Is this really a Vitalicio Seguro cycling team bike?

[Mike V]

Originally Posted by AgilisMerlin

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXjaCogj...d=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

the bikes in back on this Oscar video

Not the same bike.

I also think it’s his trainer.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by Mike V

Not the same bike.

I also think it’s his trainer.

Yeah the one in the video is most likely the aluminum one he rode to win the 1999 WC. Certainly not one of these steel ones.

[jamesdak]

Well, now that I have the Raleigh Supercourse done and out of the way I'm back to chasing confirmation on this one.

I have reached out to Oscar on Instagram but have heard nothing back. But he hasn't been active on their lately best I can tell so I'm still hoping to hear from him.

I also hit up Art Bikes who's got a couple team frames for sale. Haven't heard back from him either.

I did to more research on Tony Tom. Based on his relationship to the pro cycle world and his reputation I am feeling pretty confident this is legit. He's the one that sold it to the guy I got it from and told him it was a practice bike. Still, I won't say it's Oscar's bike until I hear if from the "horse's mouth.

Looking at various team pics, I think that's a Selle Italia Flite saddle. I'd like to find a similar one and that bar tape to get this back to looking as original as I can. Or maybe try and make out what Oscar really rode for a saddle in the many videos.

[rain dogs]

I've met Oscar and he's a pretty tiny dude 5'7" max. He's from one province over in Cantabria. That bike looks (at first glance) too big to be his actual bike. I mean, it's certainy not the aero downtubed aluminum frame he rode at the worlds

[KJMUNC]

I've owned a bunch of former pro bikes over the years (Boonen, Cipo, Yates, Rast, Axel Merckx, Van Hooydonck) and they're always difficult to ascertain legitimacy unless you get it directly from the rider or team. Even when buying from teams, they often swap out components to complete a frameset into a full bike for sale, given most riders move their saddles from bike to bike after a season, etc.

Unless it's THE bike that won a specific race and you have definitive provenance, it's just another bike that someone used to train and/or race on...not diminishing your bike at all, just stating that these guys tend to ride a LOT of different frames and the older the bike, the more likely it's had parts swapped out over the years. You can go deep into the rabbit hole trying to prove it out, but in the end it's often just too hard to figure out and you have to be willing to live with a certain amount of "maybe".

I had a long talk with Brett Horton (from the Horton Collection...probably the largest collector of cycling memorabilia) about this a few years ago and he said of the three things cyclist typically have from racing (jerseys, bikes, and trophies), the riders always value the jersey more than anything.....bikes are a distant second, and unless it's a Monument or truly iconic win, the trophies are third. I found that interesting, as I'd have put bikes closer to to jerseys, but he said in his experience they part with the bikes pretty easily....jerseys are much tougher to get. Guess it's probably the personal nature of it being clothing vs. a tool they used.

Anyway, I think it's a super cool bike and the Freire connection is awesome. I witnessed him winning the 2004 WC's in Verona and always liked his style. Hopefully he responds via Instagram....I've had several do that (including Tom Boonen who invited me to his house to buy his Belgian champion edition bike) and often I find they are curious that someone is taking such an interest in such an old bike of theirs.

Enjoy riding it, whether or not you can definitively prove it was his or not, as that's what they were made to do!

[rustychisel]

KJMUNC - excellent post. Really enjoyed reading it and totally agree from my more limited experience.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by merckxman

This is a current listing from eBay that says bike came directly from team:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/30419916772...mis&media=COPY

I should have mentioned I got this whole bike cheaper than those couple of frames Art Bike is selling. One reason I pulled the trigger since it was just a good deal based on the bike, not the story.

[jamesdak]

KJMUNC - For sure they are just for riding. Hence why everything I have get's out on the road.

For me it's just fun to try and "crack the story" on some of them, part of the fun of owning them I guess.

When I bought this one it had a story too about Greg having a few of these made for some cycling buddies.



Here again all I knew for sure when I got it was that it was a nicely built up Lemond that was not a stock color. But then after sharing pics on the Steel is Real FB page an old Team Saturn guy spotted it, pointed it out to others and eventually we traced it back to being the one Tim Swift was given by Greg. The guys even sent me this picture of them and Greg with one of the bikes.



And then I spotted a picture in one of my Lemond Catalogs of the guys riding these with Greg. Just makes things bike geeky cool in my book. LOL!



Around the same time I stumbled on a bike Bob Fourney had listed. Once again, a nice steel ride with decent parts for a cheap price. Bob was a 3 time RAAM winner and cool guy to converse with. We still chat via FB occasionally. Bob was unfortunately selling some bikes to pay medical costs resulting from being hit while riding.



The bike was custom built by a guy named Wayne Evans in Denver. It was for Bob to ride in a mid 90's Paris-Brest-Paris. I couldn't find Wayne but I did find a Denver bike shop that he stops in to occasionally.

I also found a frameset listed locally for a Fishlips Branded road bike.



Seller was an original owner of the brand and said the bike was one of two he talked David Kirk into making for them. Once again good price for a nice bike so I got it. Pm'd David who confirmed that he made two of them for Fishlips. The other part of the story is the paint was by David Kindig of SLC custom car fame. Still need to run down there one day and talk to them directly to confirm that piece of the story for the fun of it.



Then there's the Series PDG (no number) Paramount I got my hands on. These pop up evey now and then so I wonder how many exist. But Schwinn confirmed via email that these Red, White, and Blue bikes were one of two prototype runs Panasonic did for them to prove they could make a bike worthy of the Paramount name. These are lugged with the others are tig (or is that mig?) welded, pure white frames. Cool to have this piece of Schwinn history from when the original company was struggling to survive.



On top of the Olmo I'm also trying to pin down the "story" on this bike. Supposedly a "Team" bike also. Here again, I picked this up locally with it looking fairly rough for $300 so I didn't care if the story was true. But it appears to have been a regional team bike for the Paramount racing team associated with The Orange County Wheelman. Still trying to confirm this story too but no matter what it's now a fun ride. And the one bike I got stupid about in terms of spending too much money on it to get it under 16 lbs. 15 lbs, 14 ozs in this picture.



There's been a few others with cool stories to pass through my hands too. Just part of the fun with owning and riding all these bikes.

[catchourbreath]

I always assumed if it's steel and doesn't have a number hangar then it's either a copy or a training bike. Harder with newer stuff and the change in hanging numbers.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by catchourbreath

I always assumed if it's steel and doesn't have a number hangar then it's either a copy or a training bike. Harder with newer stuff and the change in hanging numbers.

An old rule of thumb that doesn't always live up to it though. Sure wish it was that simple. Not that it applies to this Olmo as the story has always been practice bike not race bike.

Others I've had but never proved either raced.

I do have to admit though that this bike had a shorter top tube in relation to the seattube on any of the many Lemonds I had. It's geo was squarer than one expects from a Lemond but I never found a published chart for the geo on these Gan Replica bikes. So who really knows??


Eddy Maertens (Martelly) 1985 build.


This one was a custom made order a Dutch grandmother did for her 16 year old grandson in the states.

[KJMUNC]

oh trust me....I have spent my time in the rabbit-hole of searching for mundane details and/or old pics to prove out a hunch on the history of a frame/bike.

Love this pics and posts....the hunt is half (or more?!) of the fun!

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by Mike V

He isn’t holding his bike in those pictures. Way to big. Friere and I share very close geometry.

If you are comparing to his Colnagos he had custom bikes made.

This bike is small. I'm getting about 51.5 cm ctc for the seat tube and then a little over 53 cm ctc for the top tube. Getting about 118mm end to end for the headtube.

I'll ride as small as a 53cm frame but this is going to be a real challenge. Going to see this morning what it takes to dial in my normal fit and to see if I can get some slightly larger tires to clear. The back will be easy but not sure about the front.

[Mike V]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

This bike is small. I'm getting about 51.5 cm ctc for the seat tube and then a little over 53 cm ctc for the top tube. Getting about 118mm end to end for the headtube.

I'll ride as small as a 53cm frame but this is going to be a real challenge. Going to see this morning what it takes to dial in my normal fit and to see if I can get some slightly larger tires to clear. The back will be easy but not sure about the front.

I was referring to the picture you posted in your first post and the pictures Wallyman posted.

The detentions in this post I’m quoting are correct. The head tube detention change due to tubing and materials changes of the time.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by Mike V

I was referring to the picture you posted in your first post and the pictures Wallyman posted.

The detentions in this post I’m quoting are correct. The head tube detention change due to tubing and materials changes of the time.

Oh yeah, I understood that. Just wanted to post the dimension of the actual bike for you feedback. I appreciate the response.

Here's the bike this morning setup close to my normal fit, yeah it's small for me. I really need about 1/2" more setback and then a 130mm stem to me 'er spot on. They had quill stems on these and that is in my plans. I might even have one that size in the stash.

[jamesdak]

Still no confirmation on this one. But today during the World Cup Final I decided to deal with the heavy wheels on this. It was a Mirage Wheelset that was pretty dang porky. I put a spare tubular setup I had onto the Merckx and then put the Mavic wheels off of it onto the Olmo. Dropped a whole lot of weight with just that simple change.



Then while doing some touch up to the red paint I realized that I had been reading the number on the BB wrong. I thought it was "53 T" and sorta considered that might be a size. But it's really a "83 T". So.... is this significant or not, hmmmm.