Cicli Meacci

My aunt gifted me this lovely example of a Peugeot UO9 Super Sport in great original condition. This is a 62cm steel Carbolite 103 lugged frame, rolling on Rigida Chrolux steel wheels with Normandy hubs. Outfitted with Simplex front and rear derailleurs (although the front will have to be replaced, since its cracked) and a Stronglight TS crankset. Came with a Pletscher rear rack as well. I replaced the tires, added some Neubaum's cloth bar tape and some new brake pads on the Peugeot branded center pull brakes. Not much had to be done to get this into good running condition.  This is the only catalogue cut I could find that matched the components exactly. 

UPDATE: Ive been working on this a little lately for the third build. Found a Rossin lugged fork from Romania from a Ghibli. Not the same model, but reasonably sure they the forks of their top two bikes in the lineup would likely have been the same. I stripped and repainted it to look decent with the paint work on the frame. The original fork paint work had the lattice style overlay which I was not able to replicate without professional help. It has a Campagnolo record headset, Chorus crankset and 3T stem, no name bars and Gran Compe aero brake levers. More pics to come when I get further.  The second build was truly a frankenbike. I've used every bit I could find in the parts bin, but decided to buy a used Mercian steel threadless fork, since the previous carbon steerer tube was too short for me to be confident about its safety. The fork is freshly painted with an awful fake "hammered metal" paint from the Ebay seller I assume. It has a nice cast fork crown though...

Ok, so technically this Mexican produced frame isn't Italian per se, but it certainly has Italian heritage. In honour of my Mexican friend and the italian heritage of the brand I bit on a deal for an inexpensive Benotto Triathlon frame. Found it on the BF at a decent price of $40 +shipping. Since I had all the parts to build this up....why not. Who knows. Maybe I'll give it to Carlos as his first bike in the US.  From the research, its a 55cm, Hi-tensile steel frame, manufactured in Mexico that has some very interesting shaped tubing. Not the lightest, but still reasonable for this tubing type. Built as a single speed, mostly because I already had everything, except blue bar tape, which is on the way.  3T Zepp stem Flop and chop CODA bullhorns  Cane Creek Forty headset Nashbar Carbon 1" fork Origin8 track wheelset Sugino VP cranks (converted to a single ring) Shimano Ultegra brakes Shimano ITA bottom bracket SR LaPrade 26.4 seatpost ...

Finally got sick of the Origin8 tiki mustache bars, so I decided on a change. I really dislike them. Only one comfortable position, out on the ends. Went back to one of my favorite configurations for this build. Bullhorn bars with Suntour bar end shifters. Even broke out some left over celeste bar tape and the old celeste Selle San Marco Ponza saddle from the 2008 Bianchi.   The first changes came quickly as usual. I ran into some trouble putting 700x32c tires on the Mavic rims with 700C wheels. Surprisingly not enough frame clearance for the rear brake bridge. So,  decided to swap the 650b Wheelsmith wheelset with Weinmann Zac19 rims from the Gios and install some SKS Bluemels mudguards. Wiped it down with Gibbs Oil so we'll see how long it keeps clear of rust. Just recently added a set of Suntour barcons and will give that a try for a while.  Below are the pics of the first build.  Its missing one of the toptube cable braze-on guide...