Where to find Vintage bikes

canoas

I'm after a classic vintage either a Saronni Colnago 1983 Master or Super. Or a Bianchi Argentin or Bianchi specialissima x4 (the later which I understand been the greatest steel bike ever built maybe too difficult to find). Possibly just the frame and build up the bike over time myself.

Here's goes right.....I search ebay, some online shops in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and UK. UK been the most expensive. I just don't want to buy online. Where do these dealers get the gear from? Do they visit Italy or old bicycle shops? I've always wondered or jumble sales!

Any advice on find a vintage would be great, just find UK dealers way too expensive.

ovi

have you tried retrobike forum

ugo.santalucia

I suspect a lot of the "as new" frames you see on Ebay are resprayed, re-stickered and most of the times they are not made of the SL/SLX fancy steel the Columbus sticker indicates. When I resprayed mine, I replaced the original Columbus sticker with a Columbus SL one... was it originally made of SL? No idea, possibly, but hard to say... but I did it in good faith for my own use, imagine someone who wants to make a profit...

I would probably avoid the most popular models you mention, the Colnago, the De Rosa etc. unless you buy privately from someone who actually owned and used the bike since he bought it new.

Brick Lane Bikes in London has probably 100 frames, moslty Italian, some very famous brands, others less so. Go and have a look, it's worth it... prices are not cheap, you are probably looking at 400 pounds or more for frame only

canoas

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19765785#p19765785]ovi[/url] wrote:

have you tried retrobike forum

No I haven't, thanks. will join.

canoas

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19766663#p19766663]ugo.santalucia[/url] wrote:

I suspect a lot of the "as new" frames you see on Ebay are resprayed, re-stickered and most of the times they are not made of the SL/SLX fancy steel the Columbus sticker indicates. When I resprayed mine, I replaced the original Columbus sticker with a Columbus SL one... was it originally made of SL? No idea, possibly, but hard to say... but I did it in good faith for my own use, imagine someone who wants to make a profit...

I would probably avoid the most popular models you mention, the Colnago, the De Rosa etc. unless you buy privately from someone who actually owned and used the bike since he bought it new.

Brick Lane Bikes in London has probably 100 frames, moslty Italian, some very famous brands, others less so. Go and have a look, it's worth it... prices are not cheap, you are probably looking at 400 pounds or more for frame only

I think your right 100%!! There seems to be tons of resprays and new-chromed forks. I just can't trust ebay, yeah your right it's quiet easy to get hold of decals. I visited Berlin for work some months ago and visited http://www.steel-vintage.com shop/cafe they are genuine and have some amazing bikes on display and are extremely passionate. But they just wouldn't tell me where they obtained stock. My mate told a lot of stock comes from Belgium in peoples garages, lofts etc when they have clean outs. I might have a chat to Mike Perry @Maestro who I brought my Colnago off 5 years ago. He is the most knowledge guy I've ever met on Vintage Colnago's. But Moreno Argentin's Bianchi Specialissima x4 made from 1986-1989 is my dream hunt!

Brick Lane bikes, I actually popped in their at lunchtime and grabbed my favorite Phil Tenacious Oil 2 months ago as Condor Cycles no longer stock Phil wood oil. I rushed in quickly I didn't have a look round - cheers

"I would probably avoid the most popular models you mention, the Colnago, the De Rosa etc. unless you buy privately from someone who actually owned and used the bike since he bought it new" I think your spot on here.

Matthewfalle

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19766724#p19766724]canoas[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19766663#p19766663]ugo.santalucia[/url] wrote:

I suspect a lot of the "as new" frames you see on Ebay are resprayed, re-stickered and most of the times they are not made of the SL/SLX fancy steel the Columbus sticker indicates. When I resprayed mine, I replaced the original Columbus sticker with a Columbus SL one... was it originally made of SL? No idea, possibly, but hard to say... but I did it in good faith for my own use, imagine someone who wants to make a profit...

I would probably avoid the most popular models you mention, the Colnago, the De Rosa etc. unless you buy privately from someone who actually owned and used the bike since he bought it new.

Brick Lane Bikes in London has probably 100 frames, moslty Italian, some very famous brands, others less so. Go and have a look, it's worth it... prices are not cheap, you are probably looking at 400 pounds or more for frame only

I think your right 100%!! There seems to be tons of resprays and new-chromed forks. I just can't trust ebay, yeah your right it's quiet easy to get hold of decals. I visited Berlin for work some months ago and visited http://www.steel-vintage.com shop/cafe they are genuine and have some amazing bikes on display and are extremely passionate. But they just wouldn't tell me where they obtained stock. My mate told a lot of stock comes from Belgium in peoples garages, lofts etc when they have clean outs. I might have a chat to Mike Perry @Maestro who I brought my Colnago off 5 years ago. He is the most knowledge guy I've ever met on Vintage Colnago's. But Moreno Argentin's Bianchi Specialissima x4 made from 1986-1989 is my dream hunt!

Brick Lane bikes, I actually popped in their at lunchtime and grabbed my favorite Phil Tenacious Oil 2 months ago as Condor Cycles no longer stock Phil wood oil. I rushed in quickly I didn't have a look round - cheers

"I would probably avoid the most popular models you mention, the Colnago, the De Rosa etc. unless you buy privately from someone who actually owned and used the bike since he bought it new" I think your spot on here.

Of course they wouldn't - why would they possibly do that? Would you if you had a business to run that made its profit from a short term very trendy item that you could make a killing on?

Stock comes from all of the above you have mentioned plus, word of mouth, garage sales, adverts, auction houses, post dead person house clearing, thieving b'stards, the whole lot.

I got my Merckx Corsa Pro or whatever it is (see separate thread) from a man in Kabul in exchange for a goat and two pairs of boots - £500 frame, Record brifters, Chorus mechs and seat post, etc etc.

Have a look around and make some enquiries, place a couple of adverts - people have stuff sitting in the garage/shed that has been there for years and they don't know/care what it is and just want it gone.

Moonbiker

Aparently seat tube diameter (internal) can be guide to frame material:

Monty Dog

If you know the details, a Colnago is hard to forge due to the tube profiles and lug cut-outs. Some people do try and pass-off gas pipe frames with stickers but you can spot them a mile off, besides a decent respray is £300 these days, so not really an easy bodge. Prices for old frames are far cheaper in Holland / Belgium - particularly if you need a 62cm! There's also ebay Italy but Colnagos and DeRosas were never cheap - the time for classic bike bargains was over 10 years ago.