iab

Just noticed, I was just shy of a year by two days when I started this thread.

repechage

Looks worth the effort.
reasonable decisions made to forego nickel.

Easy set aside for me to undertake a project like this, I would have to dismount to reach the shift levers.

I appreciate these older machines but would also never be able to reach the brake levers.

CV-6 

Well done, sir. I like this one almost as much as I do your "janky stuff". Your work is outstanding and I like that you documented the frame stripped.

bamboobike4

Beats green fees, bass tournament entry fees, and hunting. Plus healthy fringe benefits.

Dws77

Wow! Fantastic job, congratulations on seeing it through. Beautiful bike, enjoy it!

Kilroy1988 

The Frejus turned out wonderfully, Iab. I was away tinkering with other hobbies for a couple of months and missed most of the recent progress. There's a level of satisfaction with bringing them back to life that really can't have a dollar value put on it... If you can find it in your heart to look at it from such a perspective! Otherwise, I entirely agree, the price of a proper restoration for an old bicycle is typically shocking.

I just spent $400 on a completely original and rather amazing 1950s bicycle that I will pick up next Monday, which is every bit as nice as other bicycles I've started on with $400 frames and spent well over a couple of grand on. It can make you wonder!

-Gregory

3alarmer 

.
...that turned out very nicely. I haven't seen that many photos since my cousin's kid's Bar Mitzvah, but I enjoyed yours more.

repechage

Almost always cheaper to buy a complete bike.
but, often those have been "upgraded" over the years. So, not a panacea.
the vast majority of the bikes I have purchased fall into the whole but needing remediation.
sometimes paint, I now assume that almost anything vulnerable to neglect has been.
I have a number of dead bottom brackets to back this claim up.
sometimes to get what you want, the purchase is made anyway.
over the years I have retreated in a few ways.
TA water bottle cages, the Ciussi Inox cage is good enough, so are modern tires, tan wall of course, reproduction hoods, gave up and buy the No correct logo, better lasting now.
I appreciate when a bike is restored well like this Frejus.
there are few concours now, so satisfy to one's own satisfaction.

hbsyncro

Sweet bike. The commitment is inspiring.

ollo_ollo

Lovely. Time to savor that "Just finished" satisfaction.

obrentharris 

Great bike. Inspirational restoration.

Thank you for the detailed photos! I'm curious about a couple details I spotted in the photos of the stripped frame:
There appear to be a couple of rings around the down tube just below the head lug. What are they, identifying marks from the tubing maker? Do you know the tubing maker?
I see what appears to be small amounts of bronze scattered across the bottom bracket shell. Do you think this was applied at the time of construction to provide a smoother surface for the original nickel coating? Other ideas?

Brent

iab

Excellent questions. Unfortunately I have no answers other than if you look at the unfinished frame photos you will see a Mannesmann tubing mark on the seat tube. Hard to see, but it is there.

iab

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but one more detail arrived in the mail, see below. Also, due to some unforeseen and not great circumstances, the first ride on it was today. Lovely bike. It has been a while since I rode a CC and I forgot how quiet they are without a jockey wheel. And the freewheels from that period are also eerily silent, makes the experience all the better.

Another oddity about CC frames is that many are square, this one is 57.5x57.5. Typically, Italian frames from this era and into the late 50s, tend to be 1-2cm longer in the top tube than the seat tube. Of course there are exceptions to any rule, but in this case, along with long torso, the cockpit is a bit tight. I'll pay strong for a longer, proper stem.

Frejus 48 by iabisdb, on Flickr

Ambrosio Stem Bars 02 by iabisdb, on Flickr