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...

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 just picked up this 1986 Fuji Sagres to restore.  This has been one of my all time favorite bikes and one I've been searching for a long time.  It's gonna be a long term project since it doesn't have the original gunmetal grey Ukai rims and gunmetal grey handlebar tape.  I'd like to pick up some original 27" SCCR Fuji tires too, but that may be asking a bit much. I'm not sure why I've always like this so much.  Maybe the color, maybe it was a good seller for us at the shop back then.  It would have been the year before I started working at the shop so it could have been old inventory or that we just worked on a few of them the following years.  I remember always wanting one, probably has a lot to do with the color.  It's one of the last to have been made in Japan and features quad-butted Valite tubing.  These were decent riding bikes and reasonably priced at about $325 if I remember correctly. So why the big deal about a mid 80's Fuji? ...