My Big 'M.'
Back after a fall ride!
My first road bike was a 1980s Cambio Rino. Solid steel bike I called it my ‘Blue Monster.’ Unfortunately I crashed it and had to get rid of it. Actually I went out for a ride and woke up in Emergency. Appears I slipped on some gravel, fell on my head and passed out. Never wore a helmet. When I came to I had broken my collar bone (left side) in two places. I have the calcium deposits to show for it. And then the hospital orderly brought out my badly damaged Rino. It was toast. Afterwards I bought my custom made SL Marinoni.
What bike you may ask? Well, another Marinoni. Either the road racer; ‘Piuma’ or the Sport Tourer; ‘Sportivo’. Of course in steel. It wasn’t too difficult to decide on another Marinoni. It’s well made in the fine Italian tradition of a very well built and comfortable machine. Originally, I wanted a bike for commuting. With full fender capabilities with the option to remove them. Now, it’s not so critical but I would love to have a responsive bike too. I’m used to the racing geometry. I want to take it for long rides and feel confident going uphill as well as burning it on flat roads. I’m sure I can’t do wrong with either model.
I’ll check out the local bike shop very soon. And maybe just open a bottle of wine!
Stay tuned…
Marinoni 'Steel is Real' Club!
The Piuma Racing Bike.
Shorter chainstays.
The Sportivo Tourer.
Longer chainstays able for full fenders, a big plus here in wet Vancouver!
9 comments:
I like the look of the Sportivo. If your buying a new group too then I'd highly recommend Chorus or higher.
Chorus is a good choice. I'm considering SRAM Rival. so many decisions...
I would never go higher than Chorus, or Ultegra. Unless I was getting them for free...
Definitely. The Sram Rival is marketed slightly lower cost than Ultegra. The 2009 Rival comes in black. I wonder if it's available in the gun retro metal!
How was the wine?
I haven't got there, yet!
If you go with the new Athena gruppo, you get the retro look to match the steel frame. It is only a shame that Marinoni has given up on lugs...
It does look nice with a classic finish. I read it's their entry level gruppo for 11 speeds...
Wouldnt it be great if they went BACK to lugs? I truly love my 1990s Marinoni but would never buy a TIG-welded replacement with a sloping top tube and ugly modern headset/stem. It's an upside down world when Taiwanese manufacturers can make $$ marketing phony classics with names like Masi while Marinoni -- the real thing -- sells imitation Giants.
Post a Comment