# rare find



## anteyeradio (Jan 13, 2008)

I was doing some electrical work and found this under a house










































I got it home pumped up the tires and took it for about a three mile ride, and it rides great. It's kind of rough a lot of rust.but the frame is sound.

I looked up there web site and it says they will restore old frames, does any one know how much they might charge for this service, and they were very adimate on there site about not selling decals.


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## CleavesF (Dec 31, 2007)

I wouldn't know, but that bar tape is sweet.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

That is a sweet bike... All Dura Ace and a very nice frame....


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Since Tommasinis are made in Italy, it likely would be very expensive to send there for a restoration. A better option would be to send it one of the businesses that specialize in repainting bikes, such as Joe Bell, CyclArt, Airglow or Spectrum Powderworks. Most businesses that specialize in bike painting also can make new decals or paint on the name.


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

Airglow is kind of a PITA to work with...


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## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*Hide and Seek*



anteyeradio said:


> I was doing some electrical work and found this under a house...


Amazing what lengths guys will go to when hiding their extra bikes from their wives.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

I like that look much better than their more recent and much more outlandish paintjobs


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## mulkdog45 (Apr 5, 2006)

SCORE!.... And yea, why the heck was it under the house?

+ 1 Keeping up w/Jr.


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## anteyeradio (Jan 13, 2008)

The house sits on a hill so you can open some doors and walk under the house, but bike was way under the house not just by the door.The bar tape was red yellow green and black now it is kind of pastel pink, yellow green and black.I cleaned it up some today after inspecting it has as follows:

cinelli bars and stem
Dura Ace -brake levers
Shimano 600 -head set
Shimano 600 -crankset
Shimano 600 -brake calipers
Shimano 600- front derallier
Dura Ace -Shifters
Dura Ace -rear derallier
Dura Ace -Front hub
Campy -Rear Hub
Front Rim -Sun (made in usa) 
Rear Rim -Mavic
Seat Post- Campy
cassette -need to inspect closer


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## cmg (Oct 27, 2004)

post a photo of the complete bike and rust spots. It's great find.


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## takmanjapan (Mar 24, 2004)

*What else did you find under there?*

Was it Jimmy Hoffa's bike? He must have been in there too!


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

Keeping up with Junior said:


> Amazing what lengths guys will go to when hiding their extra bikes from their wives.



wonder what Dave's got under his house..........LOL

(considering what he parks out in the open, under her nose)

My guess is, the scenario went like this...kid lived in house, stole bike, hid bike under house....moved....short story


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## anteyeradio (Jan 13, 2008)

photos of rust


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## zmudshark (Jan 28, 2007)

Three words: Oxalic acid bath.

Looks to be all surface rust, not that bad at all, but rust never sleeps, so take care of it.


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## dmar836 (Nov 17, 2007)

So you took it out of the walk out basement. Smooth! LOL

Nice find! I'd redo the frame and while waiting sit by the TV and clean the components.

My guess on the paint would be in the neighborhood of $350 to $400 but I have never paid to have one done.
Good luck!


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## anteyeradio (Jan 13, 2008)

I didn't just take it, I asked the lady that lived in the house if she wanted to get rid of the old bike under the house, and she said what bike? I told her there was an old red road bike under her house and she said oh yeah that is my brothers bike. I asked her what she wanted for it and she said she didn't know and told me to take it and figure out how much it is worth. any ideas? 

I sent tommasini some photos and a email, here are the emails that have been exchanged

"I found this bike while doing some work under a house, I was wondering if I could get some information on it, and maybe how much it might be worth. As far as I could tell the only thing stamped on the under side of the bottom bracket is "E1" Plus I wanted to know about your refurbishing program, and about how much it may cost as I am interested in having it repainted. 


Attached are some photos of the bike, If more or other detailed photos are needed I can accommodate." 



"After the factory reviewed the photos it was determined that we cannot give you any information or value for the frame because it is not original. Also based on the condition of the tubing, we do not recommend refurbishment. Hope that helps. 
-- 
Ciao,
Tina Indalecio
Owner"

"I was just curious but why do they believe it is not original? I'm Not out to make any money off of this find I'm going to keep it and ride it. "


"Typically when my uncle says its not original it means it is not a tommasini. So you could have a frame that someone put tommasini decals on but its not a real tommasini. When I looked at the bottom bracket picture it did not look like one of our frames. I will ask the factory to clarify why it is not original and let you know what I find out.
-- 
Ciao,
Tina Indalecio
Owner"

I have to admit that those emails made me kind of sad, but I think it is a real Tommasini.I have never seen another tommasini of this year model in person so I have nothing to compare it to, the local bike guroos believe it is a late '80s or early '90s model based on the componets that are on it.The bike is very light probably lighter than a lower end aluminium road bike.


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## cmg (Oct 27, 2004)

does the bottom bracket have the "T" cutout similar to the design of the "T" on the down tube? Does it have the words "Tommasini" in the scallops of the seat stays near the top tube? It may not be a real tommasni. It does have Dura ace components on it, it does have value. give the owner $40 call it a day, remove as much of the rust without damaging the decals rattlecan paint it and RIDE.


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## beantownbiker (May 30, 2002)

I dont know about aluminum, not a lot of lugged aluminum out there. I just want to know a little more about this bike, the mystery is killing me!


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## cmg (Oct 27, 2004)

frame has rust, it's built out of steel.. aluminum doesn't rust. look up the original owner.


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## anteyeradio (Jan 13, 2008)

I just said it was as light as a aluminium bike I know it is steel.

here is the follow up email from today.

"The frame looks like it could be a Quattro Assi (not build by Tommasini) or another inexpensive frame that someone put Tommasini decals on. You can tell by looking at the lugs and BB shell that the frame is not a Tommasini. Hope that helps. 

By the way – if you are interested in getting an authentic Tommasini, please let me know. I will give you a better price than MSRP."




cmg said:


> does the bottom bracket have the "T" cutout similar to the design of the "T" on the down tube?.


no, they have oval cut outs



cmg said:


> Does it have the words "Tommasini" in the scallops of the seat stays near the top tube?


no
I


cmg said:


> t may not be a real tommasni. It does have Dura ace components on it, it does have value. give the owner $40 call it a day


thats how much my buddies and the guys at the bike shop told me to give for it.

and one of my buddies does custom paint jobs on all of his bikes and they look really nice, he even does his new mountain bikes. He wanted to paint it I my just let him have at it.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

The components on that bike are worth more than the frame, given the info you got from Tommasini. It probably would cost more to repaint than it is worth, since it is essentially a no-name frame. If you could find someone to do a basic powder-coat for $100, it might be worth the trouble. However, it's not hard finding decent steel lugged frames -- that don't need paint jobs -- for prices ranging from $150-300 and up. I would pass on that bike unless they want to give it away or you want the components.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

QAs are not bad frames... perhaps more known for their later alu offerings, but still worth cleaning up. a cheap single color paint or powdercoat (does the myth of adding on to an auto paint job really exist?) would be well worth it. just cuz it ain't a tommasini doesn't mean it's total crap


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## cmg (Oct 27, 2004)

Or just scrap off the rust, rattlecan it, straighten or replace the wheels and RIDE. sell the parts on eBay and convert it to a fixie. where else are you going to get a rideable bike for $40?


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## anteyeradio (Jan 13, 2008)

I can have it painted for next to nothing, maybe cost of paint if he dosn't have it already.


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## anteyeradio (Jan 13, 2008)

I found stamped on the rear dropouts "GIPIEMME" , this is the first time I ever seen this I didn't even know if it was a word, but i googled it and they are a italian company that makes parts: wheels, saddles etc. Does any one know of a bike company that might of had these componets on it or a did they make bikes back in the day. I still want to know what kind of bike this is!


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

they make/made components, but IIRC also made frame parts like dropouts


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## beantownbiker (May 30, 2002)

gipiemme dropouts isn't necessarily a sign of an inferior frame. Bianchi used them, ciocc used them and I believe that for a short period colnago even used gipiemme dropouts. Do the seat-stay ends up near the seat post have anything pantographed into them?


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## handsomerob (Oct 5, 2005)

the amazing part is that you were able to go into the future almost two months to get it and bring it back for us to see.... at least judging by the picture date.


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## anteyeradio (Jan 13, 2008)

I actually do have a time machine at home but it only moves forward, at regular speed.Essentilally it is only a cardboard box that I wrote time machine on with a sharpie.

actually it is the right date it is just in the wrong order still haven't quite figured out that digital camera.


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## bubbasteeple (Oct 14, 2011)

Hello,

I came across this thread about a week ago. I have a bike that is pretty much exactly like yours. It has Tommasini decals just like yours and a chrome fork the same as yours. All the features of this bike appear to be the same thing. Mine also has gipiemme dropouts, a stamped letter "E" on the bottom bracket. The bottom bracket has oval slots just like yours, and the bike came with mostly Shimano 600s and old Shimano 105s. I don't kow if you ever found out what your bike was, but I've been scratching my head over it for a few months now on my end. You can check out photos of my bike here: 


I have no idea what this is, but maybe you can tell me. Did you ever get around to repainting yours and if so, were there any maker's marks anywhere on the frame under the paint. I live in Houston, TX, and I don't know where you live, but this may be of the same maker, who knows? Thanks for your time.


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## bubbasteeple (Oct 14, 2011)

The forum says i must post 10 times in order to post links to photos. What-ev, this is my first time on here. Please bear with me.


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## bubbasteeple (Oct 14, 2011)

Awesome bike!


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## old_fuji (Mar 16, 2009)

bubbasteeple said:


> The forum says i must post 10 times in order to post links to photos. What-ev, this is my first time on here. Please bear with me.


Believe me, we understand the 10 post thing...Don't pointlessly spam threads by posting multiple times. The 10 post thing is a spam preventative, and also is supposed to help newbies check around the site and get a feel for the communities here :thumbsup:

So, with that in mind, definitely browse the site a little and (for lack of a better word) "earn" your 10 posts. Don't be afraid to search, either...The search function on here is a LOT better than most other forums I go on.


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