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Old 04-22-23, 07:34 PM
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Schweinhund
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Firenze MT505

While trolling in the mechanics forum I had an idea: What would be an affront to god and cyclists?
A campagnolo huffy has been done.
What's even crappier than a huffy? A Firenze? Wot about an STX-RC - Firenze? Got wheels, cranks, derailleurs... Or better, a Deore XT (R?) Firenze?

Thoughts?
as it sits






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Old 04-24-23, 04:28 PM
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Until this moment I had no idea there was any overlap in the Ven diagrams of cantilever braked mountain bikes and cottered cranks...
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Old 04-24-23, 06:36 PM
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Buy a bike like that, get a free stereo!
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Old 04-25-23, 10:25 AM
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In case anyone else gets this same wild hair - https://madison.craigslist.org/zip/d...613594120.html
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Old 04-25-23, 10:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Schweinhund
Thoughts?
as it sits
My thought is it's too big to be a paperweight, too small to be an artificial reef.
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Old 04-25-23, 01:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Schweinhund
While trolling in the mechanics forum I had an idea: What would be an affront to god and cyclists?
A campagnolo huffy has been done.
What's even crappier than a huffy? A Firenze? Wot about an STX-RC - Firenze? Got wheels, cranks, derailleurs... Or better, a Deore XT (R?) Firenze?

Thoughts?
as it sits
I don't think this is crappier than a Huffy. If you squint, it looks like a regular 80s mountain bike. The biggest things that scream low-quality about it are the components like the cottered double crank, and if you replace those, then the joke is completely lost.

There has to be some undeniable plasticy crapulence to it.



And the joke would also suffer with STX-RC, a fine mid-tier "budget racer" group. The joke was Super Record on a Huffy, so for a mountain bike it'd have to be XTR on a Magna or Kooka rasta cranks on a Murray.
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Old 04-25-23, 02:00 PM
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The "crapulence" is inherent in the brand name.
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Old 04-25-23, 02:44 PM
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a build with a fiftieth anniversary gruppo

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Old 05-27-23, 05:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Clang
I don't think this is crappier than a Huffy. If you squint, it looks like a regular 80s mountain bike. The biggest things that scream low-quality about it are the components like the cottered double crank, and if you replace those, then the joke is completely lost.

There has to be some undeniable plasticy crapulence to it.
Point taken
So, Here he is in all his craptastic glory.








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Old 05-27-23, 06:44 PM
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XTR or gtfo

Excited to see what direction you go. Of course you have my full support for whatever that’s worth (not much).

You know, I had actually thought about one of those Firenze models (5000?) that were the infamous ones sold by the stereo guy. But if I took that on, I’d want to take a torch to each joint and flow brass just to be sure. Campy 50th Anniversary would be the crowning touch. But alas I’m frying other fish.

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Old 05-27-23, 08:25 PM
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Originally Posted by AdventureManCO
XTR or gtfo

Excited to see what direction you go. Of course you have my full support for whatever that’s worth (not much).
I had already considered an XTR rear derailleur and hyperglide, but then Clang said
Originally Posted by Clang
The biggest things that scream low-quality about it are the components like the cottered double crank, and if you replace those, then the joke is completely lost.


And of course he's right
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Old 05-29-23, 09:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Schweinhund
I had already considered an XTR rear derailleur and hyperglide, but then Clang said


And of course he's right

This is the difficulty I faced when it was suggested that I use hose clamps for top tube cable guides on my build, kinda channeling the 'blue collar Huffy' thing, true to its roots and all. If I took that mindset to its logical conclusion, probably no parts would have been replaced on the Huffy at all. I guess the place I came to was 'would you end up seeing X on a Colnago or Singer?' 'If the answer was 'no', then it likely wasn't going on the Huffy. That was a good litmus test for me, and of course liberties had to be taken, but not super obvious ones, since that wasn't the joke. But it's all a cruel joke I suppose, with SR going on the Huffy, much like if you put Sora on a Singer.

I still think an XTR build would be killer on this, and 95x stuff is usually cheap and found at co-ops.
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Old 05-29-23, 09:58 PM
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How are you going to improve on those bars and thumbies?
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Old 05-29-23, 10:56 PM
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Originally Posted by albrt
How are you going to improve on those bars and thumbies?
There are "thumbies" (as in the ones on the Firenze that could cause permanent repetitive stress injury if shifting is attempted), and there are thumbies (as in the magnificent power ratchet creations of the mid-1980s that current manufacturers are still striving to match). Just like a Huffy looks like a Colnago at a distance with the eyeglasses off and a few shots of rotgut.
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Old 05-29-23, 11:23 PM
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Originally Posted by RCMoeur
Just like a Huffy looks like a Colnago at a distance with the eyeglasses off and a few shots of rotgut.

Hah!

'If you turn 180 degrees and look real closely, it looks just like a Colnago!'
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Old 05-30-23, 08:55 AM
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Originally Posted by RCMoeur
There are "thumbies" (as in the ones on the Firenze that could cause permanent repetitive stress injury if shifting is attempted), and there are thumbies (as in the magnificent power ratchet creations of the mid-1980s that current manufacturers are still striving to match). Just like a Huffy looks like a Colnago at a distance with the eyeglasses off and a few shots of rotgut.
They ARE ratchet shifters, that's the funny part. Ultra cheap, still functioning ratchet shifters
The brake levers are Paragons, they aren't top tier, but a lot of old guys used them. The bars are HL's.
The brakes are working copies of dia compe.
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Old 05-30-23, 10:02 AM
  #17  
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FWIW: not all frames with a decal reading "Firenze" are necessarily something to avoid. Example: see page 21 at

https://mombatbicycles.com/MOMBAT/Bi...speed-2004.pdf
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