any of us could muster. I didn’t have the fun of building it, but I’ll have fun taking care of it. 😀

FML123

Thanks, Catnap, for these interesting points from an industry insider. I also saw a GCN Tech segment by Jon Cannings about Shinkai. I guess I think of these kind of vintage bike shops as very specialized antique dealers. They somehow figure out how to make a living doing what they love.

Germany_chris

Then he wouldn’t have a beautiful Guerciotti

Catnap 

i didn’t know about the GCN profile on Shinkai - I will check that out now. Two days ago I trolled through all 112 index pages (1000+ articles) of the Shinkai blog to dig up all the interesting tidbits I could find. It took all day (and required Google translate) but I took several pages of notes. I’d love to visit the shop and interview the owner one day. He’s good friends / collaborator with Shinichi Konno of Cherubim Cycles.

jiangshi

Know your audience.

FML123

Good idea, thanks. I’m having SVB hold onto it for a month, then ship it to me in Santa Barbara in Feb, which is where I’ll be then. Can’t really secure it in the Airbnb in SFO. But I’ll have to find a retail shop anyway, or preferably a workshop where I can rent a bay and tools for 1-2 hrs. I how to tear down a bike, but have no tools and no space for tools in our car (road-tripping for a few months).

Wildwood 

Gorgeous bike @FML123 !!! Hope it is perfect for you in all respects.



My only - tangential - comment would be = Isn’t 1/2 the fun in the hunting, finding and returning a classic to the road? Maybe I need to read the thread Rider, Wrencher, Collector?

and as for the ‘crappy parts builds’ comment - Would that be Suntour rear derailleur on a classic Italian?, or Campa NR when the bike originally came with SR?

sometimes I’m a rider, sometimes a wrencher, but thinking more and more I’m not a collector (in the CR sense of the term).


Happy New Year to all - keep the classic cycling experience alive, anyway you see fit to do it.