The pink “Service Des Courses” is the iconic Mercier racing bike of the 70’s and 80’s, as ridden by the famous Tour de France rider Raymond Poulidor. I restored this particular one from a faded, battered frame and rusty fork to like-new condition. Read on to learn more… Continue reading
So it’s been literally a year, to the day, since I’ve updated this blog. But I haven’t been idle on the bike front! In fact, 2015 was quite a year for me and bicycles, one where I finally achieved a long-held dream of mine: to build my own frames. Thanks to the help and mentoring of Lance Mercado at Squarebuilt Cycles here in Brooklyn, I built my first frame this past March.
Read on for all of the details! Continue reading
New grail bike acquired – a 1960’s Jo Routens randonneuse bicycle. Jo Routens was the father of Jean-Paul Routens, who built a 1970’s “cyclosportif” bicycle I featured recently.
I bought this bike from a French seller on eBay France, and these are the original auction photos. I’ll have my own up in future articles, but I wanted to post these now to show it in the original condition I received it in. After re-assembling and servicing the bike, I’ve been riding it daily. Read on for more…
I recently got my hands on a blingy vintage mountain bike – a 1984 Ross Mt. Hood. My love affair with classic hard-tail MTB’s has been documented here before, with articles on customized Univega Alpina Uno and Bridgestone MB-2‘s that I’ve built in the past. But this one needed no work at all, except some careful hand polishing. It’s 100% original, down to the tires! Read on for more details…
Cycles C.N.C. is a fairly obscure French brand that hand made exquisite custom bicycles for over fifty years, starting in the 1930’s. This particular example is one of their finest, with an all-Reynolds 531 frame and crisp lug work. I restored it over the holiday season, taking my time to get all of the little details correct. Read on for more information and history on this gorgeous bike! Continue reading