Gios Torino

Brought a rather sorry looking Gios Torino on ebay. At some point someone has gone to a lot of trouble to spray a rather jazzy and totally vile paint job on it. Its coming off. After a 2 week fight with magnificently stuck stem i've managed get it ready for a respray. Thought i would post some before photos. Afters to follow in the next few weeks.

it was too big

max 1000px

right/option click on the 800x600 photos and paste the link, then it works

what colour are you repainting it?

OT: that mould on the wall :-/

Thanks for the IT lesson Peter V. Going to return it to Gios blue with white panel decals. IMHO i don't think anything else would be right or proper although i'd be interested in what others think. Yes that is mould on the wall, had a leaky old door there thats now been replaced but needs to dry out and also get a lick of paint.

The blue and white paintjob is ace. Did getting the stem out make those marks on the headtube?

Yeah, it came with a pantographed stem so i didn't want to cut it off. After soaking it in various things to no avail i got a propane torch and some pipe freeze spray to heat abd cool. It did the trick but obviously burnt the paint. I've also put an new cable guide on the top tube as the front one had rusted and snapped.

Okay well F&F are back and i've put the decals on. Now back to armourtex for a clear coat. In the mean time i'm polishing the other parts and attempting my first wheel build.
Apologies for the shit photography.

Powdercoat covered a bit the shaprness of lugs, but decals give the bit extra.. me like!

Yeah it is a shame that you lose a bit of sharpness. Its going to be my commuter so i figured it was worth the lose of definition for the durability. Anyway first wheel is built and been polishing the stem and touching up the head badge.

frame is looking very good, great job on the headbadge detail too!

it is never possible to catch it in photos but did you get close to the 'electric' Gios blue? I heard it is very hard to reproduce this particular colour

love the dark rims. are you going to run skinwall tyres or all black?

Well if i'm honest its not quite the blue it could be. I'm very happy with the way it looks but its a mercurial thing that colour. I've often thought its basically http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Klein_Blue unfortunately it's hard to get a RAL reference for it.

Definitely going to run skin or white wall tyres. Have a bit of trouble finding ones in 700 x 20mm though.

Cheapo http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7076/7378455110_696ca7f3e8_z.jpg ?

Hmm okay hadn't seen them before. However a quick search for review and all are atrocious ("puncture magnet" and "no confidence in wet") apart from one guy that seems to think they are the best thing since sliced bread. Might end up going for some white Michelin Pro 4 in 700 x 23? I've never ridden on them but once had some Pro 2's that i quite liked.

Actually, I'd go for all black ;-) always love black rim + tyre combo's. blue frame, white bartape... hmmmm.

20mm is a bit of a silly tyre size imho. these 4seasons don't really have the skinwall look (more brownish) but the most durable I know of, rode these for about 8000kms without 1 puncture

Finished! I'm really happy with it, thankfully its a perfect fit for me. Many thanks to the guys at Armourtex. I am now totally broke but i have my dream bike.

sweet build! colour looks to be a very good match too, in daylight.

Brilliant turnaround! Very nice bike, how does it ride?

Nice. Though bar angle is a bit weird. Can you reach brake levers while in the drops?

yes they're tilted upward but might be comfortable for Jellyman?

maybe take a pic zoomed in from a few steps back, I think it might be the wide angle lens causing the bars to look enormous in the last pic

If they're comfortable for the owner than obviously that's ok.

Rides really nicely. Very comfortable althought i may stick some clipless pedals on it if i can find some that look right. I know its not period correct but i think riding enjoyment trumps that. I've only been out on it twice so still playing around with the seat and handle bars. It feels right when i've got my hands over the hoods but It is a bit of a stretch to the levers on the drops. Would dropping the angle of the handlebars help?

Awesome bike, gotta love the Gios blue colour.

It feels right when i've got my hands over the hoods but It is a bit of a stretch to the levers on the drops. Would dropping the angle of the handlebars help?

No, then you would have to reach even further. Maybe there's some room to move your saddle forward? I think you don't want a shorter stem unlezs it's a Gios panto'd one ;-)

Actually I think I read your post wrong

If your hands are in the drops you don't have to stretch as far, only if they're on the hoods