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In the beginning...

The First...HUFFY

This was my first bike from what I can recall. Stilling looking for pics with me on it. I remember hating the loaf of bread seat. A couple Steelers stickers later and the Black & Gold was perfect!


The Second...Chiorda

This was technically my first Italian 10 speed. Ok, my first Italian "Bike Boom" 10 speed, and I loved it. It was a hand-me-down from my Uncle Bill and was a 1970's gold Chiorda. This is the closest pic I could find from what I recall. It got me through High School and the one I learned to wrench on first. I don't remember the chrome head tube lugs, but I do remember learning how to polish chrome on this bike, so maybe?



The Third...Concord

Not to be confused with the really nice Concorde frames. This was a yellow Japanese Concord DeLuxe. Another hand-me-down, this time from my Uncle Lon. This bike got me through College until I discovered mountain biking. It was eventually donated on the street in North Myrtle Beach after many years of service. 


For many years I thought this bike was made by Fuji for some reason. 
Which leads me to...

The FUJI Years

I started the 1990's on a mountain bike. A 1990 Fuji Suncrest. It got stolen at my apartment on Park Avenue in Raleigh, NC. This was the color scheme, not my frame...or maybe was it? Note the "Italian" foreshadowing of the paint...


It was replaced by a 1992 Fuji Suncrest purchased at Cycle Logic which was a block down the street from my apartment. It stayed with me until 2010 when I sold it for the first of many more. 



I converted it first to a hybrid road bike, added slicks and a better seat. Found out soon enough in 2008 that I couldn't keep up with friends on road bikes. Nevertheless I hung it up in the garage until I bought my first modern road bike. I would later convert it to a single speed. Mostly Richey and shimano deore lx components. 






It had a crazy 90's neon green spider web paint job. Similar to the way Tommasini painted their frames. You can see the Cane Creek bar end brake levers on the flopped and chopped bull horns in the last build before I sold it. 

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1990 Basso Loto

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1989 Pinarello Treviso

I was able to find a new frame update for my collection, this installment is a 1989 Pinarello Treviso, Cobalto Smoke, 56cm frame. It was in decent shape when I purchased it locally off a bike forum member in SC. It has some ugly stickers on the top tube (subsequently removed) and a paint scheme that can only be described as.... classic 80's italian. An odd "smoked" blue, thusly named Cobalto Smoke, from the catalog. Here are some pics from the forum post. The paint was pretty dull and very fragile.  One of the first tasks completed was to remove the unwanted stickers and try to rehab the paint. I tested a few paint options, using thinned testors model paint, and found a near match for the base blue. My brush technique wasn't great but it worked well for small scratch marks. Added a duple-color clear coat after a thorough polishing. Turned out well and should be better protected. Next up was to replace the decals, which were long gone, but g
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1987 Pinarello Veneto-SOLD

UPDATE: I sold the frame fork and headset to a guy in Nashville, Tn. Kept everything else for the next frame. Not sure what that will be...maybe a Basso. A few parts went toward the Treviso. You can read that post to see how that build turned out.  I was able to mark another classic italian bike off the wish list this past weekend. This "Record Blue" 1987 Pinarello Veneto. The bike is 56cm and is equipped with: Columbus Aelle tubing, 3TTT Bars and Stem, Ofmega Headset and Cranks, Campagnolo shifters, NR front, Victory rear derailleurs and Modolo American brakes. I found a set of Mavic MA2 wheels with a campy front hub and a shimano rear 7 speed. Finally a bike where the old blue Michelin Kromium tires actually look decent. Its not exactly the model I was searching for but still rare enough to make an effort. I'll continue the search for a Montello SLX. Until that time, its not the lightest of my collection, its not in the best shape, but its still a joy to ride.
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