smontanaro 

(Starting a new thread for a frame I outed recently...)

I got an email recently from UPS saying a box was going to be delivered, weighing 15lbs. I didn't recall ordering anything, then mostly forgot about it. I was out or busy with some other stuff at home and missed the actual delivery. Ellen came home and said, "There's a big box taking up the entire entryway. Jessica won't be able to get out." (Jessica is our garden unit tenant.) I went down and grabbed it. It was a bike box, not too heavy, certainly not a bike. I opened it to find this:



It came from a fellow I met from The Paceline. He was in town a couple months ago getting his niece settled in for grad school at the University of Chicago. He brought a bike and we rode a couple times. He mentioned having a beat up Weigle that he thought was my size. While I didn't forget the conversation, I thought he'd ping me to see if I wanted it. Then we'd discuss price, etc etc. I dropped him a note, thanking him for it and asking what he wanted for it. "Nothing. You showed me around when I was in Chicago, and you are doing the GoFundMe for Doug Fattic. I want you to have it."

It does have a pretty serious crimp in the downtube. I contacted Peter Weigle who reported that it is a 1981, so it should feel right at home with my other American bikes from that era. I think I can probably build it up from decent parts just to see how well it fits (likely pretty well ). Then I will have to figure out how to repair it. So, NFD for me... (Can we get banana guy added to our smilies?)

(so much for the repeat of my earlier post)

I spent more time inspecting it this morning. In addition to the obvious downtube damage, it has an odd dent in the back of the seattube just above the chainstay sockets:



and it seems the drive side chainstay did battle with a crank at some point in the past:



Not surprisingly, the frame isn't exactly "in alignment" (a couple millimeters to one side). I suppose I should be glad it's as straight as it is. I won't bother dealing with that until the downtube is repaired.

I threw random stuff at it I had laying around this morning. Thanks to Barrettscv for the wheels and cockpit.



I still need to cable up the derailleur and brakes, add a chain and pedals, and swap some tires around before I can take it out for a spin.

Given the hard knock life it's lived, I doubt it will ever be a beauty queen, but it is a Weigle. It's got that much going for it.

Flickr album with a couple more pix is here.

nlerner

Wow, Skip, that one sure looks like the Weigle I had some time back, an eBay find that I rode for a while (I think I did a 650B conversion) and then sold back on eBay (kind of a catch and release). If so, it's seen some hard times as it was in pretty pristine condition when I had it. Pic I used on eBay:

mkeller234

Very close, but I think the rear dropouts are different.

nlerner

Yeah, I guess the seat tube band decals are different, too. Weird!

stardognine

OMG, you found the "dancin' nanner"!!!! 😁😁😁

I love that guy, and used to over-use him to some extent, on other forums. 🙄😁

I'll second the motion, to inject him into the forum's workings. 👍

And now, back to the discussion on Wiggly bikes, of which I have no useful knowledge or input. 😁😉

AdventureManCO 

Excited to see your build of this bike - lots of character in this one!

smontanaro 

Yup. This fella's got short Campy horizontal dropouts (1010B?) Drive side has the Portacatena holes too.

Here's a Paceline thread about it from a few years ago. I got it from Wei San.

steelbikeguy

Pretty cool overall, but that down tube is pretty badly trashed. What the heck happened??

Let us know what the estimate is for replacing the tube, other fixes, as well as paint. Probably close to $1k or so?? I suppose you'd want to be sure that the frame fit and worked for you before committing to that expense.

Great story, and hopefully a frame that you love!

Steve in Peoria

smontanaro 

No idea. Maybe it was locked and got trashed by someone trying to lever off the lock. Or something fell on it. It's all speculation though.

I can at least form a plausible reason for the downtube damage. More perplexing to me is the dent low on the seat tube. It's not as catastrophic as the downtube crease, but I can't figure out a plausible reason it would have occurred.

As I said, those frame has had a rough life...

Spaghetti Legs 

Congrats on the very cool pick up! I’ve never met that guy but you can tell from his posts on Paceline that he is a kind person. Kudos to him for finding a good home for the bike.

TimmyT 

Wei San is a good person.

It's weird that nlerner's bike shows up in that thread.

Velo Mule

Wow, good karma @smontanaro . Do you think it is possible to roll the down tube dent out with blocks? If so, that would be what I would try first.


I don't mean that you have to do it. I wonder if a frame builder could do it.

I looked at your fliker pics and it may be tough to roll out. But it could be worth a try. Start on one end then the other. There is nothing to loose. Well, I suppose it could crimp the tube so bad that it cracks. But that tube doesn't look road ready anyway. Also Doug Fattic posted a splint type tube repair recently that once the tube is round again could return the tube to stronger than before condition.

I see you have a Serotta behind the J.P. Weigle. Good company.

gugie 

I have met him. I bought Big Red as a 650b conversion from Peter about 10 years ago, and use it as a blueprint when I do my conversions. Two French Fender Days, some email and phone correspondence, I consider him one of my framebuilding idols along with some of our well known BF posters.

gugie 

Not weird at all. Neal has bought and sold so many bikes that it would be odd to find a substantial collector that didn't have an ex-Lerner in their quiver.

TimmyT 

That, or there's just a big vortex of JP Weigle bikes. If you post a picture of one frame, the other appears.

At one point, I know that ever single one of my bikes had at least one part that had come from @nlerner's stash. I don't know if that's true now, but it should be.

smontanaro 

I've been exchanging emails with Doug Fattic. It's a bit much for tube rolling. I'll take it with me next time I visit his shop to work on the frame I'm building.

But wait... There's more! In the photo below, the frame I'm building under Doug's guidance is in the work stand. Back row, left to right: Schwinn Super Sport, Conti, Serotta, Automoto, Atala Super Pro (hiding behind the shelves). Front row, left to right: Univega Super Speciale, ItalVega Super Speciale, @Barretscv's Paramount, Turin-branded Eisentraut Limited, Jim Redcay, Griffon, Frejus Tour de France.

gomango 

Contact Chris Kvale.

He'll fix her correctly.

Neat frameset.

bwilli88 

Either take it to Doug or contact Weigle. It could be a beautiful bike.

smontanaro 

I've contacted both. Will take it to Doug's shop next time I visit.

Doug Fattic 

At the end of the subject thread "Frame Repair Question: 1985 Nishiki Riviera GT" I've attached pictures for one way that it can be done that disturbed the original frame as little as possible. Because Skip is learning how to repair as well as build frames this makes a great learning project. Before we get to splicing in a new section, Skip and I can roll the tube in a wood block and then in an aluminum block just to see how much of the dent can be removed. My guess is that the dent is too big to get the original tube looking round so we can get more aggressive with the repair. It has several issues that have to be solved.

bwilli88 

I would love to add Doug's Bike building program in the Ukraine to Cambodia. Cambodia has a huge bike manufacturing industry and exports more bikes to the EU than Taiwan since 2017. These are mostly either BSOs or
MTBs

I would love to be able to have a build project for nicer steel bikes.

smontanaro 

I managed to get it built up and took it for a short ride today.

JulesCW 

So don't leave us in suspense -- how did it ride?

smontanaro 

Rode nicely. It's a keeper, assuming I can repair it for a reasonable cost.

AdventureManCO 

It is lovely, dent or no dent.