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Top 5 most desirable steel frame classics.

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Top 5 most desirable steel frame classics.

Old 09-16-21, 06:37 PM
  #51  
merziac
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Originally Posted by steelbikeguy
honestly, I'd love to find a Baylis in my size, and a frame by Bruce Gordon would be pretty nice. I did get Brian to put a light clear coat on my International, so it's nice to have that little bit of his work in my hands.

Columbine was different in that it was two brothers with the last name of Murphy. They did get into some interesting sorts of frame ornamentation. Pretty cool, but not sure I'd buy one (I've got a Hetchins Magnum Opus, so I'm definitely a fan of some types of excessive ornamentation).

For those not familiar with Columbine...



Steve in Peoria
Yeah, all three pretty awesome each in their own right, I have a Gordon and you are correct, it is very nice and led to the Strawberry being built to suit me very well. I work with a Orthopedic Oncology surgeon that had a Columbine built for himself, loved it but of course sold it. You one lucky man to have gotten Brian to do some work for you, he is IMO the real outlier here by a wide margin despite the other two being very strong in their own right.

And maybe not with a clearcoat but any and everything else he laid his hands on, you can name your price and folks will still line up for it, just so much history, mystique, special, secret sauce, etc.

The other two, not as much, again, IMO.
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Old 09-16-21, 06:48 PM
  #52  
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I have some very nice bikes, most that have come my way for reasonable prices, a couple were down right bargains. So , I was fairly content with my collection and couldn’t think about another bike.....then there is this 1978 Raleigh Professional ( it technically is not a bike , just a frame with BB &headset)in my size that I’m going to look at tomorrow. It is one of those that would be on my list along with a 70’s Cinelli SC, 70’s Masi GC.......OK I’d better stop!
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Old 09-16-21, 07:24 PM
  #53  
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De Rosa Professional
Masi Gran Criterium
Tommasini Prestige / Super Prestige
Cinelli Supercorsa
Picchio Special
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Old 09-16-21, 07:24 PM
  #54  
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Originally Posted by Kabuki12
I have some very nice bikes, most that have come my way for reasonable prices, a couple were down right bargains. So , I was fairly content with my collection and couldn’t think about another bike.....then there is this 1978 Raleigh Professional ( it technically is not a bike , just a frame with BB &headset)in my size that I’m going to look at tomorrow. It is one of those that would be on my list along with a 70’s Cinelli SC, 70’s Masi GC.......OK I’d better stop!
Nah, you're just getting started, carry on.
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Old 09-16-21, 07:31 PM
  #55  
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Originally Posted by tricky
You really need to do a post highlighting your stable. You have some deep cuts that sound incredible. Bonus points for videos of the gear shifters from when that technology was nascent. I've never seen a Vittoria Margherita in action.
I've posted enough here. Everything is here instead. https://www.flickr.com/photos/68123172@N03/albums

VM in action.

106100-002-026f by iabisdb, on Flickr
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Old 09-16-21, 07:32 PM
  #56  
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Simple.

Chris Kvale
Curt Goodrich
McLean
Moots YBB- ti though
Bruce Gordon tourer- not a RnR
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Old 09-16-21, 07:42 PM
  #57  
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Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs
You can see my almost current list of bikes below. Of those my favorites are the Carrera, Tommasini, Merckx Century, DeRosa, maybe but not positively in that order. I recently got a Masi GC so we’ll see how that stacks up once I get around to sprucing it up. My interests, traditionally in racers, especially Italian, has drifted somewhat toward Rando and tourers but I don’t have anything really vintage in that line. My list, but it’s not a hard and fast one:

1. Singer
2. Merz or Merz built Allez
3. Sachs
4. Colnago Master
5. Chapman

All that being said, I don’t really hunt bikes anymore, just occasionally grab what floats by.
A Merz built Allez would indeed be rare bird indeed, he may have built a one off or prototype or two. He designed the Merz SE Edition of course but the frames were made in Japan after He and DiNucci went there and got them to raise their standards to get on board with Sinyard's vision for cheap (for him) very high quality, high production frames. This alone accounts for many of the 10's of 1000's of great steel frames we do and will have for a long time to come.
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Old 09-16-21, 07:49 PM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by Dave Mayer
Having volunteered at a big-city bike co-op for a number of years, I've interacted with clients who come to us scavenging for vintage parts, or just to show off their latest find. I've seen many many classic steel frames from the outside and the inside.

The highest quality workmanship I've ever seen on a bike: a 80's Pinarello Montello. My favorite vintage bike: Vitus 979. My favorite semi-vintage steel bike: any Lemond with a 853 frame. If I were to buy a new steel frame: it would be a Ritchey.
But are the original decals intact?
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Old 09-16-21, 08:06 PM
  #59  
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Well, let's see
72 Witcomb that has been thru gugiefication
73 Geoffrey Butler
Early production Zunow #268
81 Centurion Pro-tour
72 Gran Sport
That works for me.
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Old 09-16-21, 08:13 PM
  #60  
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Originally Posted by Andy_K
Why so few pictures on this thread?

I'm not even sure others would agree with me about which are the top 5 bikes in my collection. I might disagree with my own list a week from now, but I'll take a shot.
Well.... I guess I can share my answer to this sort of along the same lines. Especially considering how much of the stable I have let go this past year.

So, along that train of thought what I have left must be the desirable ones.

1; Giordana XL Super - I have two of these which must say something about them. And even though I've had five wonderful Giordana's in the house the XL's are what I've kept.

Now the one I pick as number one is the one you would look at spec wise as think was the lesser bike. Heavier than the other one, Athena vs Record/Super Record, alloy clincher vs tubulars, and a good pound and a half heavier. Yet it's something so magical under me out on the road. These are not all that common but come up for sale frequently enough still.



The other XL Super....



2; Greg Lemond Maillot Jaune - TSX tubing and just works so well on the road. Here again, I shamelessly have two. For years I just had the blue one with and 8 speed Campagnolo DT setup. Then I finally got my "grail" one in Team Z color with 10 speed Campagnolo and Delta Brakes. I keep telling myself to sell the blue one but it's been so good to my and holds some PR's for me and I just can't seem to wrap my brain around in. Here too I've had a slew of this Billato built Lemonds and they are are so good out on the road. Should be easy to find a decent one.




3. Davidson Impulse - This is just an 8 speed setup but man does it ride nice and is plenty fast.. If I was still spending crazy money on bikes this would be getting a top end modern groupset on it just to spoil it.



4. Fuji Opus III - I have always considered this my most beautiful bike and usually take it out on more "cruising" special rides than workout rides. But that's not to say it's not just as fast as the others. When I ride it hard it delivers in spades and carries the same top speed range as any bike in my collection. And it does it feeling and looking super sexy under me. I finally treated it to some vintage tubulars this year and what was a great bike is now an absolutely amazing one.




5. Well to be honest this could be anything I have left in the bike cave...... Let me think....it's harder because a lot of them are not going to be common. Hmmmm.....
Shoot, let's go with this one. The Series PDG Paramount. Reality is for a while there I was collecting and riding a lot of quality Schwinns. A 1987 Paramount (Serial #1 for the year), 87 Circuit with Athena 11 speed, 87/88 Prologue, 99 Circuit (Reynold 853 tubing and I'd love another), 87 Tempo. All of them are gone and I still have this. And I can honestly say I found this to be better than even the Waterford built Paramount for my style of riding. It just out performed the Waterford one each time over the same route.



Honorable mention would go to the Pinarello Monviso. It's a gorgeous looking and riding bike. I just don't have enough miles on it yet to let it replace anything above. It truly is a work of art though and I bet any nice Pinarello would be a good addition to anyone's riding stable.



Now all that said.....
My Duell Vienna is spectacular but I've hardly ever seen one for sale. The Fishlips bike built by David Kirk is only one of two made but you can't go wrong with any bike made by David if you can afford it. The Paletti is a one off EL-OS bike that is unique and more a work of art than anything. Great bike on the road though and his more "normal" Meteor bikes and such show up for sale occasionally and are loved by their owners. I' still have a Trek Era Lemond Reynolds 853 bike and have had a couple of others of these. In my book you can't go wrong with any of the Reynolds 853 Lemonds, great bikes, decent used prices, and plentiful. Gonna stop here because it's just impossible to say five bikes. So many great rides out there.
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Old 09-16-21, 08:18 PM
  #61  
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My British bike with lightweight Reynolds tubing:




Originally Posted by steelbikeguy
I seem to have a tendency towards British bikes built with lightweight Reynolds tubing...

such as a Raleigh Team built with Reynolds 753 tubing:



and a Hetchins built with Reynolds 531C tubing.:


but something from the well respected frame builders would be nice too.

Steve in Peoria
(edit: clearly I hadn't developed a philosophy towards the correct crank position for photos at this time)
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Old 09-16-21, 08:24 PM
  #62  
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Only 4 steel.
1984 Bianchi Superleggara
Rigi , bike with split seat tubes
Any eatly/mid eighties Cinelli
Cuevas

If I can add a magnesium, Kirk Precision
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Old 09-17-21, 12:18 AM
  #63  
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I already shared what I think are my five favorite bikes that I currently have in the garage, but I do have a kind of mental list of what I’d like to have. The criteria here are arbitrary. They have to be nice enough to displace something I already have, because the garage is full. They also have to be something I think I might be able to find within the price range I’d be willing to spend. The De Rosa and Masi I posted earlier didn’t meet this second criteria before I found them cheaper than I expected. So, something like a really nice Hetchins that I would jump at if I found it for the right price isn’t on the list because it’s not something I’m “looking for.”

Finally, my wish list:

Peugeot PX-10 — These are common enough that I could probably go on eBay and buy one tonight. I’m holding out for the right combination of fit, price, and condition coming along when I have cash on hand and time to work on it. I like French bikes, and this is an iconic model, so I’d like to try it. Normally, I like to modernize the components on my vintage frames, but I’d like one with all classic French components, and a PX-10 would be perfect for that.

Cinelli Supercorsa — I had one of these pass through my garage. I bought my De Rosa as part of a package that included a Supercoorsa frame that I had agreed to resell to @Spaghetti Legs before I saw it. I was immediately smitten with the frame after seeing it and tried to talk Spaghetti Legs into backing out of our deal. Alas, I couldn’t convince him not to pass it up, so I shipped it off to him with a tear 8n my eye. One day I’ll get one.

Sarroni red Colnago — I don’t know if I care what model. I love this color, and it has a tight association with Colnago. I have a nice-riding Colnago that I could have painted, but the color and decals I imagine don’t properly go with the model I have (a 1997 C97).

I was going for five, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that the others I can think of I just kind of passing interests that I might not even act on if I came across at a good price. So, there you go. Maybe my N+1 drive is weakening as I approach D-1.
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Old 09-17-21, 02:12 AM
  #64  
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I'm not a fanboy, but since I haven't seen it mentioned yet, and it may fly under the radar, I wonder if riding a Prologue is enough to be able to cross a lot of the more expensive rides off a list. Purely from a ride experience standpoint of course. I also wonder which of the more expensive classics it could be compared to.
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Old 09-17-21, 02:42 AM
  #65  
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I'd pick a 1950ies Herse, a 1930ies Gloria Garibaldina, one of those TT 3Renshos with the crazy shapes, a 1950ies Cinelli SC or B -oops already got one of these, so let's take a Textima track team pursuit, and last pick, maybe a Lotus 110
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Old 09-17-21, 02:42 AM
  #66  
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Koga-Miyata FullPro (I had an '89)
Rossin Performance el/os (had one unknown year)
DeRosa Neo Primato
Masi Gran Criterium
Any 1950's Bianchi racing bike
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Old 09-17-21, 03:12 AM
  #67  
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Originally Posted by Lazyass
Koga-Miyata FullPro (I had an '89)
Rossin Performance el/os (had one unknown year)
DeRosa Neo Primato
Masi Gran Criterium
Any 1950's Bianchi racing bike
Thats the Rossin I have...a rocket ship and the best story bike I have!
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Old 09-17-21, 03:47 AM
  #68  
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It just so happens that Jack from Franklin Frame contacted me and said he is ready to start on my Colnago . This is the only bike I want to restore as the rest are left as I got them and I don't mind a bit of history showing. So in the top 5 is a nicely restored 1975 Colnago Super in orange. This one deserves it. I will take it apart this weekend and box it up. It will be hard to part with , it has been my main rider for the past 10 months.When it comes back it will have the correct matching pump like the Medici. The chrome one is from my ItalVega. Yea, I'm excited!!

As it sits now , it actually looks better than it is in the photo . The photo hides a lot!
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Old 09-17-21, 04:19 AM
  #69  
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Originally Posted by jdawginsc
Thats the Rossin I have...a rocket ship and the best story bike I have!
This was mine, I bought the frameset NOS about 15 years ago. It actually had no serial number and I managed to contact someone who had worked at the shop. I was told it was probably built for one of their pro teams.

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Old 09-17-21, 05:05 AM
  #70  
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Geez, I would have thought something like the following;
Cinelli SC or Masi
Rene Herse
Hetchins MO
3Rensho
Eisenstraut or Gordon or Weigle or Columbine ( too many great American possibilities)
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Old 09-17-21, 05:17 AM
  #71  
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My collection and wants have all fallen into three broad buckets - US, Italian and Japanese. Probably ranked in that order. I tend to like smaller and custom builders, but do like some production bikes. My best riding bikes that I have are:

Trek TX900
Pinarello Monetello (original decals largely intact!) - most ridden bike this summer
Appel
Serotta

I have recently crossed off a couple bikes from my want list, but they are not in service yet. This year I picked up a Zunow Z-1 frame, Della Santa built Lemond Pro and a Tesch pre-101 with lugged fork crown. All three of those were at the top of my want list. I plan to get all the top of the line Trek racing models up until around 1983. The Trek 170 is still on the "to acquire" list (have TX900, 950, 970). I would like to acquire a BMZ built Palo Alto and/or Performance model. There are paint schemes I would like to acquire - Lemond Z team, Lemond Coors Light (saw one on eBay a few years ago and missed it).

I try to keep my collection focused, but have not always been successful. Some of the Spanish bikes really appeal to me. I have yet to ride one, but would likely buy one given the right opportunity. I have seen some very nice Razesa models.
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Old 09-17-21, 05:35 AM
  #72  
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That’s a beauty!

Here is Roselle Rossin. Not sure why and when she was repainted...and why normal decals were used...but the paint job is very high quality of the decals are not.






Originally Posted by Lazyass
This was mine, I bought the frameset NOS about 15 years ago. It actually had no serial number and I managed to contact someone who had worked at the shop. I was told it was probably built for one of their pro teams.


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Old 09-17-21, 06:03 AM
  #73  
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Originally Posted by sdn40
I'm not a fanboy, but since I haven't seen it mentioned yet, and it may fly under the radar, I wonder if riding a Prologue is enough to be able to cross a lot of the more expensive rides off a list. Purely from a ride experience standpoint of course. I also wonder which of the more expensive classics it could be compared to.
Are you talking about a Schwinn Prologue, the Panasonic built beauties? I had one of those for years too. Mine was a cosmetically challenged old race bike running a good Dura Ace setup. Had it in the rotation for years and it gave up nothing to any of the "better" bikes. If the paint had been in better shape and had been the steel grey version I most likely would still have it. It was sold off with many of the other bikes recently but was a hard choice.

Here's a direct quote I posted about this bike on the forum here years ago:

"Ugh, stop talking about how good these bikes are. Next thing you know another one will be coming in the house.

But I did get the prologue out today with the new rubber on it. Took it easy for awhile then I realized I was running a good pace and went after it. So despite a cold day with a cold wind I finished the 24.29 mile route at an even 1:13 for an avg pace of 20 mph. My second fastest pace of the year, beaten only by a 23 mile ride on the 87 Circuit I week or so ago. These old Schwinns will move! "


***And on a side note, that Circuit mentioned above was quite good to. For whatever reason I could do my best sprinting on it out of all my bikes and every local silly Strava sprint KOM I have was done on that bike. Usually against a couple of thousand other efforts. That bike was sold to the local mechanic who built it up for me because he had been wanting it for years and it seemed like a cool thing to do. He got a steal.








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Old 09-17-21, 07:04 AM
  #74  
johnnyace 
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Originally Posted by nlerner
My most desirable has greatly shifted in the 15 years I've been on BF. For a while it was something fancy and French. None of those has proven to be a keeper. Now I gravitate toward bikes I want to ride a lot, not simply stare at.
I'm pretty much where nlerner is at. To that end, I have sold down my small collection of bikes to just two, in anticipation of my upcoming custom Hampsten Strada Bianca.

Having said that, a custom-made Alex Singer would be awesome, and if I came across one of these in my size and at a decent price, I might just jump on it (although the Colnago is aluminum, not steel):


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Old 09-17-21, 08:20 AM
  #75  
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When it comes to this topic I think I am pretty shallow, like someone who judges people by their looks. I go through a lot of nice bikes and end up with a few for the ride quality but most for the looks. So I have sold off lovely riding bikes that the paint was a little too flashy for me, or the colors did not work well for me. My customs will have simple paint like this:
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