Lightweight Techno Talk: How to recognize chainrings that fit to your cranks - BCD measurement

On bicycle jumbles you might have came along a lot of chainrings sold from greater boxes and garage sales where nobody knows where these chainrings come from or to which crank set these might fit.

Following I will give you some hints about how to recognize what chainrings will fit your cranks. The only thing you need is one ruler or a tape measure and to know what BCD your cranks fit to.

How do I measure my chainring?

• Measure the distance in millimeters between two adjacent chainring mounting holes (center to center).
• Use this distance (x) to find your BCD in the chart below:

Hope that helps recognizing the appropriate chainring when visiting a cycle jumble next time.

Cycling Gadgets: Die Friedensfahrt - a board game made by Hugo Gräfe Verlag, GDR, 1959

Die Friedensfahrt also known as "Course de la Paix" was the most important cycling race behind the iron curtain. It started in 1948 and is still running.

In 2006 it was the 58th edition, though the importance of the race is much lesser, and it is not run by national teams anymore.

Of course, the race needed a companion board game!

The game can be played with a maximum of 6 players and features twelve cards with portraits of the winners of the first 12 editions of the race and the name of the 12 stages. First card features two riders since the first edition of the Friedensfahrt was split in two legs, so there were two winners.

Gustav Adolf "Täve" Schur had a great stake in East Germany winning the blue jersey of the best team at the Friedensfahrt in 1953, in 1955 he was the first East German to win the Friedensfahrt and won it once more in 1959.

The board shows a track from Prague via Warszawa to Berlin. Who scores best over all the stages wins the game.

 

In 1990 Roman Čermák /Tofa, Czech Republic reissued the game with different playing behaviours and rules. It as called Course de la Paix.

I would be glad if somebody might be able to share a hint, where to find and buy this game. many thanks in advance.

1978 - Koga Miyata Pro-Racer

Andries Gaastra, former Sales Manager at Batavus, founded Koga B.V. in 1974 when his father Gerrit sold the Batavus business. He joined the first two letters of his wife’s surname with the first two of his own to form the brand name Koga.

Gaastra built the very first Koga at his own home in Oranjewoud, near Heerenveen. Once Koga had become an importer of Shimano components, a network developed including other Japanese cycle manufacturers. Among them was Miyata, founded by Eisuke Miyata, a gunsmith employed by the Hitachi Kuni Kasama Clan. Miyata built Japan's first conventional, modern bicycle at the Miyata Gun Factory in 1890.

That met Gaastra´s aim to bring an exclusive range of lightweight bicycles at reasonable costs and prices to the market and took immediate advantage of more leisure time people could afford because of working weeks had become shorter.

In 1992 Andries Gaastra left Koga Miyata when Koga was sold to Atag Holdings.

Until 2010 Koga frames were produced by Miyata, and therefore the brand name got Koga Miyata with the first lightweight modell Road Racer fully equipped with Shimano 500 launched in 1976; in 1980 touring bikes and Randonneur Bikes completed the portfolio.

Very early Andries Gaastra supported sports an stepped into sponsoring the “IJsboerke” racing team in 1977, the Capri Sonne team and  Peter Winnen won the Tour de France stage over L´Alpe d´ Huez in 1981.

The winning bicycle used by Peter Winnen was delivered to L’Alpe d’Huez by Team Capri Sonne only on the morning of the stage. This special, even lighter version of the team bike had in fact only been finalised the day before, and was transported overnight to the Alpe d’Huez stage start personally by Koga assembler Aart Boer. Some of the riders decided on the spot to use this new team bike, and among them was Peter Winnen.

In 2008 Marianne Vos wins Olympic Gold in the points race at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Specially for the Olympic Games Koga developed the unique Kimera track frame for Bos, Vos and the other riders of the Netherlands core squad.

In 2004 Koga returns to the Tour de France with the Skil-Shimano Team and in 2012 Teun Mulder wins a bronze medal in the Keirin race at the Olympic Games in London.

The Pro-Racer was besides the Pro-Luxe the top of the Line Product with a frame made of Tange Champion tubes and equipped with the new and extraordinary  reliable and light Shimano Dura Ace EX components.

I´ve came along a 1978 modell some time ago and managed to re-build it to factory standards

Bottom Braket: Shimano Dura Ace

Headset: Shimano Dura Ace

Crankset: Shimano Dura Ace

Front Derailleur: Shimano Dura Ace

Rear Derailleur: Shimano Dura Ace

Shift levers: Shimano Dura Ace

Brake Lever: Shimano Dura Ace

Brakes: Shimano Dura Ace

Wheelset: Shimano Dura Ace with MAVIC rims

Saddle: YFC/ Koga Miyata
Seatpost: Sakae Royal P1 SL
Stem: Sakae RY-110 SL
Handlebar: Sakae Royal Custom
Pedals: K.K.T. Pro Ace

Frame tubing: Tange Champion
Fork tubing: Tange Champion

1947 - Carlton The Flyer

Fred Hanstock foundend the company in 1898 in the North Nottinghamshire Carlton in Lindrick. In 1932 the first "Special" bicycle was build and in 1934 they moved to Worksop and started building top end racing bicycles. 1939 Hanstock sold to Dan O´Donovan. Since then Carlton became the domain of the O'Donovan family until its purchase in 1961 by Raleigh Industries. Even then, Gerald O'Donovan became well known as the guiding innovator at Worksop and later, Ilkston, where more exotic Carlton and Raleigh bicycles were made. In addition former racing legend Reg Harris joined the Carlton board for a short time.  Production of Sun Cycles was transferred to Worksop also this year.

1962 fire burns the Dock road factory to the ground and production had to move for the 6th home at the outskirts of Worksop at Kilton. 

1963 the Carlton-BMB racing team was formed with the riders George Shaw, Michael Coupe, Mike Harpham and Sean Ryan and it was announced that all future Carltons will have 36 hole rims, instead of the British orthodox 32/40 rims.

In 1968 the team as renamed to Raleigh and became the first British team to race on the Continent since Hercules in the 1950's. Trevor Bull is crowned the British Professional Sprint Champion at the same year. The year after the team was renamed back to Carlton. In 1971 European Sprint Championship is an all Carlton final; Loevesijn beats Johnson into second place to take the title. Later in the year he takes the World Sprint title in Rotterdam also. 1972 the team was renamed to TI Raleigh.

In 1973 production reaches about 2.500 frames a week. Thus it no longer becomes possible to build made to measure frames at Worksop and Raleigh transfered this facility to the newly set up Special Products Division at Ilkeston, Derbyshire, headed by Gerald O'Donovan.

Carlton finally was closed at the beginning of the 1980s, Ilkeston itself in the mid of the 1980s.

The Carlton Flyer modell was first introduced in the 30th

Please stay tuned to see a Carlton Flyer equipped with an Super Champon OsGear derailleur getting back on roads.

1963 - Frejus Tipo Professionel Pista

Frejus was founded in 1896 in Torino by Emmo Ghelfi and run by him until 1946.

The brand was later acquired by Emilio Bozzi and co-produced in Milan with his Legnano and Woolsit brands. After Emilio Bozzi got assasinated by the Italian terrorist group Brigate Rosse the brand license was obtained by Bianchi and in 1988 a new usage of Legnano took place in a Bianchi financed team, starring Maurizio Fondriest.

Frejus made their first international appearance in sports by supporting riders and the italian national team starting at the end of the 1920´s with great success.

Fejus gathered first appearance in larger numbers and knowledge abroad when imported to the UK by Jaggard and Mills in 1950.

Frejus furthermore had an impressive track record having won the world championships on both road and track in 1930, 1932 and 1948 and on road in 1951, 1953 and 1954.  The list of champion riders included such names as Guiseppe Olmo, Cino Cinelli and even Gino Bartali. Their reputation was to be further enhanced when the Swiss rider Ferdie Kubler won the 1950 Tour de France and the World Championship on the road a year later.

In the UK George Lander, Les West and Dave Bedwell formed a home-grown Frejus team and also brought success in 1950.

Designed by the Ghelfi brothers, the frames were defined by its unusual frame angles of 72 degrees for the head and 73 degrees for the seat tube that created a short top tube in order to reduce torsion and bringing the rider over the bottom bracket but also producing a balanced ‘hands off’ ride. With other words this design was, what Cino Cinelli might has been thinking of when riding other frames then a Frejus and he wanted to re-create when he started his business in 1949.

In the late 60's Frejus and Legnano bikes were very popular in US too. They had a "Cinelliesque" seatstay attachment, fun paint with great contrasting panels, and lots of Italian character.

Actually, Frejus bikes from the 50's are somewhat common in US and Italy but something rare in middle europe. The famous shop in New York ran by Thomas Avenia back then was the focal point for both Frejus and Legnano bikes in the US.

"These were the bikes that scores or U.S racers rode during the dark days of U.S bicycle racing when a small but highly dedicated group of enthusiasts upheld the cycling faith. ... Besides, a clean or restored Frejus IS a beautiful bike. These bikes are collectible for all these reasons and more." Sheldon Brown supposed on his webside.

Ercole Baldini broke the hour record for pro riders with 46.394 km on September 19, 1956 on Milan's Vigorelli track on a Frejus Tipo Professionel Pista. With this he topped the just three months old record of five-time Tour de France winner Jacques Anquetil to 235 m.  

Baldini turned pro in 1957 after he had become Olympic champion in the road race in Melbourne 1956. Because of his titles and his success Baldini often is called the Campionissimo in Italy. In 1958 he won the Road Cycling World Championship of professionals riding a Legnano Tipo Roma.

Please stay tuned to see pictures of a 1963 Tipo Professionel Pista. 

1963 - Cinelli S.C. Tipo Super Corsa

Cino Cinelli, born in Montespertoli (near Florence) in 1916, was a successful bicycle racer in Italy, winning Milan-San Remo in 1943. Cino raced as independent pro (1937), and team pro for Fréjus (1938-39), Bianchi (1940-43) and Benotto (1944).

After WW II (1949) he started building frames by using some of the ideas he had created during those years of racing and founded company Cino Cinelli & C. in Milano specialized in distributing cycle racing accessories.

Cino assumed frames needs to be stiffer and the geometry to be to relaxed on most of the models of that era. He created a fork crown that had sloping shoulders and internal lugs allowing blades to become shorter and creating a stiffer fork and redesigned also the seat collar, bringing the seatstays behind the lug rather that along side it.

At this time Cinelli frames shows semi-sloping fork crown with or without point on outside of fork leg and seat cluster that is Frejus-style with separate seat tube collar  and were soldered by Luigi Valsassina, whom Cino lured away from Bianchi in order to begin production of Cinelli frames with a planned output of round about 250 frames per year..

Previously Valsassina built frames for Fausto Coppi when he rode for Bianchi. Thus nobody should be surprised Fausto Coppi beeing the first who used these new features when he raced on a Cinelli frame in 1947.

Some years later Ole Ritter rode on a Cinelli frame when setting up the hour record in 1968. 

Franco Testa, Mario Vallotto, Luigi Arienti and Mario Vigna set up an Olympic Record of 4:28:88 in the 1960th semifinals in Rome, where the Italian national cycling squad took six gold medals at all.

We won´t forget Viktor Kapitonov's legendary victory riding a Cinelli Mod. B at the 1960 Rome Olympics in which he first mistakenly thought of having won already only to discover that there was one lap remaining an then sprinting out the home town favorite to claim the gold medal in the Individual Road Race. Within all Adverts Kapitonov is presented riding a Modell S.C.

Even the US national team squad was riding Cinelli frames when pedaling for olympic honors.

 
Cinelli Frames were produced in small quantities only and used for Olympic and World Championship events from National Teams mainly. Please remember: When Cino founded his business in 1949 his enterprise begins by serving federations and clubs, which at this time represents the entire Italian racing market.

At the start of the Fifties Cino Cinelli & C became worldwide sales representative for Columbus tubing.  

At the end of the Seventies Cino Cinelli, who has an eye towards retirement and watching Antonio Colombo and his Columbus tubes business grown in recent years, suggests that the two companies might have a vision and passion that would be able to let Cinelli & C.grow accordingly easy and fast.

Production processes and usage of the frames changed when Cinelli sold his company to the Colombo group in 1979 . Back then serial numbers start to run in sequence and to indicate the date of birth.

Mario Camilotto mentioned to have personally built every Cinelli Super Corsa from the time that Antonio Colombo stepped into Cinelli business until frame builder Giovanni Losa took over in the early 1990s, who did the job until 2008.

Within a Ron Kitching 1960 catalog the top of the line Modell S.C. ist refeerded to as a Super Corsa for the first time; prior to that the Modell S.C. always was called Speciale Corsa.

In 1963 "serial" production of Modell S.C. with Reynolds 531 main tubes and Columbus fork and stays ends and Cinelli switched to Columbus SL (Strada Leggera) tubing overall; but Reynolds 531 main tubes were still available on request. The Mod. B was made out of Columbus main tubes and Falck fork and stays. 

It might have been the time when Valsassina retired and Chirico took over soldering frames until he was superseded by Mario Camilotto in round about 1978/79.

For older Cinelli frames the most significant keys in dating the frame are:

• Campagnolo Sport derailleur spring anchor-hole no longer appears in rear dropout in about 1965
• Frames no longer supplied with chrome Cinelli "Supercorsa" headset and chrome Cinelli bottom bracket (track bike supplied with clip-style headset) in about 1965.
• The Bottom Bracket Oil Port disappeared in about 1965
• Campagnolo dropout loses "boss" for the Sport derailleur spring hole in late 60s
• The 3 holes in the lugs appeared in about 1968.

Further on  the Special Corsa ("A" model) is defined by its sloping fork crown and build with Reynolds 531 frame tubes and forks and stays with Columbus double butted tubes until 1963, where the "B" and "C" model have a conventional flat fork crown. 

In the period of 1972 to 76 a special made to order Mod. S.C. Leggerissimo was made for Radsport Brugelmann in Frankfurt, Germany; These frames allways were colored yellow with red head tube and show six holes arranged in circle with the seventh hole in center at the bottom of BB shell. 

Additionally you might be able to date your frame by having a look at the Cinelli head badge also. These differ as pointed out below:

1949 - 1958 56mm Cinelli crest paint-filled silver-plate over brass head badge
1958 - 1971 51mm Cinelli crest paint-filled silver-plate over brass head badge
1971 - 1978 Cinelli crest anodized aluminum head badge
1978 - 1979 Cinelli crest decal head badge
since 1979 - today Flying C decal head badge

The Mod. Riviera was originally built for the English and German markets by a builder from Monza, who never built under his own name, according to an interview with Andrea Cinelli. Over the years the Riviera was built by various companies later on, including Garlatti in Parma. Additionally Cinelli offered juvenile bikes, boys and girls Rivieras, along with city bikes (Condorino), all made by various companies over the years, but the Mod. S.C. and Mod. B were always made in house.

Please stay tuned to see a 1963 build Tipo Super Corsa reassembled and to be pedaled around nice places in Vienna.

1970 Diamant Model 35 708 Track

The Diamant was based in Chemnitz/ Siegmar and manufactured by Diamantwerke, which was founded in 1882 by Frederick and William Nevoigt to produce knitting machines. They manufactured their first bicycle in 1895. In 2002 Diamant ceased production in Germany, its plant was the oldest existing bicycle factory in Germany up then. At the same time the brand name was sold to Trek Bicycle Corporation.

In 1898 the Nevoigts designed and constructed a new kind of chain named Doppelrollenkette which is very similar to the chains used still today.

Also Diamant started early to support sports and produced so called Berufsfahrermodelle. Under the manager Max "Papa" lange more and more pros like Richard Huschke, Paul Koch joined the Diamant racing team.

In 1921 Adolf Huscke became German Champion on a Diamant lightweight.

Shortly before Olympic Games in 1936 the new lightweight Model Nr. 67 with an extraordinary light frame was presented and produced from 1939 until 1954. Ernst Ihbe and Carly Lorenz achieved the Gold Medal in the 1936th Olimpics on a Diamant Tandem.

Georg Umbenhauer, Erich Bautz and emil Kijewski joined the road team. At the end of 1936 Diamant became world champion in Zurich and won 20 out of 23 great races.

In 1943 Presto Fahrradwerke Guenther Co. KG ceased production and all materials and designs were handed over to Diamantwerke.

After WWII Diamant became part of 876 companies that should have been disasembled and transported to the USSR, but luckily remains in eastern germany. Thus Diamant was renamed  to VEB Elite-Diamant in 1952 and handed back from the russian Awtowelo company to the GDR.

In 1954 the new lightweight Model Nr.167 was presented and build until 1959.

Gustav Adolf "Täve" Schur grew up near Magdeburg, took up cycling aged 19 and won the highest honors an amateur cyclist could reach.

Schur won the East German championships 6 times in that period and won the GDR tour 4 times. In 1953 he had a great stake in East Germany winning the blue jersey of the best team at the Friedensfahrt. His real breakthrough came in 1955, when he was the first East German to win the Friedensfahrt, considered to be the most prestigious amateur stage race. Schur won the Friedensfahrt once more in 1959.

Unfortunatley Schur was more deeply involved in politics and political motivated crimes than other sports people in East Germany. Between 1959 and 1990 he was a member of the Volkskammer and coach of the GDR sports school where young athlets were pumped with steroids against their wills and without letting these kids even know about these steroids and doping materials. After German reunification he kept to his views and joined the SED successor party PDS and was a member of Germany's parliament, Bundestag, between 1998 and 2002.

The 1970 Diamant track bike shown below is a Model 35 708 introduced in 1961 and produced until round about 1990

Bottom Braket: Renak
Headset: Renak
Crankset: Renak
Wheelset: Renak with Grunert tubular rims
Saddle:
Seatpost: genuine GDR patent style type in aluminium
Stem: GB Hiduminium spear point
Handlebar: Maes
Pedals: Renak Berthet copies

Frame tubing: Diamant
Fork tubing: Diamant