Awesome customer's bike

      This Bianchi city bike rolled in last week. Really nice city set up with great features. My favorite detail is the chromed portion of the down tube so that when you step through the frame to get on the bike, you don't scratch the paint there. Nice full chain case and the rear fender is perforated to accept a skirt guard. original Bianchi fenders, very sturdy. Sturmey Archer AW 3 speed hub dated 1971. Wheels appear to be original to the bike, so that kind of dates it. This bike has seen many miles and it shows. Great burgundy paint with all the original decals. I hope it stays in service for many more years.

 

 

Awesome customer's bike: Cinelli designed Lotus Triomphe!

     This is a pretty cool machine that belongs to a customer of ours. He was gracious enough to let me do a post about it. The bike came in because it was missing the rear anchor bolt on the Campagnolo Monoplanar brake. My initial solution was to put a metric nut and bolt with washers through it to get the required length and tightening ability. Curtis's solution was much better. He modified a Huret Alvit pinch bolt to fit and ground wrench flats on the bolt. He then lightly polished it with emery cloth and the result is quite remarkable. The styling matches the brake pretty well and the finish does too. Check out the photos of the repair below (photos 11 and 12). We then were discussing the paint and how the coral, or salmon color has come and gone over the years. I think of it as usually being associated with British bikes. Then in the mid 80's , it made a come back.
     What I also like about the bike is how a lot of the components are pantographed with the Lotus logo. Also, the fact that they are all still with the bike and in great shape! I usually also associate the Cinelli designed bikes with the Centurion brand. I always wanted one of those. I know Centurion and Lotus were in the same boat, so this model makes sense. These were only made for a year or two, in 1986-1987. There were a couple different quality levels. The Triomphe model was billed as high quality at an affordable price. The every man's race bike. I like that idea. Here is a link to the catalog spec's for this bike. Lotus Triomphe model spec's here!