I think I might have FINALLY hit a good one.

Seller said she used to race in the 80's.

Cycle Craft frame (approx 19" tt)
titanium fork
narrow sun mistral rims
look like nice hubs, but can't see a name on them
mitsuboshi silver stars
dk stem

I'll give it a good once over when my wife goes out later (I snuck it home this moning)

[ October 07, 2006, 02:10 PM: Message edited by: eastcoaststeve ]

Just took a quick peek in the garage while the wife was upstairs...

Hubs have a faint marking. Looks like they are stamped P.P. then Italy in smaller letters underneath...any ideas on what they might be?

cranks are sr tubular chro moly

I tried a search of all things Cycle Craft looking for a similar bike, but they all looked newer than this one.

Can someone give me a timeline for Cycle Craft? Is it mid-school? I see by previous posts that they did not date them by year, only month and production #. Is there any other way to tell how old the frame is?

Did Cycle Craft ever offer a titanium fork or would it be an add on?

I'll ty to post some pics soon.

Thanks for any help you may have.

here are a few pics to help with the id...












thanks

those are add on forks, there not cycle craft. the frame is and it has the first generation sticker on the head tube, those stickers are hard to come by so if you find some then holla at me!! cant say the year for sure but you can contact the original owners (betty martino) on this site and get more info probably! there is a thread from a member here with the same frame, look in the midschool section for "my cyclecraft project begins" by SparkSVT!! good luck!!

i think i know whos bike that was.did that come from north east philly?or at least from a woman who is from northeast philly?

Tom,

Thanks for the info. Any idea on the fork brand? I'm really looking forward to making this one nice again...my kids (3 1/2 and 8) are already eyeing this one up.


Jeffry,

Yes, the bike came from Mayfair. It popped up on CL late on Friday and I sent a bunch of e-mails but no reply. Saturady AM I got a call from the owner that she still had it, but it was going to the first person who showed with the cash. I had to jump through some major hoops (and run a few lights) to get there, but it was worth it.

You're probably right on knowing the original owner, A very nice young woman named Laura. I really wanted to spend some time talking BMX with her, but I had to run to hit a meeting. It sounded like she had strong ties to the bike and would have liked to pass it on to her kids, but they weren't interested in BMX. I promised her I'd give it a good home and send her pics after it was refurbed.

Steve

[ October 08, 2006, 10:55 AM: Message edited by: eastcoaststeve ]

laura leiber?i may have spelled her last neme wrong.she had a brother dave and her father was the track operator at bensalem bmx back in the 80's
they raced for guys bike shop.

Jeffry,

That's her. Wish I could have talked with her more, sounds like she was well connected.

very cool...
brings back memories.

Hi, the frame is called a "Lite Pro" because we used thinner tubing to make it lighter than the standard pro frame. It was built for the likes of Gary Debacker, Jessica Towles, etc. These riders were tall but not very heavy and were smooth riders, therefore the lighter frame would hold up even though being made out of thinner wall tubing. As they gained weight and height they switched to the XL frames. We did manufacture our own titanium forks for mini and lite pro applications, however, I do not believe the one in the photo is ours because of the dropouts. Your frame was built in January, 1986. We also built our own titanium fames for the little guys and gals. Hope this helps. Joe Martino

Mr. Martino,

Thanks for all the info. I was hoping the forks might be Cyclecraft, what would be the difference in the dropouts?

Can't wait to get this one clean and ridable again.

Thanks again,
Steve

Steve, after discussing this with my wife and son Mitch, it appears those are our forks with dropouts that were also used on Titan forks. We made some when we ran out of our standard ones. It would probably help take some stress off the legs if you would use a spacer on the inside of each dropout. Check first to see if there is a gap when you loosen the axle nuts. There should not be any. If there is and you do not take up the slack with a washer you will be squeezing the legs together wish causes stress on the legs which could lead to cracks. Joe

Mr. Martino,

That's great news. Thank you for looking into it. I was really hoping the fork and frame were an original set.
I'll check the on the spacing this weekend.

I'm going to resist the urge to "over-restore" this one and make it a wall hanger. I'll give it a good clean and lube and keep it as a rider for my kids. Hopefully one of these days it might see it's way back to the track.

Thanks again,
Steve

It's been a year sice I got this one....finally getting close to done ( just need to do the wheels).

I wanted to keep this one as close to original as possible, so I resited the urge to touch up the paint and "over-clean" restore it.

The cool thing is my 9 year old daughter has asked if she can ride it when it's done.

the hubs are B.P.P. or Bicycle Parts Pacific aka O.M.A.S. (a bunch of italian names i don't feel like writing) sorta/kinda an off shoot from Campy but BMX specific ....


anyway cool exotic but not very popular ....... i like'em though - looking for trades ?

Steve,
By any chance are you from eastern PA? Philly area?? Any chance that bike was originally white? My buddy had a CC back in the day that looked earily similar... a little pink trim, skinnies... Man, that brings back some memories.

Cool stuff! Can't wait to see the finished product.

Lee

Dr. Frankenripper,

Yeah, the hubs are nice. They feel like they'll spin forever. I'm always interested in a good trade, but I want to keep this one together as I found it...cleaned up and rebuilt racebike, scars and all.



Lee,

I'm just north of Philly. I got the bike from a young woman who used to race it at Bensalem bitd. Not sure who she got it from. I plan on trying to contact her when I get it done (promised her a pic when I bought it).
As far as it being white at one time...it does show white under the spots where the grey has worn/scratched off.

I'll post more pics as it goes back together.

Steve

looks to me like those cages are the rare XCI versions (unless theh teeth have been filed).

cool i figured as much and can totally respect it keep it survivor thing word up !

just be very careful with those hubs they are very delicate --- the bearing cassettes are very thing and prone to shatter from over tightening and rough riding .... don't overtighten the cones if you feel play - you may have to disassemable them and make sure they are free from gritty and all the parts lay flush and clean .....

yeah they are real moody

Steve - I grew up in NE Philly - near Academy and Comly. I'm in Fairless Hills now. Did you go to the Bensalem vintage day in July (and hang in the parking lot as it poured on us)?

Lee

did you clean those grips or are they new? and how did you clean them?

the same GOJO you use to clean and cut the grease and grime off your hands, works just as good on your old grips ... then if you wanna get in there even deeper use a little warm water and COMET w/bleach

Steve,

The good Dr hit it right on the head...GOJO and warm water and a soft nylon fingernail brush. It's amazing how well it works on grips/tires/cables/etc.

I'm gonna try it on the "donuts' that were on the grips too.


Steve

thanks

Finally got it back to being a bike again. 99% done, just need a few little details to make it complete, (1/2 link to get the chain tension right, clean and reinstall the grip donuts, etc.). My nine year old daughter is really excited about riding this one...and getting it dirty again.

Steve,

You need a Pink Crit Plate to finish up your Cycle Craft Score...

I may have one laying around some were... (I use to sponsor the Cycle Craft Factory Team)

Mike