Simoncini Super Record

That's a very cool pic of the shiny new Max against the old, slightly rusty, massive, ancient jig!
There's history & moral there, somewhere, for all of us.

Just spent an hour or so looking at the http://vimeo.com/93190000' content, & seeing it I realise (if I didn't know it before) that there are many able contenders for the best frame-builders title!

What else I got?
Too many: ) but, possibly the most interesting is a bike I bought a while back, described by the seller as a Gameson. A Birmingham builder from post 1945 on.... Turns out not to be a Gameson, but it was built in 1949 for local rider, who used it all his active life & when he died his wife offered it to a local bike shop owner. From whom I bought it. He kept the frame until he retired & then had it refinished to his own preferences.... Which is when I bought it off ebay.


Pretty much as found here.
[URL=http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/bicyclz/media/Gamesonintherain008.jpg.html]


Gipiemme hubs in Mavic Argent rims. Obviously old stock, just waiting to be used: ) Wish I was a retired LBS owner.....



Lovely old machine whatever, & well worth preserving & using: )
Will get a proper refinish at some point, especially if I find out who actually made it.
Any Birmingham enthusiasts looking??
Your help might be vital in 'nailing' this one.
Long shot, but you never know: )
 
Glad you liked the MAX.some more coming...
and a new jig coming as well...

With powdercoating that looks like a modern handbuilt frame.
nice mixed build there, looks like something out the bespoked show.

Talking of which..I'll be there next year, though I don't think there's a 'best' framebuilder, it's like saying the best frame.

There's the best frame/framebuilder for you, in that sense, yes.

nice video as well, not seen that one before.


I'll close with a quote,off another forum.
When I die I hope my wife sells the bikes for what they're actually worth (and not what I told her)...

happy sunday to all!
 
Since it is Bank Holiday here in UK I thought I'd go for something completely different today: )

Possibly the worst bike ever?! At least the worst I have had the misfortune to own.....
It was so awful it was interesting.

4 speed Soviet made gruppo, alloy components & 'stylish' paint job....


The same organisation made several top class track bikes for Soviet era Olympic cyclists.
The lower orders got this.....


This was probably some Soviet sailors pride & joy, left in Hull after a mad night out on the town. (Probably shipping in Ladas)
Who would want to steal it??.... & I bet you never seen one before: )
 
BTW I'll be there at the next Bespoked Show....
London or wherever.

I had no idea of the scale of the UK hand-built scene previously, but it's very reassuring to know some people still want to build bikes in the traditional way, & buyers are there for the good ones.

The powdercoat finish/paint job on the 'Gameson' is a bit sad to my eyes. It effectively disguises the lugs & a repair on the drive side drop-out. It does look modern, but it is a fine ride & a credit to the builder in 1949 Birmingham. (When there were shortages of all sorts of components, & was a hard time to build & sell quality frames.)

It's not set up properly in my pics, bars way too high, etc. etc. It has lots of similarities to a previous 1948ish Clements I had for a while. When Ernie Clements was making his own machines in Telford. Also has some similarities to Stallards of the period....

Still an enigma though: (
 
Very nice: )
Don't forget to tell us what those seat-stay bridge mounts are for!
A rack maybe?

Looks to be my size; )
 
the bridge mounts..working on it.
mk1 looked great but didn't fit, mk2 looked meh, but fit fine.
mk3 hopefully will look good and fit.
hopefully..
:)
bit small for you!
 
Thought it might be interesting to compare the 2003ish Simoncini Corsa with my traditional 1948 Holdsworth La Quelda.
Check the angles!? (No head bearings in the Corsa here, so the head angle is slightly slack.)
Nothing much changes, over 60+ years, does it??

They are so similar it is creepy!
But instructive.

SimoLQcomparison.jpg
 
As I always say, as much as bikes have changed, they haven't.
About branding, here'sa Complete list (well, nearly) of the brands Simoncini supplied framesets for here
http://revanchebikeco.wordpress.com/201 ... le-brands/

Here’s a partial list, from the 50s to the present day, in roughly chronological order of when we started to build for them.

Nilor,
Viner,
Aquila,
Ortu,
Porcu,
Di Rocco, a roman brand
Veloetruria, a tuscan brand,
Ceccherini,
Tirinato,
Franchi, roman brand
Titan, swiss brand
Corso, usa
Benotto mexico,
Ciocc,
Sloughi, england?
Schauff,(who with our frames also started the Altig and Merckx brands)
Clements, england
Bormann, germany
Viscount, england
Capo, austria
Simons, belgium
Peltreaux, france
Enik, germany
CBT torino
Radundsport
Orbea
Riccorsa,
Tozzai, importer into japan, I don’t know what brands the bikes were sold under.
Some samples for Cervelo in the 90s, but we were too expensive.

Hope that helps someone.
 
Did help someone!
Me: )

Very interesting I say.
Simoncini history deserves to be recorded online.
When I had a couple of Viscounts, I checked out known history.... Not much to be seen.
Now we got the main man to tell us facts.

Well done Emanuel; )
 
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