New Additions!!!

Steel is real...











After posting an ad on Kijiji last week I quickly got a response from Phil here in Halifax. He said he had an '84 Holdsworth and a an old Colnago Sport, two bikes which I've never heard of. Granted I'm not that knowledgeable about vintage bikes. He wanted $200 for the Holdsworth frameset, or $200 for the whole ColnagoSport. After some research the Holdsworth Elan is an old British racing bike, and quite a nice one. However there was some minor denting on the downtube, and it was a bit expensive for just a frameset for my budget, but a great bike.

Then I started looking into the Colnago Sport, I didn't not get a pic of this bike in advance. Colnago was a very popular Italian made bicycle in it's day. Colnago's were famous for their clover leaf engravings on the fork and other lugs. I found some info on the Sport online, and found some mixed info. From what I gather, this is out of the bike boom. Colnago contracted out other manufacturers to build a lower end bike for the American market, and they lacked the traditional clover leaf lug work and were labeled "Colnago Sport." Some say it was made in Mexico, but many have stickers that say "Made in Italy." From what I read it is made with true Columbus Aelle tubing and is a decent bike, but most consider it not a "true" Colnago. For some reason I didn't expect this bike to be in very good condition.

When I got to Phil's tonight to look at the bikes I walked into a garage full of them, but one stood out to me immediately.

-He had a lower level Peugeot converted to a single speed city bike.
-An old pre-raleigh buy out Carlton British made bicycle that was painted over by the previous owner and had little to no original parts.
-The Holdsworth Elan which while it was a nice bike, with the denting and paying that much for just a frame I couldn't justify it.
-He had another french bike which the name is escaping me but it was totally restored with a new powdercoat and new replacement decals which matched the originals exactly. Very well done restore, but again too expensive for me.

Then there was the Colnago Sport. It just really called to me. The fact that the wheels are pretty decent and in okay condition, drive train and crank are okay except for the chain, and the paint and frame were in good condition made it very desirable. I was able to buy it from Phil for $150. With new cables, a new chain and maybe a wheel truing, this thing should be ride-able.

My plans for this bike will be stretched out over a long time to not spend a whole lot of money at once. I plan to upgrade the drive train to older Shimano 600/105/Ultegra components that I can find on ebay. Keep it fairly retro with downtube shifers and older gear, but still modern enough to function well. Black and red bar tape or leather... not sure yet. A Brooks saddle: B17, Swift, or Swallow not sure yet. A mini front rando rack and an english style small saddle bag.

This bike will be used for speedy long rides on the weekend when I don't want to pack a whole lot, and just want to ramble down the coast. Really looking forward to this project.








New Trailer!

Well... new to me!
I found this on Kijiji from a grandmother who lives about an hour and a half away for $45. I was heading out of town on Sunday for a business trip into New Brunswick so I emailed her and we met in the main town close to where she lives. Her grandson refused to get into it, and preferred to "attempt" to ride his bike. She was firm on the $45 however, but it's a pretty good deal when you think about it considering the price of purchasing a new cargo trailer, or even a new bargain basement trailer for that matter.

So here it is! it's been sitting in my trunk roaming new Brunswick since then. I removed the foam seat and pushed the vinyl that was the seat all the way to the back after removing all the straps that held it to the frame. Now as you can see in pic 3 and 7 I have lots of room for groceries and other cargo!

I'll be getting groceries with the old winter beater and this puppy tomorrow evening. I'll let you all know how it went!


I'm really pleased with both of these new additions. They are very different in their application but I will try to enjoy both of them thoroughly. Just goes to show the many ways you can enjoy cycling!