1986 - Olympia Competizione Superleggera

Founded in 1893 in Milan by Carlo Borghi, Olympia is the third oldest Italian bicycle manufacturer still making bikes today (Bianchi dates from 1885, Preziosi from 1892); in the beginning they made motorcycles also.

In 1925 Signore Borghi turned into racing together with Dunlop as a co-sponsor and Gilli Gianbattista beeing the first rider for Olympia followed by Bresciani, Dinale, Lazzaretti, Menegazzi, Pancera and Pucci in the following year or Pio Caimmi in 1929 as well as Luigi Marchisio and Karl Altenburger in 1933 and Vito Ortelli in 1948.

However, wearing those white with a black stripe Olympia jersey between 1939 and 1941 Enrico Mollo, reached second place in the Giro d’Italia (1940) and Pietro Chiappini wins the Milan-Turin race (1941).

In 1959 Antonio and Pasquale Fontana bought the company in order to compliment their other, less exalted marques Winter, Willes and San Remo nd moved production from Milan to to the Veneto region. Olympia gave them an opportunity to compete with the best bikes on the market back then.

Frame builder Augusto Daniele built their Competizione model, which was equipped with the top Campagnolo components. They featured carefully filed lugs, excellent torch work, short, upright geometry and a variety of bottom bracket cut-outs. Visually, it was distinguished by its long chromed, concave seat stay caps.

The three top models (Competizione Superleggera, Special Piuma and Sprint Junior) had an unusual, fragile pearlescent finish. Unlike modern finishes, it used natural pearlessence, as found in nail polish, instead of metal or mica flakes. These bikes were antique white through the early 70s, then other base colors were used under the pearl (yellow, copper, blue and possibly others).

By the late 70s, the hand painted head badge and natural pearlescent paint were gone, replaced by a decal and a more prosaic (and durable) top coat. Later on the head badge was changed to one that´s milled directly into the steering tube. The quality of those high performance frames remained very high until end of its production in the late 80´s. Thus all Competizione models were equipped solely with Campagnolo Nuovo oder Super Record.

That´s the parts list that´s planned to be used for the re-build and setup so far

Bottom Braket: Campagnolo Super Record
Headset: Campagnolo Nuovo Record
Crankset: Campagnolo Super Record Olympia pantographed
Front Derailleur: Campagnolo Super Record
Rear Derailleur: Campagnolo Super Record
Shift Levers: Campagnolo Super Record
Brake Lever: Campagnolo Super Record Olympia pantographed
Brakes: Campagnolo Super Record
Wheelset: Campagnolo Super Record with NISI rims
Saddle: Cinelli Unicanitor
Seatpost: Campagnolo Nuovo Record
Stem: 3ttt Olympia pantographed
Handlebar: 3ttt
Pedals: Campagnolo Super Record

Frame tubing: Columbus SL
Fork tubing: Columbus SL

1979 - Zeus 2000 Superchronos - Espana Olé

There are many different and contradictory stories told about Zeus. Which really are true I can´t say.

Nevertheless, Zeus Industriale SA was established in the Basque region in 1926 by Don Nicholás de Arregui in Eibar. Initially they produced small parts, then components and finally complete bicycles. In addition Nicholas de Arregui filed a few up to some patents until 1964.

Starting with 1958 a man called  José Luis Eibar, who was acclaimed to be the owner of Zeus in an 1961 advert published in Le Cycliste did the same until about 1969.

Furthermore and in order to increase confusion, both Eibar and Arregui are names of Basque towns also.

Thus it fits well when one of the unprooven stories about Zeus tells, that Zeus invented the parallelogram derailleur in the 30s and therefore many years before the 1951 Gran Sport was introduced by Tullio Campagnolo, and prior to Cervino or Nivex and others also.

Well, Nivex had a parallelogram derailleur in 1938 that was produced in numbers. Disraeligears shows one from the french JIC or Super Inax company called Super Inax Sport Derailleur that dates back to 1946.

Surprisingly Zeus patents shown at Disraeligears start in the 40s only and show more likely copies of the Simplex Tour de France derailleur and derivations of the old pull-chain design. Same with the Zeus Gran Sport patent which dates back to 1952 making it more likely a copy of the 1951 introduced Campagnolo Gran Sport derailleur than the original beeing copied by Tullio.

Next some sources claim something like a secret up to a not really published (commercial) relationsship between Campagnolo and Zeus. On one hand Zeus should have been sub-contracted for ‘difficult’ production work like titanium axels, on other hand Zeus should have carried out design work for Campagnolo.

Again I can´t proof these stories but there could be something in some of this. It would be surprising if Campagnolo did not use sub-contractors for some component parts especially when demand was exceedingly high.

The third story surrounds Luis Ocaña´s 1973 victory at the Tour de France by claiming he won on a Zeus bike using Zeus gears, but the team Ocaña was riding for was sponsored by the French consumer goods company BIC and got their bicycles from Géminiani or Motobécane.

Indeed Ocaña rode for Fagor in 1968/69, beeing a Basque company and team, that might have been supported by Zeus.  Thus it might be valid claiming that Ocaña won the spanish Championship in 1968 riding a Zeus and Zeus gears.

Nevertheless we reach out the seventies, when Zeus decided that instead of slavishly copying Campagnolo (with their Gran Sport and Criterium derailleurs and group sets) it might be a better idea to make the pace rather than following it.

In the mid of the seventies they introduced the Zeus 2000 group set

and their top of the line bicycle Zeus 2000 Superchronos.

Sometime in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s Zeus seemed to have ceased production. Orbea, also based near Eibar, had bought the name and produced a variety of parts and bicycles branded with the Zeus name until about 2002.

But back to this 1979 Zeus 2000 Superchronos bicycle:

Bottom Braket: Zeus 2000 Superchronos
Headset: Zeus 2000 Superchronos
Crankset: Zeus 2000 Superchronos
Front Derailleur: Zeus 2000 Superchronos
Rear Derailleur: Zeus 2000 Superchronos
Shift levers: Zeus 2000 Superchronos
Brake Lever: Zeus 2000 Superchronos
Brakes: Zeus 2000 Superchronos
Wheelset: Zeus 2000 Superchronos with MAVIC rims
Saddle: Zeus 2000 Superchronos
Seatpost: Zeus 2000 Superchronos
Stem: 3ttt
Handlebar: 3ttt
Pedals:Zeus 2000 Superchronos

Frame tubing: Reynolds 531 SL
Fork tubing: Reynolds 531 SL

That´s the condition the Zeus was found by a friend of mine. The photography on top shows the state I´ve got it from this friend.

1968 - RIH-Sport Super Course - as fast as the wind

Amsterdam Bustraan brothers Willem (Wim) and Joop started their business in about 1921 and gained first reputation with Jan Hijzelendoorn riding one of their creations in sprints with finishing as the new dutch champion in 1924 and becoming RIH Bustraan the first Dutch frame builder that could build lightweight frames.

There´s much guessing about the companies name. Some argue RIH standing for Rijwiel Industrie Holland. However, one of the founders noted in an interview that RIH was named after Kara Ben Nemsi's horse, a character from the books of Karl May.

In 1928 the company moved to the well known address in Westerstraat. In 1948 the brothers handed over to Willem Jr. and Wim van der Kaaij started as an apprentice, who became the new owner in 1973 when the Willlem Jr. Bustraan retired and made frames until the companies end in 2012. He passed away at the age of 77 in 2014.

Between the start of the sixties and 1970 when Fongers was acquired by Batavus-Intercycle they built lightweights in series under the RIH name. Round about 1972 Willem Jr. started a collaboration with the Cové Fietsfabriek from Venlo, where bicycles and frames were made and sold under the brand name RIH.

That´s the reason, why you should have a closer look to the frames head badge and other details of the frame in order to separate the high quality frames build in Amsterdam from those budget frames made at Fongers or Cové. Cové frames are recognized by Venlo mentioned on the head badge for instance.

When during the 1950s large sponsored cycling teams entered the stage, RIH's successes because henceforth the sponsors decided which material was used. This was a major change in the peloton, because until that time the individual riders took that decision.

Among RIH's customers was Gerrit Schulte, becoming pursuit world champion in 1948 against Fausto Coppi, Arie van Vliet (Berlin and Zurich 1936, Amsterdam 1938, Amsterdam 1948, Zurich 1953), Jan Derksen, Jan Pronk and Hennie Kuiper (1972, 1975) as well as Keetie van Oosten-Hage (1968, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979), Galina Tsareva, Galina Yermolayeva and Valentina Savina.

During his professional career, Peter Post for instance rode the track and on roads solely on frames built by Willem Bustraan. Even when riding for Willem II-Gazelle and Flandria, the RIH-built frames were rebranded.

Later on and between 1989 and 1996 RIH became material sponsor for the Dutch national cycling federation Royal Dutch Cycling Union (KNWU).

However, Amsterdam RIH Bustraan bikes were ridden successfully by women and men in 350 national championships, in 63 world championships and Olympic gold medals in both road and track events.

That´s the partslist that´s planned to be used of it´s rebuild and setup

Bottom Braket: Campagnolo Record
Headset: Way Asulto
Crankset: Campagnolo Record
Front Derailleur: Campagnolo Record with cable stop
Rear Derailleur: Campagnolo Record
Shift levers: Campagnolo Record
Brake Lever: early Weinmann
Brakes: early Weinmann 999 center pull
Wheelset: Campagnolo Record with MAVIC rims
Saddle: Brooks
Seatpost: Campagnolo Record
Stem: 3ttt
Handlebar: 3ttt
Pedals:

Frame tubing: Reynolds 531
Fork tubing: Reynolds 531

More to come soon. Stay tuned