Recent personal acquisition: Early 1970's Frejus a'la Legnano

     This is a bike I recently added to my personal collection. It is an early 1970's Frejus, purchased from the original owner. The bike was purchased from the Di Campli (sorry if that is the improper spelling) brothers shop on Quince St. in center city Philadelphia back in the early 1970's (72'-or 73') The bike is in fantastic original condition with the exception of the added rear rack (which is coming off!), newer tubular tires and bar tape. Everything else is original to the bike! This bike is a prime candidate for complete restoration, which I will be doing over the coming weeks. All I have done so far is oil everything and put air in the tires. It rides great already. The bike was well maintained / stored for many years.
     This bike has many unique features such as the original Legnano green color paint and the signature Legnano seat cluster. Emilio Bozzi owned three companies including Frejus, Legnano, and Woolsit. Frejus had their own signature color schemes / frame details and this bike has some of those and then the Legnano details I mentioned. Also, the bike has no braze-ons for fender eyelets and a relatively tight rear triangle which tells me it is a professional level race bike. The bike has no serial number either, which is a bit odd. It is my understanding that these bikes were only made for a couple years and were not meant to be exported. I have only seen one other like this. The bike is built with a Campagnolo Nuovo Record group and Universal model 61 center pull brakes / levers, 3TTT stem and Bar combo which was stock for the bike, also a nice touch are the Gaslo aluminum bar end plugs. Stella double butted spokes and red label Fiamme rims and Brooks Professional saddle in great shape. REG water bottle and REG erector set bottle cage as well as Silca Impero frame pump. I will post photos after the restoration is complete. I am glad to be the bike's steward and look forward to the project.

Awesome customer's bike: 1961ish Frejus

     I really enjoy seeing what our customer's bring in and this one is no different. Actually, it is a bit different because it is a bike I have always wanted for my collection. The bike is a Frejus road model and the owner dates it to about 1961. Frejus bikes were very popular in the USA from about 1945-1965. This one was imported to New York by a neighborhood shop in Stony Point, NY which was owned by the late Thomas Avenia. His shop became well known for importing Frejus and Legnano bikes. The top end models had a grease port on the back of the head tube and many classic Italian features. Some of which are the seat lug that utilizes a seat collar to tighten around the seat post and the simple and elegant head lugs as well as the semi sloping fork crown with slim cut out windows. This bike has all those features with the exception of the seat collar.
      The patina on this bike is perfect in my opinion and shows it is a reliable and well ridden machine. A nice touch is the Frejus stamped alloy fenders, very sturdy and sharp looking. The bike also has a full Campagnolo Nuovo Record group with the exception of the Suntour Bar con shifters, which i like better anyway and the Balilla center pull brakes and levers. It also has the second generation Campagnolo Rally rear derailleur with the reinforcing tab which made it more substantial. Earlier versions were somewhat prone to breaking. The Rally was Campagnolo's attempt at a touring derailleur, but also suffered the poor shifting of the Nuovo Record because it did not have the benefit of a slant parallelogram. Still, it is a classic of the era. Also of note is the Campagnolo triple crank set with half step gearing, somewhat unusual. The owner says it is among his favorite city bikes and enjoys riding it on a daily basis. Perhaps some day I will find one in my size.