restauro bici Archivi

Repairing a 1920s bike fork

Posted on 15/04/2023 by giovanni nencini

A fairly frequent damage in bikes from the 1920s is the breakage of the fork tube. Repair that is also necessary when the thread is worn and no longer allows the assembly of the headset.

In this case the break occurred at the base of the pipe, near the fork head.

The first intervention, once the damaged tube had been eliminated, was to turn a steel tube to be inserted into a new tube taken from an old “donor” fork so as to make the repaired fork more resistant.

Holes were made in the tube of the donor fork to facilitate the entry and propagation of the brazing alloy, the Castolin, and the two pieces were assembled integrally.

Finally, after careful positioning to square the tube with the fork head, we proceeded with welding.

This is the final result.

A challenging restoration. Alcyon 1920s.

Posted on 27/12/2022 by giovanni nencini

I must say that when I bought this bike, I had many doubts about the outcome of the restoration, but it was still an Alcyon, in my opinion the most beautiful French bike of the 1920s, and I had to try and get it back. The restoration took almost two weeks. Only disassembling it, given the rust encrustations present everywhere, was a feat. The most complicated intervention was the one on the frame: the goal was to make the splendid celestial Alcyon flourish again. A lot of patience, but in the end the result went beyond all expectations.

This was one of the restorations that gave me the most satisfaction. It was exciting to see this small piece of cycling history flourish under my hands.

Restoration of a Carpano By Giuseppe Pelà Frame

Posted on 25/12/202225/12/2022 by giovanni nencini

I present to you the restoration, carried out in our workshop, of a beautiful frame made by master Giuseppe Pelà for the Carpano racing team. Fortunately, the frame was intact and did not present any particular problems. We performed sandblasting with corundum in order not to alter the metal, chrome plating and painting with original colors like from a preserved Carpano. Heinrich, owner of the bicycle, completed the work with impeccable assembly.