LibertyFLS

Picked up this one about 2-3 months ago for $160. Seller was asking 300 but clearly didn’t know anything about the bike pr it’s components so I totally scored. Didn’t know it was a San Remo until I saw it in person or that it has Campagnolo shifters and derailleurs, Sugino Mighty Competition cranks, or Cinelli bars and stem, with a Zeus headset and a Zeus seatpost with a Unicantor seat, Mavic 700c wheels and Universal super 68 brakes. If he had advertised it for all it really is I’m sure he could have gotten more. It didn’t take much to dial it in, new chain, bottom bracket, bar tape and obviously rim tape, tubes and tires.

My mom is from England and I spent time there as a kid so I love the British connection and then I moved here from MD in the 90’s and the bike has a Montgomery MD bike registration-1975 sticker! So this bike is clearly destined for us lol. My son rides this one but so do I occasionally.

I have found out about as much as I can about these from this forum mainly. Not exactly sure which model San Remo it is but it’s got high end components so it must have been one of the better ones.

Kilroy1988 

Looks great. Enjoy!

-Gregory

juvela

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handsome!

looks to have received lots of love and upgrades through time

thank you for sharing this "Eagle of Coventry"

those are the longest dropout adjuster screws have ever seen, must be replacements...

did you discover any evidence of it having received the "Designed by Ernie Clements" chainstay transfers?

wondering if it may be very slightly earlier than you suggest - no hard information


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LibertyFLS

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they are lol, the original ones were bent almost in half so these were the replacements

machinist42

Well preserved specimen, congratulations!

What leads you to believe it's one of the five or so "San Remo" models? All of them had at least some Reynolds in their frames, and I'm not seeing any suggestion of a Reynolds transfer anywhere on your Falcon.

juvela

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wrt San Remo -

there were models which were three tube 531 plain gauge with stamped ends which received the appellation

the term is quite a source of confusion here on the forum. there have been any number of threads begun by new raptor stewards who think it the model name of their steed.

would guess this model to be at least three tube 531db since it has forged ends

here is a catalogue listing for the model 94 of 1973; suspect subject machine may have begun as something such as this...




the text description here delineates kitting in only the most general terms. expect this is due to the time. catalogue is for 1973 model year so would have been composed in 1972, at the very height of "the boom." given the lead time which would have been required by the printer the manufacturer was probably not sure of what specific fittings they would be able to get from parts manufacturers...

there appears to be good congruency betwixt the frame in the catalogue illustration and that of the subject cycle. track style crown, wraparound seat stay, forged ends with adjusters, no chrome, no braze-ons.

for model names and OEM kitting we need to hear from @T-Mar as he has the catalogue archive, to say nothing of the knowledge

[one jumbo caviat: am definitely not a raptor expert ]
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machinist42

The "San Remo" line was a quirky lot, save for the "Equipe" Model 76.

My '72(?) "Designed by Ernie Clements" is "stickered" as Butted Reynolds Frame, Fork and Stays, but has stamped dropouts. It came stock full Campagnolo with an NR RD on a hanger.

Go figure?

As far as I know, the distinguishing characteristic of the "San Remo" appellation was the presence of at least some Reynolds tubing, as I mentioned above. Happy to defer to greater knowledge and experience, however.

(Edit: OP mentions they didn't know it was a "San Remo" until they saw it. Maybe the OP knows something about the "San Remo" line I don't, or saw something I don't see? I'm not posting to challenge the OP, though I can see how that could be read into my writing. Rather, perhaps I'll add to my humble knowledge dumpster?)

LibertyFLS

both rear stays have the San Remo transfer and the bike is full of good components and light. So I don’t know for certain but it seems likely based on the bike and it’s bits

machinist42

Scrutinizing your photo I mistook it for "patina" I suppose?

Is there a remnant of a Reynolds sticker under the pump fitting? I think I see a bit of green and gold there, but I can't be sure.

bikemig 

Good looking bike. Evaporust will do wonders for the bits that are getting rusty.

juvela

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be present kitting "as purchased" or have you made any changes beyond cleaning/maintenance?

a wonderful buy at CLX simolinani!

thanks again

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LibertyFLS

San Remo on both stays


Looks to me like a sticker was once there down near the bottom which based on how high the Falcon made in England sticker is, would have been where it once said Reynolds 531. However it’s purely speculation on my part.

LibertyFLS

I have been brushing on rust oleum rust dissolver and just did again. If evaporust is better I will get a can. The upper pump bracket was fairly rusty and it came out great but not everything did. The original Campagnolo cable clamps were really bad and did not clean up well so I got some NOS Huret ones which looks a million times better

machinist42

If I remember correctly, Rustoleum's "rust dissolver" is phosphoric acid based, which will consume chrome.

I generally use oxalic acid, but others here will advocate for Evaporust, which, like oxalic acid, is also gentle on chrome. Oxalic acid is cheap, like less than $20 delivered for five pounds dried. It's the active ingredient in Barkeeper's Friend, which uses diatomaceous earth as its "abrasive."

What works really well for small bits is an oxalic acid/non-interreactivewithoxalicacid cleaning solution heated ultrasonic bath!

bikemig 

You can clean up those campy bits. Just get a small bucket with a lid and use evaporust. It will clean up everything nicely. Tougher if you have to clean out the inside of a frame; then you may want to try an oxalic acid bath. I haven't used oxalic acid but I know from what I've read that it works well and is inexpensive. You will be very happy with the results from Evaporust. It is easier to work with than oxalic acid.

Edit: ​​​​​​machinist42 and I had a discussion on OA versus Evaporust in PM. I don't have experience working with OA so I should have written that I think evaporust is a bit easier to work with mainly because there is a poison sheet associated with oxalic acid, https://safetydata.ecolab.com/svc/Ge...ID_English.pdf

Although I think evaporust is a bit easier to work with (a bit more idiot proof), YMMV and no doubt if you know how to take basic precautions OA is fine as well. I'm simply giving my reasons for why I prefer to work with evaporust. Here is the safety sheet for evaporust,

https://www.orisonmarketing.com/SDS%...0Evaporust.pdf

T-Mar

Based on the forged Campagnolo dropouts and fork crown style, I'm inclined to agree with juvela that this is a San Remo Model 94. Seat post size looks quite large. I'm expecting 27.0-27.2mm which would confirm at least a Reynolds 531 DB main triangle and I suspect that the stays and blades are also Reynolds 531.

It was quite common to see Zeus components on other than the shift system, as a cost concession. I have high confidence that the Zeus headset and seat post are OEM as I've seen them on other Falcon of this era and level. . Brakesets during this era was typically centre-pull, except on the Model 76. They were typically Weinmann but I have seen Zeus. I suspect the brakes were changed, simply to hop onto the side-pull trend, at a reasonable price. Falcon did start specifying Sugino cranksets on some models, post boom, but I suspect this is another replacement, along with the wheelset and, of course, the pedals..

LibertyFLS

thanks for the info! Seatpost is indeed 27.0 and the wheelset 100% was replaced at some point, judging by the price stickers from the old school price gun, sometime in the 80’s

LibertyFLS

Time to update and share some pics.

I replaced the Universal brakes with nos Modolo levers and super clean calipers, and some new Kool-stop pads for a way better stopping experience at least imo. I could one finger brake the Universal but it took a lot of effort, these are so much easier and still looking correct.

big thanks to thook for helping me find a killer deal on a very pretty set of Miche Ambrosio wheels out of Canada I got as the only bidder on ebay. They are super clean and came with a nice low mileage set of Continental tires to boot!! I put the Mavics the bike came with on my ‘80 SR and eventually was going to put them back on the Falcon but I like them on the SR and the Miche look killer on the Falcon.

I replaced the original but very short, Zeus seatpost with a NOS Strong Japan so I can put the seat high enough for me. I retired the black 1995 Shinano pedals for a new pair of Shimano egg beaters which I like that they’re all silver and they’re lighter. The 95 pedals I got new way back then as my first ever pair of clipless pedals and they are back in the original box.

I love this bike and just want to share pics as I go along with it. I will probably never sell this one. It’s really surprising/impressive how great it rides and feels even against my “new” 2018 Fairdale Goodship.

Took these pics on yesterday’s ride








Below are older pics still with the 27’s that came off the SR and are now for sale.


before I got water bottle clamps for the frame and still had it on the bars. I’m trying to match the pics of the factory race bikes in a very general way which had it clamped to the frame, and yes I have a replica jersey to complete the look

52telecaster

I have what I think is a lower end San Remo with straight guage tubing with stamped dropouts. It had a 26.6 seatpost tube originally. Before a crash it was a blast to ride. Light and very flippable. I eventually straightened the fork and it became a real gas again. Those frames are grossly underrated. I wish mine had more paint on it.

Pcampeau

This turned out great. A pretty machine!