Ghisallo (and D.A.M.) Wooden Rims

My last (no, really) restoration has been selected... It's likely to be my bike for the next l'Eroica, provided I can finish it in time! I know, it's eight months away, but a summer of traveling and moving back to the US might get in the way of that! It's a 1935 Airolg with Cambio Vittoria Margherita! Airolg was an entry-level sub brand of Gloria (spell it backwards). I have the original decals and color information and am ready to go! The Margherita shifter is the last one that I really want. To do 205km on that will make me wish for the Legnano with Cambio Corsa!

Anyway, the wheels for this will consist of flip-flop hubs with 4 cogs on one side and a fixed on the other, mounted to Ghisallo wood rims. Antonio invited me up to pick up the rims and I couldn't resist taking a few shots and video. His shop lies just down the hill a block away from the Ghisallo chapel and museum. He found a set of unfinished "raw" rims that I will stain a bit darker than they are usually available. He also gave me two sets of older decals. D.A.M. was considered one of if not the best wood rim of the time. They were made by Antonio's grandfather, also Antonio.

For a better (and older!) video on how they make these incredible and once-again in-demand rims, check out the following...

Galmozzi Restoration!

The 1950 Galmozzi with Cambio Corsa is ready for its maiden voyage finally! It was quite a long process, like all restorations, but well worth it. I've added a couple more details since then, namely the period-correct Columbus decal and the non-period-correct black bar tape with red stitching!

The man towards the end is Angelo Galmozzi, son of Francesco (a co-founder of Gloria and considered one of the best Italian framebuilders of the early days), who took the reigns from his father until finally closing the company in the mid-70's. He is full of stories from "back in the day" and even more from BEFORE "back in the day". He's quite the Italian historian, and is quick to let his political ideas seep into and eventually become major players in his recounting of growing up in Italy. He was impressed with the bike, and even more so by the Galmozzi t-shirt I was sporting under my Lambo sweatshirt! I guess I need to get another one on order!

Great New Video of l'Eroica

So why old bikes? This video explains it perfectly! Some of my friends are in here like Giancarlo, Hermes and Luciano. And speaking of l'Eroica, I just got the confirmation I was looking for after a not-so-precise entry process... I'm officially doing it again (as if there was any doubt). Now I just have to decide on a bike, but I have something up my wool sleeve for that too!

L'EROICA (english version) from Edouardi Sepulchro on Vimeo.