​I have a vintage Italian racing bike I picked up many years ago when I lived in California.  It’s a 1972 Lygie with full Reynolds 531 and chrome lugs and highlights.

Typically, I would have little interest in racing bikes but this one was tall (66cm) and in great shape.  It also had the Campy 1010 dropouts with eyelets for fenders, which make it a bit more useful.
 
There aren't many Lygies around in the US and there is not a lot of information on this marque, but there must have been a bike shop in the Los Angeles area that sold them in the 1960s-70s.  That seems to be the place in the US where they seem to turn up most.
 
I’ve built up my Lygie a few different ways over the years – fast rider, sport tourer, single speeder – but I never really liked the ride much.  It just wasn’t comfortable. Yeah, I know, it wasn’t built to be comfortable, but still I continued a quest to make it so.
 
I did notice a glimmer of hope for this bike when I tried 700x34 tires.  But with the combination of the very tall frame and the steep head tube it felt unstable at any speed other than a leisurely coast. It was easy for me to overlook the Lygie.
 
But I hate to see a nice frame go to waste.  Especially since it has a longish top tube (61cm).  It was my duty to explore all the possibilities with this bicycle before I gave up on it.  Of course I’d have to do something to improve the comfort transcend the oversteering and instability.  
 
It occurred one hot day this past summer that perhaps the Lygie might make a nice light weight commuting alternative to my standard workaday ride and, hence, a more pleasant, less perspiratory (I checked, it’s a word), summer riding experience. This epiphany came to me whilst riding my standard daily commuter: a 1984 Fuji Sundance. 
 
Ostensibly, the Sundance is a mountain bike but it’s a first generation, so it has some unique characteristics for a “mountain bike.”  Most notably, it has smaller diameter road bike sized chromoly tubing and it’s lugged.  Of course I like to haul stuff, so I added a set of Surly racks. While robust, they add about 5-6lbs in weight to the bike.  It’s a mule, fun to ride, and I love it; but with racks, bags, etc. it comes in at 45lbs, so it's not ideal for when riding in a long sleeve shirt and slacks on a 95 degree day.
 
So, I decided that I would do a 650B conversion with super-wide (55cm) Nitto Albatross Bars.  I figured that would help with comfort and perhaps stability.  And if I still didn’t like the ride, I’d retire the frame or find someone else who could appreciate it.
 
After some quick measurements, I determined that the Mafac Racers that were on the bike would reach the rims just fine.  I went ahead and cold-set the rear triangle from 120mm to 130mm to add a few more gears. Fortunately, I had an extra set of 650B wheels sitting around the shop. 
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I decided to go with a 1x7 gears and use an indexed barend shifter that I fashioned from a Shimano barend pod and a 7 speed shifter lever from a clamp-on Sunrace set.  This requires a different lever boss and Dremel tool to create space and a pathway for the shifter cable.
 
I went with Panaracer Col De La Vie tires.  They’re inexpensive and supple. I added a set of vintage Bluemel Popular fenders in white to keep it classy and classic. To top it off I went with an internally wired lighting system that makes use of a small rechargeable lead-acid battery with a teeny tiny toggle switch under the saddle.

I’ve been pretty happy with the result.  The bike is stealthy and smooth. With the fatter 650B tires the ride feels like moccasins on a fairway.  If I’ve been riding something else and then jump on the Lygie, it takes me a couple of minutes to adjust to the steering.

​I’ve ridden it often since I built it up.  Only its lack of cargo capacity prevents me from riding it more.  I think I've finally found the bike it was meant to be... for me, anyway.

I blogged about this Trek frame back in August.  It's a 1982 Trek 720/728 - the first year for this classic and coveted touring model. At any rate, I finally got around to doing a build with the frame and thought I would share the results.

First a little history, In Trek's early years, they sold only framesets. But after a couple years, they began to assemble and sell complete bikes. In 1982 they were stilling selling a few high-end models as both complete bikes and framesets. The reason for the dual model numbers was to distinguish the frameset from the complete bike.  Frames were 720s and the complete bicycle were 728s - or maybe the other way around. No, I think that's right.

I remember seeing a 728 on the final day of RAGBRAI back in 1982. I was astonished by the length of the chainstays and the fact that it came equipped with center-pull brakes.  At 47cm (18.5"), I'm not sure there has ever been longer chainstays on a production bicycle. And in 1982, center-pulls had definitely fallen out of favor. By the following year, many of the better production touring bicycles on the market came equipped with cantilevers brakes, including the 720. But there were several years in the late-70s and early 80s when some touring bikes came with side-pull brakes.

But for the inaugural year of this model, if you purchased a complete bicycle, it came with a set of beautifully finished Dia Compe center-pulls. The Gran Compe NGC450 is a gorgeous, high-quality brakeset that, unfortunately, hit the scene too late and missed the center-pull heyday.   

Back to this particular bike. If you read my August post, you might remember that this Trek lost a fight with an oak tree, or a brick wall, or some such immovable object, The fork and headtube were bent. Fortunately, the Iowa City Bike Library is well endowed with frame repair tools!  With a little patience and the right equipment, I was able to reincarnate this thing and give it a second chance.

There is a silver lining in cases like this. The "incident" happened early in its life and so it spent years hung on a hook in a climate controlled garage.  It's barely been ridden. Consequently, the paint is is probably an 8.5 or 9 on the ten point scale. The decals and headbadge are all well preserved. There were a couple of flaws in the finish.  There were chain-slap blemishes on the top of the right chainstay and if you peek underneath you will see scratches where a kickstand had once been clamped.

The frame is 24" center to top with a 22.5" top tube, center to center. It was built for 700c wheels. But one thing I know about this vintage touring bike is that clearance for fenders and big tires is not an option. So I decided to go with 650Bs and a more modern transmission - eight speed.  (Contrary to most of the evidence, I do like some contemporary amenities!)

Not having cantilever brakes made the transition to 650Bs easy.  I found a set of long-reach Weinmann center-pulls, cleaned them up, slapped on some vintage Mathauser pads and it was done.  Now fatties fit fine. I had a set of Panaracer Nifty Swifties that are a true 34mm but it could handle a much wider tire. The Blumel Popular fenders are vintage and work well with the fatter tire. 

I am looking for a rear Blackburn rack  that fits with the bosses on this frame.  This will not be easy to find.  There are plenty of variables to work with so I'm not holding my breath. The front rack is a Blackburn and the one they show in  the Trek brochure for this bicycle. Although the brochure says that the complete bike does not include the racks.

As built, the bike comes in just over 25 pounds and rides swell.  Not sure what the future holds for this beauty, but I don't think I will keep it.  It's too small for me and it should definitely be ridden and enjoyed.

Last week I joined three friends for a century ride.  Our intent was to take part in an organized ride, which never really happened.  We did, however, ride 105 miles.  Most of it was pretty flat, but there were some horrific headwinds. 

I rode a late 70’s Raleigh Competition converted to 650B wheels with a porteur rack, porteur handlebars and a 1x7 transmission - a city bike set up.  It’s the bike featured in the banner on our website.  One of the crew was on a ’59 three speed Schwinn Tiger.  We all had panniers and too much stuff, and we probably made too many stops for libations and conversation.  Finally pulled in around 10:30PM.

I’ve had this Raleigh for a few years.  I picked it up with four other bikes that included a large-frame Gitane Tour de France and a Peugeot PX10.  I have not touched the two French bikes, but chose instead to set up this Raleigh.  Looking around my shop, there are an embarrassing number of nice bikes that don’t get ridden enough.   

This tends to happen as an expression of bicycle love.  There is, however, a threshold on collecting and one should be alert to crossing that line.  One should listen to loved ones and visitors for cues that you may have a diagnosable state. 

I have about 25 bikes in my shop to accommodate a family of four.  To ward off calls from reality show producers, I have a “one in - one out” policy.  So I do occasionally sell or give away bikes.  But there are a couple of bikes that I just can’t seem to part with. 

One such bike is a ’76 Raleigh Super Course mixte.  I bought it as a frameset.  Over the years I continue to make improvements, despite the fact that even with several potential riders in our household, it spends all of its time hanging on a hook. 

I have seen a few really nice vintage mixtes and this is one of them.  As with all Super Courses of this vintage, the main tubes are Reynolds 531 straight gauge tubing and, at 27lbs, is fairly light. The welds are a little sloppy but you can’t beat the paint scheme.  I took it to the Heartland Velo show in Madison a couple of years ago as a model bike for panniers.  But other than that trip it’s been on the hook. 

I should probably pass it on, but I can’t seem to do it.   Meanwhile, I’ll check the DSM-5 to see if I’ve passed over the line.

I recently resurrected a vintage Japanese racing bicycle, setting it up for my 13 year old daughter.  It came to me basically as a frame with a crankset and a few clamp-on bits attached.  It’s a quality frame with thin wall chromoly tubing and relaxed, comfortable geometry – very light.   

My daughter had outgrown her mixte and she needed a new townie.  This looked like a good candidate but  first I wanted to convert it from its intended wheel size of 27” to a 650B for the comfort and to get clearance for fenders.

The Sugino Mighty Competition  crankset that came affixed to the frame was no doubt original equipment on this ‘72ish bicycle .  The Mighty is a top quality vintage component.  Unfortunately, the BCD (bolt circle diameter) is very large at 144mm.  (For more info on bolt circle diameter, check out the late great Sheldon Brown’s excellent explanation!)

I wanted to put a vintage crankset on this bike, but the Sugino’s 144mm would not permit chainrings small enough for how she plans to ride.  So I needed to pick something generally period in a double or triple with a small bolt circle diameter. 

Back when many production bicycles and their components were made in Europe, there were plenty of proprietary fittings.  This was especially true with cranksets.   Different manufacturers used different bolt circle diameters - not to mention spindle tapers and pedal or dust cap threading.

After a couple of fits and starts, I landed on and old SR triple with a BCD of 86mm.  The 86mm pattern was originated by the French company, Stronglight, and picked up by the Japanese company SR  (Sakae/Ringyo).

I have long appreciated the 86mm crankset.  It can handle a ring as small as 28 teeth and works well as a double or triple.  Unfortunately, the pattern did not catch on and after just a few years, both Stronglight and SR abandoned it.   In an industry where everything old is new again the 86BCD crankset is on my list of things to take up again.