Category Archives: Bicycles

1989 Cinelli “Mens Sana In Corpore Sano” Corsa

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I just finished restoring this 56cm Cinelli Corsa, serial number M9141, after scooping it up on eBay.  This is a fairly mysterious Cinelli for a number of reasons.  First of all, I haven’t been able to find much information on it online, other than a post on the Italian MilanoFixed blog that didn’t shed any light on its origins.  It’s made from Columbus Cromor tubing, placing it in the mid-range of Cinelli road bikes.   This blog placed it as a 1989 model, alongside the “Deus Ex Machina” time-trial model which has similar lugs and pantographs.

The bike came with a mish-mash of parts which I replaced or upgraded (Shimano 600 cranks, 105 RD, Campagnolo FD).  Now the bike has a full Shimano 600 tri-color groupset, with a Gipiemme seatpost and Cinelli bars and stem.  Wheelset is Mavic Open 4 CD rims laced to Shimano 600 hubs.  I replaced the original lime green Selle Rolls saddle and bottle cages with a new white Turbo and matching cages.  I refreshed the lime green bar tape and cables with pink cork tape and cable housing.

The phrase “Mens Sana In Corpore Sano” means “a healthy mind in a healthy body” and is featured prominently on both sides of the top tube.  It’s not a decal, but rather part of the factory paint job.  All of the lugs are stamped with the Cinelli “C” as well as pantographs on the seatstay caps, fork crown, and cast into the bottom bracket.  I think the nicest feature of this bike are the fork crown lugs, which have a swept-back “wing” shape.

Click here to visit the Flickr set for this bike.

1990 Bridgestone RB-1 w/ Shimano Sante

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I’ve had this bike for a couple of months now, but I only recently got around to taking some pictures.  It’s an original Grant Petersen-designed Bridgestone RB-1 from 1990, and when I found it on eBay, it came with all the stock parts: Suntour GPX drivetrain, Hatta Vesta headset, Dia-Compe BRS 400 brakes and levers, and Sansin hubs with Wolber rims.

A month ago I switched the groupset to a NOS Shimano Santé group I pieced together.  Santé is a rare and misunderstood groupset – in 1987 Shimano created it with the idea of appealing to consumers who wanted pro-quality parts with a slicker design.  Perhaps due to the cheesy name and white powdercoated parts, many people assume Santé is low-end stuff – not so!  Mechanically, it sits between Ultegra and Dura-Ace., and the Disraeli Gears site enthusiastically calls it “most innovative and influential derailleurs in recent history.”

Santé performs beautifully – after switching the groupset this bike went from “very good” to a truly remarkable and amazing ride.  It’s now my favorite bike, the kind you look forward to riding, regardless of the weather.  The shifters are set to friction and it shifts and coasts smoothly and nearly silently.

I held onto the original parts for the RB-1 in case I ever decide to sell it, but it will take a pretty special bike to replace this one.  More pictures after the jump…

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Soma Rush 57cm fixed gear

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Along with the Volume Cutter, I built up this Soma Rush over the weekend.  The frame, while used, had only a few paint chips under all the stickers I had to remove from it.  The Soma Rush is an excellent fixed-gear / track frameset made from top quality Tange chro-mo steel, with a few concessions to street riding, like a rear brake bridge and water bottle mounts.  Soma is a well-known and respected manufacturer, and the Rush is a cut above typical “entry-level” fixed frames from IRO, Origin8, Mercier, and Bianchi.  It is a size 57cm, check out the frame geometry and dimensions here.

I paired it with a lovely Soma Hellyer track crankset and chainring, and it’s rolling on hand-laced Miche Pr1mato wheelset.   It’s sporting a brand new saddle, seatpost, chain, pedals, and tires.  The red anodized Nitto track bars look great against the brand new bar tape as well.  This is one classy ride!  More pictures after the jump…

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Volume Cutter v4 59cm Fixed Gear Bike

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This is a Volume Cutter, a popular frame for “trick track” with clearance for bar spins and welded gussets on the top tube and down tube that help strengthen it.  Size 59cm, frame dimensions can be found here.  I stripped and re-painted the frame, including a brand new chrome fork.  This is the first time I’ve made a careful, detailed effort to do a cool paint job and it worked out really well.

I added a hand-laced Surly wheelset with Mavic Open Pro / DT Swiss rims, and a lot of brand new parts: track crankset, tires, pedals, seatpost, chain, saddle, bars, and brake lever.  The stem is a Thomson look-alike, and the brake is a sweet vintage Campagnolo Victory caliper.   More pictures after the jump…

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59cm IRO Mark V

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Another IRO Mark V rebuild / repaint project.  I love building up and selling these bikes, as they are one of the most solid, no-nonsense urban single-speed / fixed gear bikes out there.  They have the perfect geometry for city streets, and use high-quality steel in the frame construction.  For a fixed-gear under $500, it beats all challengers.

I got this frame as part of a trade, and I overhauled and refinished it.  Dismantled, cleaned out, and re-packed the headset and bottom bracket, added some shiny new silver deep-V’s, a Fuji Feather saddle, and a new cockpit with front & rear brakes with nifty pink housing.  Crankset is a Sugino RD 170mm with a 48-tooth Rocket chain ring, 16 tooth Dura Ace cog, KMC K710 chain, and MKS Stream track pedals.

More pics after the jump…

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Review: AGU AQ24 SPD Sneakers

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I recently picked these AGU AQ24 shoes up from Nashbar for just $30, and I am really happy with them.  AGU is a Dutch company that makes a cycling apparel, shoes, and helmets.  I hadn’t heard of them before, but I am impressed with the good value the AQ24 shoes present.

While not as stylish as a pair of Nike Dunks or Adidas Sambas, they do have a cool, low-key look with brown and black suede leather.  They are stylish enough for the office and after work as well.  The insoles have a strong arch in them, similar to Adidas shell toe sneakers, with fairly thin but still soles.  Removing the insole reveals a hard plastic sole.  The cleat is not quite recessed enough; it sticks out a little bit and can be an issue on hard, slick floors like polished marble or tile.  I’ve been wearing them with Time ATAC cleats which are about as minimalist  as you can get.

In terms of fit, they run a bit narrow but break in quickly.  Since they are lace-up only, you’re not going to get the kind of tight fit you’d expect from a dedicated road shoe, but it’s comfortable and acceptable for commuting.  The mesh panels breathe well and allow the shoes to flex a bit more around your foot for comfort.  I’ve been wearing them for about a week and they still look new; I don’t have any concerns so far about them falling apart or wearing out.

In summary, at $30 these are an excellent deal and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a touring / commuting shoe that supports ATAC / SPD / Crank Bros. cleats.   There aren’t any other shoes out there anywhere near this price point, and I’m already considering buying a second pair for when I wear out this set.

More pictures after the jump…

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Eddy Merckx 7-11 Corsa Restoration

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photo by Alan R. Tansey - alan.r.tansey@gmail.com

After several months, I have finally finished my restoration of the Eddy Merckx Corsa in Team 7-11 colors that I first acquired last year.  I started by stripping off the worn and non-period-correct Ultegra group that was on it, and sent the frame to Allan Wanta for a complete re-paint.

Allan is the real hero of this project.  His work is impeccable – from the paint to the decals, he did a truly perfect job on the bike.  It took about seven weeks from when I shipped the frame to him to when I got it back.  He was great about communication, updating me on the progress of the restoration and even sending me pictures.  The price for this work was very affordable as well – about 50% less than all the other quotes I got!  He gets my top recommendation and I will certainly send more work his way in the future.  Check out the pictures after the jump to see lots of up-close, hi-res shots.

To properly complete this restoration, I slowly collected up a complete Dura-Ace 7400 group on eBay.  Most of the group was New Old Stock, with little to no marks on it at all.  Being a fan of brifters over downtube-mounted shifters, I did drift just a little out of period by including the Dura Ace STI shifters from 1990.  The photos I’ve seen of the 7-11 team’s bikes don’t include these shifters but I’ve seen a number of other 7-11 Merckx’s using them, and more importantly I’m gonna ride this baby a lot so I wanted to go with what I like.  And it doesn’t disappoint – it’s fast and aggressive ride, with the trademark stiffness of Columbus TSX steel.  I feel like this restoration has really brought out the racing spirit of this bike.

The rest of the parts used were:

  • Modolo EVEN ergo bars
  • Selle Italia Flite saddle
  • Time ATAC pedals (Eddy Merckx Podio pedals and shoes coming soon)
  • Cinelli stem with Eddy Merckx pantograph
  • NOS Casiraghi brake cable
  • Matric ISO rims
  • Fizik Microtex bar tape

Alan Tansey was kind enough to volunteer his awesome photo skills to take a great set of pictures of this beast.  Check out the full photo gallery and specs after the jump…

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