My Iver Johnson!

I've recently fallen for truss frames. Specifically, Iver Johnson. Terrot and Labor were French versions, and Labor even came second in the 1927 Tour de France under Belgian Maurice Dewaele. More on that one soon enough, as I am the proud owner of a large scan of a rare side shot of Dewaele aboard his truss, care of Mr. Brett Horton!

I was lucky enough to win this Iver Johnson (once sponsor of Major Taylor). The seller had a pickup only, and it seems I was the only one crazy enough to spend an entire Saturday to drive down to Baltimore to get it. $250.

When I got it, there were a number of issues. The tires had been melted and the front was reduced to just a two-foot section zip-tied on! The rear was so dry and hard I actually took a saws-all to it! That was a first for me.

Before...

After...

This is my first 'merican vintage so forgive me if I offend some sensibilities with it. It sat with some townie bars that had LOTS of chrome on them - more chrome than the rest of the rust - making me think they're added on (not to mention that everything would've been nickel-plated at this time). The serial number is 352125, which I put sometime around 1919. It's barely legible but I think I have it right. There were I.J. fenders and kickstand. Finally, it had a New Departure Type-D rear hub, which also makes me think the wheels are not original when you compare it to a 1919.

That said (there it is again), I decided to turn this into more of a path racer, maybe a bit closer to what it was originally. The rims (silver-painted Lobdells) were trashed, with lots of broken spokes. The seams are coming undone as well. The rear hub is too new, if my timeline is correct. SO - I bought a pair of Lobdells and intend to build them up with a set of Iver hubs courtesy of Joel at Via Bicycles in Philly. A trip south is in order for the holiday weekend.

I also put on an old set of Major Taylors - I know, that would've been for more of a track racer, right? BUT - I've become a bit obsessed with IJ's and intend to ride the snot out of it once done so being a good rider is more important than being 100% correct. Love this bike!

Great two-piece badge. The red part is cellophane.

Decent original decal on the DT.

Skiptooth chain.

WWII-era hub. The nickel plating was needed for the war effort so components went black!

"Trust the Truss" Great decal here.

Major Taylor and his Iver Johnson

Making Alternate Plans for L'Eroica

If we're friends on Facebook, you've likely seen the big news of the summer... twins! Finally! Our lives changed for good on July 2 this year.

That said (seems like that's becoming a verbal crutch as I've been writing it a lot lately!), I'm not going to make the trip to Tuscany in a month's time. Turns out the points I have won't cover my ticket, as I put off booking it until too late. On top of that, these two are more than a handful, so I'm making new plans... more on that soon.

Jovanotti In Cannondale Pro Cycling Kit!

Here is one of the greatest Italian musicians of today (Vasco being the other!) wearing a CPC kit that Ivan brought to a concert in Milan recently. He states that it's a rule that pro's have to bring a kit to him after a show!

Jova is the ultimate cycling connection with music. I still remember calling him after a filming session with Daniele Bennati (who gave Jova this Trek), trying to set up an introduction.

He was in Basel in 2011, and a friend of mine working the show got me a set list and this autographed backstage pass!

 Last summer, I got the chance to see him in NYC at a tiny club. This guy sells out huge soccer stadiums in Europe and I got to see him with about 300 other people! The show was amazing.

This, to me, is the soundtrack of cycling in Italy! Of course, when you're riding vintage, the soundtrack changes...

What Happened To Giovanni Valetti?

This documentary (coming this Fall) attempts to find out... Good to see some friends' faces in here!

Copake Antique Bicycle Auction!

Back in April I had the chance to check out the Copake Auction for the first time. We loaded Daisy up in the Honda and headed upstate (NY) to see some REALLY old and valuable bikes.

The first item up for bid was something I'm glad I missed. We were still registering when the framed Major Taylor photograph went up, otherwise I'd be about $700 poorer.

Item eight was the real kicker though. This Cygnet sold for over $24,000! "Less than ten are known to exist." I was lucky enough to get up close and personal with this one... at least for a moment.

I did eventually get around to bidding on some sane items. Even though I overpaid, I dig two of the five postcards that I bought... just for the experience. They are photos from the Kiefholzstraße Velodrom in Berlin as far as I can tell...

The item of the day, however, was Lot #267... this Pierce Four-Cylinder motorcycle, which sold for $166,750! Whoah.

All photos - except for my postcards - linked without permission of the Copake Auction House, the photographer, or the owner!

Final Copake Auction is October 19th... see you there!

American Vintage

Remember the scene in Breaking Away at the end of the movie when Dave says to the new French co-ed, "mon dieu, ze French riders, zey are ze best!" Something close to that at least! At this point, post pump-in-the-spoke, he has totally given up on the mystique and sex appeal of being Italian and has found his new muse.

Greatest. Movie. Ever.

(Oh, be sure to check out this page and this page if you ever visit Bloomington! How many spots are still there?)

I can't say I've gone that far, but after relocating back to New England, it seems there are far fewer Italian vintage bikes to be found and I need to change nazioni. Fortunately, there's plenty of American bike history to be found here in Connecticut, once a hotbed of bicycle production.

The town of Torrington, for example, started as a wool mill town but quickly progressed to brass, sewing needles and eventually bicycle production. Torrington pedals are the standard for vintage American lightweights of a certain period, and the Torrington Company (the former Excelsior Needle Company) was once one of the largest bearing manufacturers in the world. The company at one point worked on the needle bearings for the Cannondale Headshok... 147 years after the formation of the original firm!

This American vintage wormhole has led me to 'new' brands like Iver Johnson, Persons, Lobdell, Torrington, New Departure and Mesinger. I ended up getting a couple Mesinger saddles and much to my surprise, one of them is stamped "Bethel, Conn."!  Hey, I work there!

New Lobdell wood rims for my Iver Johnson

Mesinger saddle from Bethel, CT!

I'm not sure where this will take me. Hopefully I'll be so enamoured with riding my Iver Johnson path racer that it will just end there... but I doubt it!

New Tires For The Airolg

The Airolg from last year's l'Eroica is back on the road again thanks to a new bar/stem and some new treads.

Somewhere near Siena last October, someone had the bright idea of tossing out carpet tacks in tribute to last summer's Tour de France drama. Don't think it's a new trick - I'm reading the Ganna book and there are reports of Gerbi's tifosi (and Gerbi himself) littering the road with tacks back in the teens (that's the nineteen teens, btw). I ended up with a flat on the front and a smaller spare tubular than the big CX in the rear. It looked a bit odd, but rolled as well as my crude 70-year-old hubs would allow.

Thanks to Stu at Cyclocrossworld.com and a UCI rule change, I quickly found myself in possession of a bunch of Dugast (gasp!) 34mm diamond tread (otherwise known as Pippistrello's) cross tubulars! They went on tighter than a Vittoria on a Campagnolo clincher rim, but I got 'em on at least, with minimal damage (and rim cement) to the wood rims. The ride is bliss but I have just one question... what's max tire pressure on these things?

Those old bikes have TONS of clearance!

In addition to the new tread, I finally replaced the bar and stem on this beast. When Enzo built it up for me last summer, he loaned me a bar and stem off one of his Gino Bartali bikes. Alas, after the big ride, I went to his house and swapped everything out, buying a 60's set from him. When I got home and mounted them... they were crooked as a Masini-mounted Dugast! My last trip to the boot found me back at Enzo's and again with another set of 60's era metal. Not exactly period-correct, but with these old brake levers mounted and a BUNCH of cloth tape, they do the trick. Enzo was kind enough to throw in the "R" decal!

Love this head tube.

Crazy old shifter.

Enzo threw this decal on. Not sure what it's from, but he liked it.

Time To Start Thinking About l'Eroica

Enzo sent over some photos of the progress of my bike build for this year's Eroica. Keeping with my theme of jumping back a decade each year, for 2013 I hope to ride this 1920's flip-flop bike. It's a "Touring" which, in your best Italian, is kinda pronounced "tower-ing". That doesn't mean it was a touring bike, just a sub-brand of Bianchi. The parts have been nickel plated, the frame painted by a new contact in Reggio Emilia, and now Enzo is midway through the build process.

So now, let's start counting the days until October! Uno... due...

From this...

To this...

Thank Goodness I'm not a 60!

This lovely is on the Bay right now for $2,200 and I'm glad I'm not taller! Stucchi is the holy grail of Italian bikes and my radar is on, but not until there's more room in the garage.

Vintage Cannondale Ad. May the 4th be with you.

I know, it's been a while...

During today's opening Giro stage, I stumbled upon the fact that today is also Star Wars Day (who knew?), which made me break out this ad from 1980. Yep, my history records for Cannondale even go way back. Evidently, we got served with a cease and desist on this from Lucas films (maybe 20th Century Fox). I was told by my elders (there are only a few left), that these were kids in stormtrooper costumes. Remember, this was 1980 when cosplay wasn't a thing yet - those things must have cost a fortune!