Dream bikes and frames

Rene Herse Radonneur, circa 1973

Posted on by saarf

Rene Herse (1908-1976) is considered by some as one of the worlds best frame builders, very rarely do his original bikes come on the market, this fine example has recently surfaced…

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exquisite lugs and Reynolds 531 tubes,

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with an Herse triple crankset and Huret gearing,

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machined stem to accommodate center pull brake caliper cables , and high flange hubs…

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available for sale here

Rene’s frames are beautifully fillet brazed…

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and he even produced a “demountable” frame set, which splits in two for packable storage whilst in transit…

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the following picture and words are sourced from www.reneherse.com…

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“Rene Herse demontable bicycle : just release the brake cable (the rear hanger is slotted), undo
the quick releases top and bottom, slide up the ring at the bottom to uncover the joint, and then
slide the front half of the bike out of the back half……“

Very rare De Rosa Mountain bike, Campagnolo Record OR

Posted on by saarf

I was browsing through the online inventory of Brick Lane Bikes, when I saw this for sale… (a veritable unicorn!)…De Rosa Mountain bike with mostly Campagnolo Record OR gruppo…I popped into the shop a few weeks back and had a chat with the proprietor, Jan, regarding my Cinelli The Next Machine , which had Campagnolo Record OR

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The rear mech is actually Campagnolo Olympus and and the tyres are O.G. Panaracer Timbuk 2’s..

This is probably one of the rarest Milanaese mtb’s currently on the market, you tend to see Colnago Master and the Cinelli Max OR Machine range MTB’s surface on the market now and again, but this is the first De Rosa MTB I have seen available.

The price is not too bad in my opinion, so if you fancy it, have a look on line , or even better, go and see Jan himself at BLB (and say Saarf sent you!)

Good luck with the sale Jan!

Rare Franco Ballerini Colnago Mapei Crono

Posted on by saarf

This is currently on the market, a Mapei Crono owned by the late, great Franco Ballerini

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Franco Ballerini (11 December 1964 – 7 February 2010) was an Italian road racing cyclist.

Born in Florence, his greatest exploits as a rider came with his two victories in the cycling classic Paris–Roubaix, riding for the Mapei cycling team. In 1993 he was beaten on the line by Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle in an exciting Paris–Roubaix finale. Also on his palmarès or list of accomplishments there are other one-day races such as Omloop Het Volk and Paris–Brussels.

Ballerini then became manager of the Italian national cycling squad, winning the 2002 World Championships with Mario Cipollini and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens with ex-teammate Paolo Bettini. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 he won the World Championships with Paolo Bettini and Alessandro Ballan.

On 7 February 2010, Ballerini, a rallying fan, was seriously injured during a race in Larciano where he was participating as co-driver/navigator for professional driver Alessandro Ciardi. He later died of his injuries at the Pistoia city hospital. He was 45 years old.

He was honored by race organizers in 2010

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the frame has some exquisite welds, and appears to be a custom model for the Mapei GB rider

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Colnago Oval CX

Posted on by saarf

There’s been a number of Colnago Oval CX roadies on the market this year, this one recently appeared on a certain on-line auction site for a reasonable price…

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fine lug work and aero positioning on the frame for the Campagnolo 50th Anniversary components…

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also noteworthy, the Colnago pantographed seat post is a smaller size in diameter compared the usual 27.2cm for steel Colnago bikes…

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available here ( for those with deep pockets )

Rare Gios Torino Cyclocross

Posted on by saarf

This appeared today on an on-line auction site, a very rare Gios Torino Cyclocross bike,

 (please excuse the poor pictures, taken from the original listing )…

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complete with Gios coins on the fork crown..

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the bike sold reaaaaly quickly, and for a song, I blinked and missed it!

Rare Colnago Mexico Time Trial/ Lo-Pro

Posted on by saarf

This was listed recently on a well known on-line auction site…

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The vendor lists the frame as being from 1972, but given the Colnago lettering inside the seat stay hollow, I’d say more likely late ’70’s-early ’80’s, and the gruppo  is Campagnolo Victory, so later than the frame..

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the frame was ahead of its time, as it has an internal cable guide on the top tube, which wasn’t implemented on the ”off the peg” Colnago frames until the early ’90’s

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the brake calipers are also at the rear of the front forks and and rear stays, for aerodynamic benefits

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also of interest are the forks, no caliper bolt hole at the front, Colnago stamped near the crown, and an aero profile..

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There is only one shifter on the down tube, with one outer chain ring and also integrated wiring,via down tube and exiting the bottom bracket shell underneath the chain stay…

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There are crimps on the down tube,top tube, seat tube and on the inside of the stays, very rare for a Colnago Mexico..

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the stem and bars are unusual as well, the stem would also compliment the Colnago Oval CX, and the quill part is smaller than normal stems, and the bars are stamped in black 3TTT..

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for something this unique, I don’t think the price is extreme, and I have actually bought parts from the vendor in the past, and would recommend him.

Listed here