Ricardo Appreciation Society

MattP69
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby MattP69 » Sat Jun 21, 2014 11:35 am

Hi yugyug,
I am in Adelaide. Im new to this forum and havent worked out how to attach pics yet. The bike is on gumtree, and is located at Blackwood. The price is right up there, but it is negotiable.

geoff_tewierik
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby geoff_tewierik » Sat Jun 21, 2014 11:49 am

This.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/blackwoo ... 1049587233" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MattP69
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby MattP69 » Sat Jun 21, 2014 2:55 pm

Thats the one, thanks geoff_tewierik.

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yugyug
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby yugyug » Sun Jun 22, 2014 9:17 am

Thanks matt (and geoff) reasonable price IMO but I'm after a downtube shifter aero model. Good luck with the sale tho!

OzRicardoOwner
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby OzRicardoOwner » Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:36 pm

All,

In late 2007, I bought a light blue Ricardo bike off ebay.com.au in an attempt to ressussitate my road racing career. When I bought it from a retiring tri-athlete, it had a few surface rust spots here and there and after having it serviced, it rode remarkably well for what appeared to be a bike from a past era (considering the modern look of contemporary bikes on the road these days). I loved riding it on flats around my NSW suburb and around Burleigh Griffin Lake in Canberra and it rekindled the pure enjoyment I used to experience while riding.

Admittedly though, I have been totally oblivious of Ricardo's racing pedigree ... until last night when I accidentally bumped into this fantastic group and its informative responses. Reading through all the posts made me realise why I had enjoyed riding it so much: the bike absorbed the road's imperfections, changing gears was smooth and more importantly, I didn't have any of the lower back problems I used to have while riding competitively when I was young.

I was on the verge on selling the bike but now I am not so sure and wanted to ask the Ricardo experts here for some advice about whether to keep and repaint\renovate the bike OR simply sell it.

There's a few things I'd like to know first ...

1. Serial Number Details:
I'd like to identify what model my bike is and in the absence of anything indicating the model, this is what appears under the bike (yes, the "P" appears above the row where the other characters appear):
P
L6 2350

Using the information provided in past posts, I understood - and was amazed - that my bike was built in 1986. I am rather puzzled by the "P" character which appears above the row where the other information is displayed. Can anyone shed some light as to what the "P" means? Is it the identifier for the model of the bike or the month that the bike was manufactured?

2. Stickers:
Aside from the Ricardo stickers on the frame, there are the usual stickers for "10 year warranty Leisure Cycles Aust ...", "Made In Australia" and the name of the bike shop (ie, "Hornsby Cycle") where it was probably first sold. There is also another sticker on the seat stem frame which reads "Tange 900 CR-MO Double Butted Tubes". If I decide to sandblast\repaint it, I would like to know how I could get a copy of the original stickers.

3. Cost Estimates:
I cannot post any pictures of the bike yet but suffice to say that compared of many pictures of very rusty bikes I've seen on this thread, mine appears to be in good shape as I kept it shelterred in the garage since I've had it. I would still like to know how much an average reno costs for a bike which is in average shape.

Many thanks in advance.

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yugyug
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby yugyug » Thu Jul 17, 2014 12:30 pm

Sounds like a sweet bike worth keeping. Post a picture!

I'm not a ricardo expert, just someone who's wants one - missed a sweet Elite with a smoke effect paint job that was on ebay last week, single owner since 1989, still had the manual. I went to test ride it and everything, then on the night of the auction ending I got distracted by my kid and missed putting in a final bid! Would have paid maybe twice what that went for! :(

For sure you can get the Tange decals, maybe the Ricardo decals, probably not the shop decals (guessing) but the latter are not that important are they?

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silentbutdeadly
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby silentbutdeadly » Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:59 pm

If you've determined that yours is a 1986 build then here's the model/spec listing from 85-86 courtesy of Ricardoman Image

In this same album there's also an image of stickers that someone might be able to reproduce for you. There's some links on page 6 of this thread.

Personally, I'd renovate...or pass it on to someone who will for a fiver because they aren't worth much unless the original components are all there and everything's in decent shape.
Ours is not to reason why...merely to point and giggle

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silentbutdeadly
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby silentbutdeadly » Thu Jul 17, 2014 3:03 pm

yugyug wrote:I'm not a ricardo expert, just someone who's wants one...
There's a large Pinnacle frameset (basically as good as they ever got) in Brisbane on Gumtree... http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/algester ... 1050478814" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

..and a 51cm Elite in Canberra http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/kambah/b ... 1051258284" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Found a quite a few more in Adelaide too (so unsurprising)...including a seemingly untouched Viva http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/highbury ... 1050037425" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Ours is not to reason why...merely to point and giggle

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yugyug
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby yugyug » Thu Jul 17, 2014 4:39 pm

silentbutdeadly wrote:
yugyug wrote:I'm not a ricardo expert, just someone who's wants one...
There's a large Pinnacle frameset (basically as good as they ever got) in Brisbane on Gumtree... http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/algester ... 1050478814" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

..and a 51cm Elite in Canberra http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/kambah/b ... 1051258284" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Found a quite a few more in Adelaide too (so unsurprising)...including a seemingly untouched Viva http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/highbury ... 1050037425" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
thanks... ur right the viva is in good nick..

I'm looking for an elite or higher in a 53 or 54, with tange chromoly forks, so I can upgrade from my too large repco superlite with hi-ten forks... just throwing it out there. ;)

akq
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby akq » Tue Jul 22, 2014 3:13 pm

One of my more recent kerbside finds http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/321462650492 ... 1555.l2649" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

quokkaqueen
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby quokkaqueen » Tue Jul 22, 2014 9:22 pm

Something tells me this isn't the style of bicycle that is usually discussed, but I thought I should throw my hat into the ring with a Ricardo "City Sports" :D

Image

If anyone asks, the tackiness is a theft deterrent. But this is the bike I picked up off ebay that got me riding daily, and I've become quite attached to it. The only thing that has me stumped are the handlebars; it's like they're miniature ape-hangers, only they are amazingly comfortable for an upright riding position. Are they that shape just because it was the fashion at the time? Or is there an entire genre of girly bicycles I've missed?

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silentbutdeadly
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby silentbutdeadly » Wed Jul 23, 2014 10:27 am

Plenty of town bikes with that style of bars...and not just girly ones either.
Ours is not to reason why...merely to point and giggle

quokkaqueen
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby quokkaqueen » Wed Jul 23, 2014 12:53 pm

I'm obviously looking at the wrong bikes then! Thanks silent! :D

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HappyHumber
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby HappyHumber » Wed Jul 23, 2014 2:33 pm

quokkaqueen wrote:The only thing that has me stumped are the handlebars; it's like they're miniature ape-hangers, only they are amazingly comfortable for an upright riding position.
Probably more the style of bike like that they're suited to - more upright position than the ol' Dragsters you're probably thinking of with the 'Ape Hangers'. As silentbutdeadly states; there's a number of these style bikes still around. Statistically and proportionately they were more probably a ladies bike, and probably got looked after (or just used less and left undercover) than the boys or kids bikes that you saw the 'hangers on.

I think they were a fairly common niche of bike from perhaps the early 70s through to the mid 80s in Australia. Most tell tale indicators are the wheels sizes between 20" and 26" in size with the step through frame. "Family Star" I think was the Malvern Star model name; a few have popped up here on various BNA threads.

Don't know about others, but I tend to refer to them as "Shoppers". Maybe that's just because I'm a chauvinistic ol' retro grouch ;) Often they came with (or had available) rear and/or front racks with basket & bag accessories. I sort of associate them with little old ladies carrying their little white fluffy dogs in the basket. But I did grow up in a retirement town through the 80s.
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yugyug
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Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby yugyug » Mon Aug 04, 2014 5:01 pm

Finally found and bought a Ricardo :)

Image

I actually saw this on ebay a while back, took it for a test ride, then through a combination of thinking it was too big for me, and getting distracted on the day the auction ended, I forgot to bid. Then, check it, it appears on gumtree a week or so later, the new owner found it the wrong size and sold it on to me for more or less the same price. Its an interesting bike, some of the following info came from the original owner, and some from the interim owner who told me he was racer sponsored by Ricardo back in the day.

So apparently its a custom build by Wayne Roberts with an airgun paint by Ray Greenslade. You can see the same kind of smoke effect on parts of some other Ricardo Elites (there was one on Ebay a few weeks back) but this is the only one I've seen with the paint effect over the whole frame.

Mixed bag of components - suntour cyclone RD, shimano FD, dia compe brakes, sugino cranks, suzue hibs, ukai rims etc. The coolest thing is the Suntour Symmetric shifters which have a single braze on and a cam between the two shifters - as you shift the rear it trims the front to prevent chain rub. An innovation apparently killed by Shimano introducing indexed the following year.

Image

Image

Image

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Image

Image

No tube decals but I can match fork ends, drop outs, lugs and that cable guide over the BB shell to the '88 Tange catalog. Seat tube and seat post diameters match with either Tange 1000 or one option for Prestige - I'm guessing its the former, but who knows what they may have used in a custom build. Maybe someone here can tell me more?

The interim owner took off the original bars and Vetta saddle (thats my brooks), but on the plus side he serviced the headset. Note the geometry is a little different from other elites, there seems to be more rake and wheel clearance. The original owner raced it in triathlons, but it has eyelets for fenders. This is all pretty cool because I have enough drop bar road bikes and I want to do something a bit unconventional with this i.e all weather town bike with swept back upright bars ;)

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silentbutdeadly
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby silentbutdeadly » Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:19 am

See what happens when you wait...you get a good one. And one that's pretty and unique to boot.

If I see it looking like a town bike in the future (even in jest)...I will send the Lord Of The Internet over to give you a damn good slapping...
Ours is not to reason why...merely to point and giggle

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yugyug
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby yugyug » Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:39 am

silentbutdeadly wrote:See what happens when you wait...you get a good one. And one that's pretty and unique to boot.

If I see it looking like a town bike in the future (even in jest)...I will send the Lord Of The Internet over to give you a damn good slapping...
Crikey... I thought that might be a controversial. When I done posting pictures I'll be sure to quickly switch of my wifi router?

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HappyHumber
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby HappyHumber » Tue Aug 05, 2014 2:49 pm

As cool as that paint job is.... it's a little Passive-smoking-induced-asphyxia for me to really love it ;)
Last edited by HappyHumber on Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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yugyug
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby yugyug » Tue Aug 05, 2014 3:32 pm

Its probably a little bit more tasteful in the version posted on page 5 of this thread:
Image

On the other hand, I kind of like it for its retro intensity - like going back in time and walking into a dirty old 80s pub with full ashtrays, beer soaked maroon carpet and Chisel on the jukebox.

By the way, what would you do with the brown rusty bits showing through the scratches? Was thinking about dabbing it with a touch of rust convertor to blacken it, hopefully make it fit with the paint a bit better?

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frailer5
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby frailer5 » Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:10 pm

I like it... 8)
Well, no, it's not a pushbike, otherwise I'd be pushing it...
Ricardo Elite, '87 Keith Davis/Pegasus, '92 Team Miyata Ti.

mitchj
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby mitchj » Thu Aug 07, 2014 2:04 pm

Hello all;
Mitch is my name, from Renmark in South Australia. A few days ago I bought a Ricardo 10 speed racer from the local 2nd hand shop. It appears to be a bit old & in quite good condition, so I thought I would try to find out some info on it-model, age etc. Finding no dedicated Ricardo website, I came across this site (specificaly the Ricardo Appreciation Society), & wondered if you folks could help me. I've included some photos (I think I have this Photobucket thing sorted...!), & I wrote down what I could from the various parts. (I guess I am also curious about the "quality" of the running gear.) I've been riding bicycles for 40+ years & just realised I dont actualy know much about them!
Anyway, heres some pics.
Image
Image
[imghttp://s1283.photobucket.com/user/mitchj7/media/20140805125011963_zps53ed2204.jpg.html?sort=3&o=3][/img]
Heres a description (hope its not too long winded...!) Gold painted steel frame; red writing; serial no. 81538; eagle,not piping shrike stickers; Shimano "Altus" gears/levers; Shimano "Selecta" cranks; "Takara" h/bars; "Win Gold" head stem; "Dia Compe" brakes; "Ukai 27 x 1 1/4 alli. wheels; Shimano "Via" axles; & for what its worth, it weighs 13 kg.
Any help would be great!!

Cheers!!
Last edited by mitchj on Thu Aug 07, 2014 11:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

mitchj
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby mitchj » Thu Aug 07, 2014 11:12 pm

Hmmm...apparently I haven't got the photobucket thing sorted out yet. I'll try again...

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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby mitchj » Thu Aug 07, 2014 11:33 pm

Image

mitchj
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby mitchj » Thu Aug 07, 2014 11:35 pm

Nope-haven't got it sorted yet...not sure what I'm doing wrong.

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Clydesdale Scot
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Clydesdale Scot » Fri Aug 08, 2014 7:46 am

pm sent

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