Gios Aerodynamic 1982, back from the dead

Ok, we've all heard the story, a classic frame found rusty and unloved on a turbo trainer and restored to its former glory.

I've found a 1982 Gios Aerodynamic, smothered in powdercoat and stickered up with later decals. The non-original fork was too rusty to save, but made of gaspipe anyway, so who cares? The top tube guides were rusted out, the gear hanger had disappeared in a crash, there was surface rust everywhere.

The only trouble with the story so far is that I've had the frame from new, so all the crashes (hence non-original fork), terrible powdercoat gloop, rust etc. ARE MY FAULT.

I probably wouldn't have started this if I hadn't spotted exactly the right fork on Fleabay, in Poland. I await a box. I also blame Jingle Jangle for his immaculate Super Record which made me feel guilty!

Right, seeing as I put the gloop on it, I shall take it off, time to strip!

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Very nice frame it's crying out be to restored to its former glory

This is gonna be good;)

Who is sorting out the mech hanger, top tube guides and re-paint? What colour? Flamboyant enamel or powdercoat?

Ace project and deserves to be given a second chance at life.

Please grind off the horrible braze-ons, powdercoat, then build as 'sick' fixeh skiddeh

Just taking a rest from stripping. If anyone sells you a 'miracle-it-will-just-fall-off' paintstripper, punch them for lying before you even leave the shop!

Steve Goff is doing the frame work and paint, after the frame he built me I trust him, plus he's very reasonable. I was pondering candy-apple red with metallic gold lugs, but decided to settle on boring old Gios blue (apparently the trick is red primer).

Now, where's that angle grinder?

Right, my career as a stripper ended at 3am, OCD strikes again..... The idea was to check that the frame was sound and that the rust was surface only. Thankfully it was! Just as well, because I got impatient and have already got packages coming from Poland, Holland and World Cycle Decals.

Bloody typical, I got World Cycle Decals to make up a custom set for me, checked out the right typeface for the 'AERODYNAMIC' logos and the logo size, specified the right silver band (instead of the white for the Gios Super Record), all this because nobody was ever going to make a set for a rare frame. You guessed it, the very next day on Fleabay.......

Had an enormous stroke of luck though, found a boxed Record headset and a C-Record Chorus seatpin in super but filthy condition, £40 the pair!!! The seatpin can go into the Goff and the Super Record can come out and go into the Gios where it originally lived.

Come on packages!

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Please grind off the horrible braze-ons, powdercoat, then build as 'sick' fixeh skiddeh

+rep. Loving this Colin, keep the updates coming.

moar!

just spoke to Steve Goff, may get him to sort out my woodrup, what a nice guy.

you just have to go to his cave LS, i won't say any more...

A package, A PACKAGE!!!!

You order something from Poland via Fleabay Intl. and somehow there is always a little lurking suspicion....

What I ordered was a mint, chromed, Gios engraved fork (NOS, unused, honest!) in the original Columbus Air. What I actually got was.... exactly that!

I spent a day or so arguing the price with the guy and got it for probably £40 less than he wanted and £25 more than I wanted to pay, so honours even. In fact, I would've swapped my daughter for these (truthfully I'd swap her for a pair of rusty toeclips at the moment).

Hopefully, decals tomorrow and off to Goff it goes, Luckyskull wait your turn!

There's so much to do on this build, I think I can do a daily update, It can be our own little soap opera.

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Soap?

Great find on the forks!

^You should be ashamed to be able to remember that, brilliant wasn't it!?

The reflection in the close up of the forks..

A package, A PACKAGE!!!!

You order something from Poland via Fleabay Intl. and somehow there is always a little lurking suspicion....

What I ordered was a mint, chromed, Gios engraved fork (NOS, unused, honest!) in the original Columbus Air. What I actually got was.... exactly that!

I spent a day or so arguing the price with the guy and got it for probably £40 less than he wanted and £25 more than I wanted to pay, so honours even. In fact, I would've swapped my daughter for these (truthfully I'd swap her for a pair of rusty toeclips at the moment).

Hopefully, decals tomorrow and off to Goff it goes, Luckyskull wait your turn!

There's so much to do on this build, I think I can do a daily update, It can be our own little soap opera.

They've even got the wooden bit up the steerer tube to reinforce it.

^Those little wooden plugs were there to stop water and dirt getting into the steerer column and rusting it. I haven't seen one for years, it just screamed 'genuine', I smiled.

Just a mini-update today, the decals arrived and they look to be spot on, so off to Goff has gone frame, headset, forks and decals.

A thought or so about why I'm rebuilding the Gios; firstly it deserves to be restored as it was once beautiful (in my eyes at least), secondly, I want to ride it on the road again, even if only on good days. If I wanted art to hang on my walls, I would take a photograph or buy a painting, bicycles are for riding. It WILL have pedals.

In the God-knows-how-long until the frame comes back gleaming, I have plenty of components to play with or buy. I have many of the original bits, most of which are somewhere under an inch or so of grime and oil.....

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Do let us know what the paint code is when it gets sprayed, ta

Well in sir. This frame will be amazeballs when renovated.

No posts over the weekend as I was either: a) finally doing some proper miles. b) drunk. c) watching Paris-Roubaix, or d) polishing something.

All the original components are getting a nut and bolt rebuild*

*Take it apart, drop something tiny and impossible to replace on the carpet, spend an hour searching, find it in your shoe, clean everything, put it back together, swear at the bit left over, take it apart again, finally put it together properly, drink beer.

So far I have: Super Record seatpin filched from the Goff- original, Super Record front mech- original, Nuovo Record rear mech- bought for a few pennies, Gipiemme Sprint pedals with Record clips and Binda Super straps (the best ever made)- original.

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good progress, what about cranks and gearing, teeth etc?

and wheels?

^Yes, I have all my own teeth.

Crank en route from Holland.

I have the original wheels, 2 pairs in fact, but I'll have to shovel the grime off first!

Strong work!

Now it needs to go to L'eroica :0)