The Bike Hive

I received this frameset as a Christmas gift last year and it quickly turned into one of my favorite bikes.  I haven't spent much time trying to find out the exact model and year because, frankly, it really doesn't matter to me.  I have a serious appreciation of old steel, particularly Italian steel.   (Don't mistake me for a curmudgeon though.  I like carbon fiber too- I own a couple carbon bikes)  I was raised in my mechanical youth with steel and they still have a soft spot in my heart. When I was younger I worked in a small shop in a small town.  The only Colnago bikes I ever saw were in a magazine.  To me they were rare and expensive, something I wanted badly but never thought I'd be able to afford one.  At that time the used bike market wasn't anything like it is today (how eBay has changed things!) and these types of bikes have become much easier and less costly than they were in 1990. For the last few years, I've enjoyed b...

The other day I decided to take the long way to work and ride my Olmo - a bike I've had for 25 years and ridden over 25000 miles.   This is not the first road bike I purchased, but it is the first Italian bike I purchased.  I fell in love with it immediately, mostly because I felt so special riding Italian steel.  This was 1990, when carbon fiber was starting to appear on the market and aluminum frames were all the rage.  I was 19 and this bike made me feel special when I'd ride. One of the greatest things about it is that I purchased it on clearance from the importer for $135.  Brand new Italian steel for a screaming deal!  Granted, it's Oria steel that doesn't have the same pedigree as Reynolds or Columbus.  However, it has been a fantastic bike for me.   A few years ago I updated it with a Campy Daytona group.  Campy was something I'd only heard of when I was 19.  We didn't see it in our shop, the general consensus was that it was to...

I picked up this Miele in very rough condition last month.  Although I'm not super excited about the brand, it is a decent quality classic early 90s steel bike made with Columbus Cromor tubing.  I got it with a solid Shimano 600 group on it.  Even though I like the 600 components, I do love Campagnolo.  It doesn't hurt that I have a Daytona gruppo in a box that would look great on this. Before I get ahead of myself, there's some serious cleanup and touch up to do.  I'd rather not spend the money on a repaint so I have some fine sanding to do and some paint touch up.  The fork is in very poor condition with more rust than chrome plating left so I'm thinking of installing a carbon fiber fork that I have.  Not only would it look great but it will smooth out the ride quite a bit too. I'll post updates as I work through this new project!

I finally finished the new wheels for my '86 Sagres restoration.  The original wheels will be nearly impossible to find because they were painted to match the dark grey paint on the bike.  In the mean time, I decided to buy a rim that was similar to the original and paint it myself.  In order to make this happen, I had to tape off the sidewalls so they would be silver.  This took some time to get it right but I'm pleased with how they turned out.  The paint isn't a perfect match, but it's very close and they look great! The wheels were built with a basic 14g stainless spoke and a set of used hubs.  Tires are Panaracer Pasela 27 x 1 1/8 - the only true skinwall tires I could find in this size.  Not ideal because they have more tread than the originals, but I didn't want to spend a lot on these wheels since I'm still looking for the original wheelset.  They aren't 100% period-correct parts, but they will make it ridable and a close enough match to ...