BikerBrain

Hi Everyone,


I have three bicycles, one a 1969 Carlton Corsair large frame, one a 1970 Carlton I rebuilt as a teenager, and one a 1970s Swiss Mondia Competition bike.


Found the Mondia in a charity shop and bought it for the price of a family takeaway meal.


Original paint and fittings, it is may favourite ride, and rides silently and precisely. Big smiles every time.


Hope you enjoy the images.

noobinsf 

What a find... And the Suntour Skitter is wild!

One thing -- make sure that stem has enough below to support it. It looks awfully high.

bikemig 

That bike is beautiful and that suntour RD is priceless. Love it.

Insidious C. 

Gorgeous Mondia! Thanks for sharing the pics.

jamesdak 

That's one nice ride!

juvela

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thanks very much for sharing this find!

cycle looks to date from about 1974 while rear mech goes back to mid-to-late 1960's; hence all of the ooohs and ahhhs

we had a discussion thread on s similar Mondia with the same paint and transfers and from the same time but kitted with all european fittings here -

​​​​​​https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...a-special.html

the owner stated bicycle is Special model

thought you might like to see their machine for comparison with yours...


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BikerBrain

Thank you so much for your comments and your knowledge. I have a lot to learn!

I am super amateur, but have loved steel bikes since I was a boy and restoring the Carlton with Dad.

Thanks also for the Mondia link - I now see what the small vertical alloy fitment with a hole is just above my rear brake - the fitting point for the Swiss bicycle registration from when it was built (pic 1) You can see the subsequent annual stickers used on the frame upright.

Do you think that the front tyre is likely original? (pic 2) If so I might swap it for daily use to preserve it.

Is the saddle likely original? It is suede, but guess a leather saddle was likely back then? (pic 1)

What type of air pump would the bicycle have originally had? Pic 3 shows the top fitting.

Many thanks in advance......really appreciate any advice you might have.

SurferRosa

That rear derailleur should be in a museum. Here's an excerpt from Disraeli Gears:

"It is low-normal ... and it had only one spring, which provides both chain tension and operates the parallelogram...

"The 1967 SunTour Skitter gets the adjustable pulley cage ... with a few twists of a handy wing-bolt, the tension pulley can be moved to one of three positions giving a maximum capacity of 26, 30 or 34 teeth.., an early ancestor of SunTour’s ‘Quick Cage’ - which allowed you to fit the chain into the derailleur without messing around with extracting a chain rivet."

diphthong

underrated and good value, oops!

BikerBrain

Thanks for the info SurferRosa. The spring had detached when I bought the bike which is why, I guess, they sold it at a good price. I fixed it in 30 seconds re-attaching the spring to its lug.

It is the smoothest and quietest I have ever used. Will look after it carefully thanks to your advice.

juvela

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two possibilities come to mind for presence of the Skitter -

a) fitted by a previous owner

b) a case of the factory using up old stock they ran across in the warehouse

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the pump holder on the frame is an AFA item "I" from France
the diameter of the cup is intended for one of their frame pumps
AFA products come from the Poutrait-Morin firm
they are the manufacturer of Zefal, AFA & Tornade brand frame pumps

here are catalogue pages from 1974, same time as your cycle:





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dating -

there are fittings on the cycle which carry a date mark/code

one is the Sugino brand chainset

there are markings on the backside of the crank arms:

​​​​​​Date of Manufacture of Bicycle Components can be used to date a bike: component dating

would expect a date near to nineteen and seventy-four

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BikerBrain

Thank you Juvela, really interesting and much appreciated.

I'm about to go for a ride and will check the crank arm numbers and revert!

1 Lugnut

I have 3 Mondias. Great bikes...! Bought my 1st one (a ‘82 Super) in the late 80’s. The other 2, I picked up along the way...

Take a visit on Classic Rendezvous Mondia Page.
There are Registry & Timeline links contained within the site. Lots of info...

Mondia Serial #'s
Mondia Timeline

John E

Normal low rear -- goes with the Spirt normal high front.

tiger1964 

A whole lot of pump goodness in that attachment. I need to look that over carefully. There's a Zefal Competition in my garage that I thought was "blown" 20 years ago, I need to examine it carefully and decide if it can be resurrected.

SurferRosa

Is that the '82? 531SL?

SurferRosa

Man, if you have more than the one bike, shifting could get a little confusing. ... Or a lot!

1 Lugnut

Yes, it is...

Puffin_along

Hi, I have just registered for Bike Forums because I saw this Mondia Bike.
I have in this last week also bought a Mondia and it looks very similar.
Even the Suntour Skitter derailleur which I can confirm runs very smoothly.

Wildwood 

Yes, we like Mondia.
Still thanking @SurferRosa.

Now I don't know what year to ID mine - '80-'82

Wildwood 

Hey @1 Lugnut,
what color do you call your Mondia Super w/ 531SL?

1 Lugnut

On the seat tube lug I found an 82 stamped on the lug. After all the years of owning the bike, I never noticed it till recently! The serial # is also stamped on the same lug.
If you go to the Mondia page (linked above) & run through the Timeline, it lists the detail changes throughout the years of production. The footnotes below are very detailed, but difficult to read if you have poor eyesight?
Also: On the Registry page, you can approximate your bike’s DOB by the serial #’s/yr by what’s been posted, although somewhat sketchy? Kinda like trying to date Gibson's guitars made in the 60’s...lol

Only difference I can see on yours' compared to mine is the lack of 'chrome' on the seat/chain stays & nutted brakes.
Does yours' have 'Super" written on the HT Badge?

Dunno...It’s a true red & looks like ‘fire engine red’ by all accounts.

Same Bike...?

Puffin_along

Hi BikerBrain, My Mondia has a very similar look to yours. It is metallic silver with red pinstripping and very little chrome compared to other Mondias. I also have Suntour Skitter and Spirt drivetrain with Wienmann brakes like yours. The bike was sold to me as being very original and because of this similarity I think its's true. The lugs on my Mondia are a different design and the seat lug has 73 on the top but I don't know if that is a date stamp.

juvela

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the 73 marking on the seat lug was placed there by the lug manufacturer

it indicates the angle in degrees between the lug's socket for the seat tube and its socket for the top tube


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Puffin_along

Thanks juvela, that makes sense and now I realise how obvious it is. At least now I know my bike has 73° seat lug and 60° head lug.
Thanks.