PhillB
GT Fan
So, more rusty old junk arrived today, this time from Italy. I saw this one for sale on line and although I had heard of Vetta Road bikes and knew that the Tavernas had made frames for a number of other badges during their time, I had no idea that they made mountain bikes.
I was curious and the fact it had lugs, a Squirrel logo, AND Chainstay brake mounts, it was a bit of a no brainer.
From the soft focus photos on line, it was impossible to see the huge lumps of bubbling rust on the underside of the frame though and my heart sank a little when I saw this.
Still, that's part of the game, isn't it? Some you win, some you don't, although this one is not lost...yet!
I set about seeing how bad the bubbly bits were, expecting to find holes . Turns out - Quite bad, but, most importantly, not fatal it seems.
When I see rust like this, I get the urge to 'kill it now' as if the rust will eat through the whole frame in the next 15 minutes
I know it is daft, but I set about doing it anyway.
It does mean a strip and repaint though, which wont be until the spring now. It's quite unusual though so it'll be worth it.
I'll also have to find a way to reproduce those decals too.
There's not much online about Taverna-built mountain bikes that I can find. What little information I can suggests that they used the Squirrel logo between 1985 and 1989. There are no markings to indicate a year that I have found yet. The Taverna's are based near Padua in Italy. This Vetta is a completely different Vetta than the Swiss company that make saddles and other components. (A bit like the various Mosers!)
Interesting little details like the seat stays bridge and the bottle mounts
The fork crown design is interesting too.
If anyone has any info about Antonio Taverna Vetta Mountain bikes I would be really interested to know.
This one will be a slow burn, but I'll update as and when.
I was curious and the fact it had lugs, a Squirrel logo, AND Chainstay brake mounts, it was a bit of a no brainer.
From the soft focus photos on line, it was impossible to see the huge lumps of bubbling rust on the underside of the frame though and my heart sank a little when I saw this.
Still, that's part of the game, isn't it? Some you win, some you don't, although this one is not lost...yet!
I set about seeing how bad the bubbly bits were, expecting to find holes . Turns out - Quite bad, but, most importantly, not fatal it seems.
When I see rust like this, I get the urge to 'kill it now' as if the rust will eat through the whole frame in the next 15 minutes
I know it is daft, but I set about doing it anyway.
It does mean a strip and repaint though, which wont be until the spring now. It's quite unusual though so it'll be worth it.
I'll also have to find a way to reproduce those decals too.
There's not much online about Taverna-built mountain bikes that I can find. What little information I can suggests that they used the Squirrel logo between 1985 and 1989. There are no markings to indicate a year that I have found yet. The Taverna's are based near Padua in Italy. This Vetta is a completely different Vetta than the Swiss company that make saddles and other components. (A bit like the various Mosers!)
Interesting little details like the seat stays bridge and the bottle mounts
The fork crown design is interesting too.
If anyone has any info about Antonio Taverna Vetta Mountain bikes I would be really interested to know.
This one will be a slow burn, but I'll update as and when.
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