I bought this bike in 1973 and I rode it for 12 good years before getting a Somec in 1985. I gave it to a buddy in about 1992, in exchange for an electronic drum machine. Today I decided to "borrow" the machine for a few days. I cleaned it up and took it for a ride.

Yes, it doesn't look like an Italvega because, within a couple of years the original paint had chipped so badly I decided to just repaint it. I figured I'd re-name it, too, as at the time Italvega wasn't the most desirable Marque in the land.

I took the color scheme from a meltingly beautiful Cinelli that was at the Beverly Hills Bike Shop at the time. I came up with the name "Fazio Sauro" by leafing through Italian Language magazines. I put my fictional Fazio Sauro in Siena because...well, why not? My sister, a professional artist, painted the Sauro on the Head Tube.

The bike as it stands is 24.2 lbs. The dimensions are 54 seat tube and 54 top tube. The seat is my buddy's. So is the shorter stem. Some of the other componentry comes off of my buddy's Raleigh Professional. The Raleigh was too big for him, so he asked me if he could adopt the, by then, neglected Fazio.

The frame itself has its cheapnesses. The lugs were never very finely finished. The bottom bracket is two-piece, with an ugly weld joining the two pieces together.

Note the Campy cable guides. In those days practically everything was clamp-on. Dig the old Fiamme Red rims. And amazingly, those tires actually hold air.

And the ride? So far I've only taken it around the block on smooth roads, but the machine rides with definite charm and elan. Smooth. Precise. Well-mannered. Tomorrow I may put a more reliable set of wheels on it and take it for a genuine spin.

Finally, just for comparison's sake, my current ride, a Time Edge Translink.

And notice the tire-savers! A blast from the past.

She's a sweetheart! Buy her back and get an old Selle Italia saddle!

- FBB

PS: I figgered those were Normandy hubs at first, but then I saw the clip over the oiling hole. Them's Campy, ain't they?

The bike is 99% Campy, right down to the rubber booties for the quick releases and shifters. Even the pump clip is Campy. The only non-Campy parts are the brake hoods which, inexplicably, are Modolo.

And actually, in my garage, I believe I still have the saddle that stood atop that Nuovo Record seatpost during most of those years. It's a San Marco Concor. For the first couple years I had a Cinelli Unicanitor. Yes, even in the heyday of leather saddles I still preferred the plastic ones.

what's up with that rim? is that the seam or a crack right across the label?

Campy Hi Flange hubs, a near novelty now as everything is low flange except track hubs.

The "crack" is the rim seam. It was tradition, and still common, to put the label over it for cosmetic reasons.

Note the Campy cable guides.I used to own a late '70s Univega Nuovo Sport and it had that same bolt-on Campy cable guide. However everything else on the bike was Diacompe, Suntour, etc.

Although not the ultimate in craftsmanship, Italvegas are pretty nice. I raced and rode a "Super Speciale" from 1978-84. I bought the bare frame for, what, $250? from a shop in Ft. Collins CO. Handled and climbed very nicely (maybe it was ME who better back then). My build was constantly evolving, ending up as mostly Campy NR with a Simplex Super LJ rear derailleur and Univesal CX brakes.

This was my frame exactly, except mine was dark blue: http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/Kevin-Krugers-Bikes/ITALVEGA/ItalvegaOrigs11.jpg.html The French Columbus label is odd, but mine had that too.

Mark G.

Ah, a trip down memory lane! Yours looks amazingly similar to mine, right down to the Patent 72 Campy rear derailleur. The original paint scheme was wonderfully pretty. It's too bad it was so fragile.

And ah yes, the Columbus "Jeu de tubes, en acier special" sticker. The only place I've ever seen one was on an Italvega. And that ugly weld at the bottom of the bottom bracket. And the Columbus Dove-and-Ovals stamped at the ends of the chainstays.

BTW, I've decided I love the geometry so much, if I ever get a custom bike I'm gonna coerce the builder into copying it.

Ah, a trip down memory lane! Yours looks amazingly similar to mine, right down to the Patent 72 Campy rear derailleur. The original paint scheme was wonderfully pretty. It's too bad it was so fragile.

And ah yes, the Columbus "Jeu de tubes, en acier special" sticker. The only place I've ever seen one was on an Italvega. And that ugly weld at the bottom of the bottom bracket. And the Columbus Dove-and-Ovals stamped at the ends of the chainstays.

BTW, I've decided I love the geometry so much, if I ever get a custom bike I'm gonna coerce the builder into copying it.

The picture is not my actual bike, I'm just saying my frame was just like it. It looked really good in blue, but like you said, the paint was fragile and I had mine repainted after a couple years. I agree on the geometry--it seemed to do everything right.