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Wisey

I know this is meaningless for most of you, but there are a few guys over here in Australia. I met a guy this week who is running this ride in December. I intend to be there on my 85 Professionnel in team Renault colours.

trois tubes

Good on you mate!

Did I get that right? It is totally meaningFUL in the sense that you are sharing an experience that most of us will never have. With that said, I say "thank you" in advance and look forward to many photos of you and your '85 Pro.

I plan on attending this one in France next year...

http://www.anjou-velo-vintage.com/

Not sure what colours I'll represent however. There is a certain "vélo rose" that is waiting for me over there. Wink

trois tubes

Do you want me to take this guy's bike if he shows up again next year?!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anjou-velo-vintage/5860469582/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anjou-velo-vintage/5859906591/in/photostream/

lofter

envy is all i can say

sandranian · Site Admin

MOTHER F'ER! Where did he get that, and the shorts to boot! What the heck!!!!

ozbike

Looks like Im in on this one!
Not sure if I should wear my Renault jersey or my 60s wool Gitane jersey.
Rob...

ozbike

You still going Wisey?

Wisey

Yep, sure am. I've just been putting the finishing touches on my 1985 Professionnel this morning.

I had to organise some different wheels. The wheels that I keep on that bike are some old Rovals. They look lovely but are a bit delicate for the dirt roads we'll be riding on. So I will have the Rovals for the show on Saturday and then put on a set of deep section Ambrosio FCS28, with Conti cross tyres for the ride on Sunday.

Make sure you bring a few spare tubes with you. I've heard that the dirt roads are not the best, even if there is only 30km of 120km on dirt.

See you there! Oh, I'll be the guy with the gitane……. Rolling Eyes

Wisey

OK, it looks like we are ready for Noosa L'Eroica.
I'll be riding the 1985 Professionnel. Here's the skinny:

85 Professionnel, Reynolds 531.
Yes, that's the French spelling as the bike came from Europe. Our illustrious leader, Dictator for Life, the eminent Sandman, acquired the frame from Germany. It was NOS, but had a stripped thread in the drive side BB shell. As our fearless leader doesn't have the legs (quite literally) to ride such a monster, we arranged a swap. So the French frame has travelled to Germany, the USA and to Australia.
I'm been slowly pricing it together with Record/Super Record since then. However there are a few shortcuts that I've taken in the interest of being able to ride the think before I grow old and die. The give-away is the bottom bracket. I had hoped to use an old Mavic cartridge BB to circumvent the stripped thread issue, but at 114mm it was just a little too tight. It was OK if the bike was just a show piece, but the inner chainring only cleared the chainstay by about 1.5mm. Far too close to be riding on it. Having been unsuccessfull in locating the wider 'triple' version of the Mavic BB, I settled for a cheap YST thread less cartridge. At 118mm, it's 2mm too wide, but I had run out of options for this ride.

Anyway, As you can see in the pic, I have a nice old set of Rovals on it for show. I won't ride these as we'll be hitting some dirt roads. I have a set of more modern wheels set up with some CX tyres for the ride. The NOS Super Turbo will also be replaces with a well worn (yellow) Turbo for the ride.

Hopefully there will be some interesting bikes there on the weekend, so I'll get some pics to share. If nothing else, we'll get a pic of Ozbike and I leading the charge for Gitane.

ozbike

See ya there Wisey
My poor old Criterium is going to feel a bit special riding with a Professionnel
This will be her last ride, after witch I am going to strip her down and get the frame professionaly painted. I bought an 86 Puch Mistral to ride while she is apart, the Puch was a great deal to good to pass up. Full 105 group set and Velocity deep dish rims with Campagnolo chorus hubs and stainless spokes. I got it for $68 AUD.

ozbike

What a great ride! so glad I did this.
120kms 30 of witch on dirt (Strade Bianche) 18 riders took of at 7.30 in the morning it took us 8 hrs all up including food breaks and puncture stops (around 20 or more pinch flats between us)
Riding on the dirt with 23x 700c tires is an experience I will never forget, climbs of 15% and descents of the same is hair raising! I think next time I will invest in some Vittoria Rubino pro 700x28 tires for the next one.
Always good to catch up with another member of the forum, I met up with Wisey, his Gitane is absolutely immaculate probably better than showroom condition, it is like new!
I did not take many pictures but here are some I took while riding.

Wisey · Last edited by Wisey on Mon Dec 19, 2011 3:08 pm; edited 1 time in total

Yep, it was great fun. Unfortunately, I had to get back to Brisbane and do some work, but I did get to ride the first 45km which included several of the dirt sections including a 1km climb that was more than 15% in places. I was pretty happy that I took some modern wheels. I had a pair of Ambrosio FCS18 rims on new ultegra hubs with Conti Touring 2000 (700x28) tyres. No flats for me!

It was cool to meet Ozbike. We certainly flew the flag with him in Renault colours and me in Systeme U. Will post more photos when they become available.
This is Ozbike topping the steep climb. Yes I beat him to the top, but in his defence he punctured just as the climb began. So I attacked of course!

Yes, yes. Left side photo bad. My girl took the shot and I wasn't about to harass her for it since she was willingly spending the weekend trailing around after a bunch of old bike nerds and their clunky old bikes. Laughing

Ozbike on his Criterium ready to roll with Jan Raas.

Dubrat

Wisey the Professional Looked awazing....

Wisey

Thanks for the compliments guys. I have to say though, that the guy who won the category of "best classic lightweight racing bike in original condition" really deserved it. Even if it was a Pug. It was all original components and all in almost pristine condition. The Professionnel looks really cool with the Super Record group, but it's not the original (Victory) group set, and it has a modern BB due to the damaged BB thread and a few other concessions like a modern chain. I made these changes so the bike can be ridden safely, rather than be an inert show piece. I'll save that for the Delta when I get one. Laughing

smilingroadrunner

Good Play fellows !!! thanks for posting the images ---I have been watching this thread all weekend waiting for some images & storyline.

Wish there was a similiar Vintage bike ride in my area to participate in ---maybe someday.

I also wish it was April heading into May---not looking forward to the next 3-4 months of wet-cold weather here in KS---Australia looks inviting. 32 degree F, and blizzard snow conditions this evening in Salina.

Thanks for your posts and looking forward to more photos & storyline if possible.

I Like Steel !!!!
__________________
C.A.
Salina, KS.