Saturday, June 19, 2010

The yellow Basso...

Found some old photos of the Basso from approximately the early 1990's when I bought the frame and built it up. The frame itself, I have been led to believe, is a 1990 model Paris Roubaix. The story of the yellow Basso: My history with the Basso began in 1992, maybe 1993, when it was brought into service to replace a short-lived Bottecchia which had been destroyed as a result of a high speed colision on a mountain road. I had stopped in to a shop at which an old high school (and earlier)  friend worked, and there it was, up on the wall a beauty to behold. As I was racing with the Chevrolet / L.A. Sheriff squad at the time, a club whose colors were green and yellow, I knew at first sight that the Basso was for me. We raced together for another couple years during which we were steady performers lacking in significant results. By 1995 the Basso was stripped down and shoved into a corner, replaced by a new model GT.


Here we are at the Red Cliffs Mall Criterium, Tour of St. George, probably 1994.

And the latest incarnation. It has been retired from service, stripped down to the frame, and then brought out of mothballs at least four times over the years. Though other bikes have taken its place, it has always been willing to wait for it's chance to comeback.

4 comments:

  1. Very nice bike. I am a fan of steel. I have an old Austro Daimler Vent Noir I absolutely love.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have the same frame and love it! Would you be willing to send some details regarding the upgrades you've made? Very nice job, would like to do a similar build.

    latabel@msn.com

    Thank You!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, I also have the same frame! I'm asking myself if the first 2 numbers of the serialnumber could be the year of basso manufacturing, as often believed. My framenumber starts with 81. What numbers do you have?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I had to pull it down off the wall, where it has been collecting dust lately, in order to get a good look at the bb shell. It seems you may be right since the first two numbers a 90 - exactly what I would have expected.

    ReplyDelete

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