Recent content by FiveAlpha

Not sure if you still need help, but Richard Wade knows more about Pinarello than anyone (including people who worked there). You can find him in the Vintage Pinarello Road Bicycles - Retro / Eroica group on Facebook, though he is busy and gets a lot of requests for frame info.

Just got these Zipp 420 cranks in a job lot. I haven’t used them, but put pedals in to make sure the threaded sections aren’t loose. They look in good condition, but they don’t suit anything I am working on, so will sell. So, what do you think the cranks alone are worth? 175mm long, Shimano...

You are almost right (twas RX100, not RS100) and, whilst the orders are correct, at that time, Dura Ace was closer in price to Chorus, Athena was the competitor to 600, and Veloce competed directly against 105. Mirage was not far off Veloce, and much better than RSX - perhaps it's equal was...

I always found the mixed material frames (Nishiki, Gary Fisher, etc) interesting. I assumed that the complexity and weight of these negated the benefits, hence why they disappeared.

Has anyone owned one of the Xizangs with a steel rear end? I have a catalogue with one in it, but have never seen one, nor heard of anyone owning one?

I just remembered where I saw fluted SLX - it was (of course) the Rossin Ghibli, which had fluted SLX tubes. Looks like Rossin put the fluting tools to use on other frames as well.

He tried to sell you the Raleigh Arena, but he realised he was flogging a dead horse? You now own another 'nail'?? Does that mean you bought it? 'Dickering' followed - I thought that meant negotiating, but you said that followed the £25 purchase? Or was it "frack all" (assume means zero)? You...

Google Translate didn't help one bit with this!?!?

Lots of earlier bottom brackets were asymmetrical - sometimes longer on one side and sometimes the other. I’ve just measured the length on each side of a Mavic BB and it’s been set with 20mm on one side and 17mm on the other.

Took it for a spin and it is very lively! Not sure if it's the short wheelbase, the 19mm tubulars or something else, but it's a very 'fun' bike! I had to tighten the bars in the stem first, which required a 7(?)mm hex key? I used a 45 Torx, but is this normal for French stems (it's a Pivo)...

Well found - all I could find were pictures of MBKs ridden by the team. I have also found an email address for a Philippe Chazal, who I assume is the son/grandson/nephew of Antoine. I have mailed him, but have no idea if he checks that address (or if he has decals, which I would really like).

Yes, thanks for posting that - it helped my search. What I can find, is that constructeur was working post-war and, whilst there is still a shop in St Etienne, there is nothing to say they were building bikes in the 80s (it would be the man's son, or some other younger person). But in the...

Got it! Guy says it is a Chazal, but I can't find ant mention of this company in the 80s. There was a 90s team of this name, but they rode MBKs. It's nicely made, fillet-brazed and apparently the massive stickers on the top tube are correct about it being made with Vitus tubing, but which kind...

Hmm. perhaps not!

That's perhaps the closest I've seen to it. I am going out soon, to have a look at it, and perhaps buy, if the price is negotiable.