The Cinelli Bivalent hub which made its debut in 1962.
Collectors of vintage bikes and riders who are flocking to Eroica cycling events will find this of great interest. In the last few years there seems to be a renewed appreciation of the value and ride quality of vintage bicycles. People are investing in collectable bikes from the golden era of hand built machines. Names like Cinelli, Masi, Alex Singer, Rene Herse and a long list of others are becoming very hot items. These bikes are often 50 + years old and they deserve to be kept in excellent condition. Not everybody owns the necessary tools or has the mechanical know how to perform routine maintenance on these great old bikes. I would highly recommend that you allow that work to be done by a knowledgable professional mechanic who knows the ins and outs of these wonderful bikes. Over the years I have owned several amazing vintage machines. My favourite was a mint 1969 Cinelli Special Corsa in a lovely gold finish. It was a classic bike from one of the finest Italian builders of all time. I was also lucky enough to own a 1969 Alex Singer and I rode that for 25 years. Having worked at Bloor Cycle here in Toronto during the 1970’s I was exposed to some incredible examples of the best bikes made in the world and I became intimately acquainted with all the idiosyncrasies.
Being a wheel builder I took specific interest in the history of the various old hubs and rims that graced those bikes. I was a bit of a vintage nut so this was fascinating for me. Hubs made by Campagnolo, Airlite, Maxi Car, FB, Harden, Prior and Cinelli to name but a few. Rim companies like Nisi, Martano, Fiamme and Mavic.
The famed Italian lightweight racing rims from Fiamme.
If you have purchased an old collectable machine you’ll want to make sure that it’s all original and that its running as smoothly as possible. The wheels will periodically need some attention. Bearings will need to be lubricated or replaced on occasion and those rims may require truing now and then. Its a good idea to make sure that the wheels are at the optimum tension as well. If you need a new rim or vintage part I might be able to help you find them as they can be difficult to source. You can trust me to keep your collectable wheels in tip top shape. Contact me if you need some advice or help on maintaining your dream machine. You are in capable hands.
