Cicli Masini SN 2 is almost ready!

This Evo frame has been in the hands of Chuck, my expert painter, for some time now. The good news is that it's almost finished and I can get that EPS group mounted up and get back on the road in time to get 'in shape' (I realise this is a relative term) for l'Eroica!

After this Cicli Masini bike, the Masini Evo should be a worthy follow up!

Matches the jersey perfectly.

Just a little touch up left. But, difficult straight lines on non-straight tubes.

And Finally... My Bianchi!

Doing the long course at l'Eroica on a bike from the 20's or 30's requires a bit of planning. With that in mind, so does long-term bike collecting! My goal was to get an Italian racing bike from each of these pre-derailleur periods: giraruota (flip-flop); Vittoria Margherita; Cambio Corsa and Paris-Roubaix; and then add an early Simplex model. With that done, the next thought becomes making sure that each piece is a worthy model... meaning, each bike from those periods needs to be something special, or a brand/team/builder that meant something in the day.

So, to make room, I sadly sold the Galmozzi to Gunnar - he'll enjoy it more - even though it may be my favorite builder and one of the rarest bike I have (had). And now the thoughts turn to the Vittoria Margherita. The Airolg, even though a sub-brand of Gloria, just doesn't do it for me anymore. The parts on it have some 60's items mounted, the hubs are downright crap and need relaced to the wood rims, paint job stinks, etc etc. It's going to be parted out and sold as well...

So I have a Touring, Legnano, Gloria, Masini ; ) and that means the only thing really missing is... a Bianchi! While at Enzo's I mentioned my plans. 'No, you just can't find those much' or something similar. Which is really code for 'I have a pile of frames, bikes and projects that match what you're looking for but I'm not really selling'. With persistence, I finally got him to remember the 1936 Bianchi Folgore with cambio corsa dropouts that is already painted, in my size or thereabout, and that he has no time to finish and get to market before l'Eroica!

Done!

THIS will be my bike for l'Eroica 2015. Now, if any of you good readers are in possession of a pair of 30's Bianchi / Universal brakes, hubs or cranks, please let me know... This one will be mounted up with what I can spare from the Airolg and then slowly replaced by the 'impossible to find' (read: expensive) Bianchi period-correct parts.

This one won't actually get a cambio corsa... but the Vittoria Margherita will go in its place, along with the Ghisallo rims and the rest. 

I've said it many times before, but this should finish the collection!

My Steed for l'Eroica

After my stint at the Tour, I headed to Italy for a couple of days. I made it to Enzo's, where I wanted to put the finishing touches on my bike for l'Eroica.

The major item I wanted to do was to glue my tires down. When I pulled the bike down from the hook in the back room and put it in the stand... I noticed that the wooden rims were WAY wonky. Like half an inch out of true! Now, wood rims are what the Italians like to call "alive", which means they are very subject to environmental inputs, and I am pretty sure these got a bit humid in the past six months. But this was ridiculous! I think you can even see the sway in the second photo! Anyway, we'll get it worked out eventually.

This Touring (brand name, not style, btw) is from the 20's and was a sub-brand of Bianchi... more on that next post!

So without further delay... here is the bike I'll be spending about 14-15 hours on this coming October 5.