Ricardo Appreciation Society

Cycladelia
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Cycladelia » Mon Apr 16, 2012 9:01 am

Clydesdale Scot wrote: any chance of linking to a low resolution version of the artwork once completed? I may be interested in a set for my Ricardo frame and happy to share in costs.
Philip
Thanks for your help Philip, I've sent Esigns an email so will await their reply. Do you have any idea how much it will cost with them?

I'm happy to post the decal designs for you when they're finished.

Cruiser_11
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Cruiser_11 » Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:47 pm

Hi this is my first post on here. I have been visiting and reading this thread for ages getting inspired by all the great restorations. I am nearly half way through my second Ricardo restoration (well that's a lie because the first was a Dixie conversion) but this one is going to be a real tribute to the original. I'llpost some pics tomorrow of the starting point but I just wanted to address the decal question. I have arranged for a set to be reproduced by a design mob in Queensland. He is sending me the final proof tomorrow. Charging 20 bucks a set which I reckon is reasonable. Pics to come. Cheers

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jbchybridrider
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby jbchybridrider » Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:37 am

[quote="silentbutdeadly"][quote="jbchybridrider"]

Thanks for getting this info up on the site. I got the gist of the bikes past when I picked it up but you know how it is over time details fade.
I'm sure a lot of people wish they knew as much about there old bikes past, if I knew 10% of that about my Aussie made columbus framed bike I'd be very happy.

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jbchybridrider
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby jbchybridrider » Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:44 am

toumbhar10 wrote:
My love for gorge road is indescribable, although i've never ridden it. It makes for a nice sunday (any day really!) drive up to cudlee creek cafe for one of their burgers.
God created gorge road for bikes not cars :lol:

Wolfy
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Wolfy » Sat Apr 21, 2012 5:04 pm

Just thought I'd post a blurb about my Ricardo Viva. Bought it brand new in about 1984/5 ish. Still have all the paperwork that came with it including insurance and registration papers for "Bike File" data base. I rode it about a dozen times, then put it away in the shed until now!! Could do with a little TLC, but otherwise absolutely original condition. Looking to move this on but I may not be able to post in for sale section due to the rules.
This may be my 1 and only post on this forum as I am not really interested in bikes anymore and can't imagine being an active member here.
Would really like this bike to go to someone who appreciates it for what it is - a great Aussie made road bike.
Pm me or reply to this if anyone is at all interested.
Thanx
Wolfy

DKR
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby DKR » Sat Apr 21, 2012 6:04 pm

Wolfy wrote:Just thought I'd post a blurb about my Ricardo Viva. Bought it brand new in about 1984/5 ish. Still have all the paperwork that came with it including insurance and registration papers for "Bike File" data base. I rode it about a dozen times, then put it away in the shed until now!! Could do with a little TLC, but otherwise absolutely original condition. Looking to move this on but I may not be able to post in for sale section due to the rules.
This may be my 1 and only post on this forum as I am not really interested in bikes anymore and can't imagine being an active member here.
Would really like this bike to go to someone who appreciates it for what it is - a great Aussie made road bike.
Pm me or reply to this if anyone is at all interested.
Thanx
Wolfy
Photos! :)

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Clydesdale Scot
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Clydesdale Scot » Sat Apr 21, 2012 6:46 pm

DKR wrote: Photos! :)
Image

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HappyHumber
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby HappyHumber » Sat Apr 21, 2012 10:28 pm

Well, if we are going to go down that vein, here's the eponymous "Ricky" Ricardo. For the youngers amongst us. I swear I only know him because of the residual ABC repeats in the early/mid 90s! I must have made the association at the time for the few mates riding Ricardos to school.

Image

(click through on pic for wiki article. if you're reeeeeaaaaalllly fascinated)

The pet name has segued across a few of my Ricardo rides.
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HappyHumber
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby HappyHumber » Sat Apr 21, 2012 10:46 pm

And... well... I couldn't help myself. Apparently this is Wierd Al Yankovic's first p!55 take video, from 1983. The lyrics summarise the original series beautifully.

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Wolfy
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Wolfy » Sun Apr 22, 2012 9:14 am

DKR wrote:
Wolfy wrote:Just thought I'd post a blurb about my Ricardo Viva. Bought it brand new in about 1984/5 ish. Still have all the paperwork that came with it including insurance and registration papers for "Bike File" data base. I rode it about a dozen times, then put it away in the shed until now!! Could do with a little TLC, but otherwise absolutely original condition. Looking to move this on but I may not be able to post in for sale section due to the rules.
This may be my 1 and only post on this forum as I am not really interested in bikes anymore and can't imagine being an active member here.
Would really like this bike to go to someone who appreciates it for what it is - a great Aussie made road bike.
Pm me or reply to this if anyone is at all interested.
Thanx
Wolfy
Photos! :)
Don't have permission to post photos here as far as I can tell. If there is a way, let me know and I will post some!!

Wolfy
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Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:59 am

Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Wolfy » Mon Apr 23, 2012 8:10 am

Here ( hopefully ) are the links to a couple of photos of the Viva i have for sale.
As you can see she is completely as she rolled out of the store in 1985 ish.
I have only removed the toe clips ( which I'm sure I have somewhere), and the rubber covers on the brake-levers which was perished beyond help.
http://flic.kr/p/bAQa1Y
http://flic.kr/p/bPJMct

Wolfy

Cruiser_11
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Cruiser_11 » Fri May 04, 2012 2:36 pm

Ok Guys so I received the decals last week from Decal Central (http://www.decalcentral.com.au P 4123 3090 (queensland)) and they look bloody amazing. I will be putting the final touches on my restoration project tonight and posting some pictures as soon as I work out how to do it. I am really pleased with how it's turned out so far. I think I will be riding my new Ricardo in the next Bike SA Grand Slam Series ride just to show her off!!

Cycladelia
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Cycladelia » Sat May 05, 2012 12:19 pm

Cruiser_11 wrote:Ok Guys so I received the decals last week from Decal Central (http://www.decalcentral.com.au P 4123 3090 (queensland)) and they look bloody amazing.
How much were they mate?

Cruiser_11
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Cruiser_11 » Fri May 11, 2012 1:51 pm

Cycladelia wrote:
Cruiser_11 wrote:Ok Guys so I received the decals last week from Decal Central (http://www.decalcentral.com.au P 4123 3090 (queensland)) and they look bloody amazing.
How much were they mate?
About $20 a set. and they look brilliant.

Cruiser_11
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Cruiser_11 » Fri May 11, 2012 2:05 pm

So about 6 months ago, maybe longer, I got an email from a good friend of mine who came across an advertisement on the Adelaide Cyclists forum that he thought would interest me. Over the past 2 years I have made a hobby out of converting tired old bikes into newly refurbished Fixies. I’ve done about 6 or 7 fixie conversions of old Malvern Stars, Repco Racers and a Ricardo. The advertisement he sent me was a bloke GIVING AWAY an old Ricardo race bike, my friend thought it would be a good one for me to convert to a fixie. I thought the same thing when I first read it and arranged to pick it up form him. Then I saw it…. This bike was an absolute beauty. She looked as though she had only been ridden a handful of times in her time then left to sit in someone’s garage for the last 2 decades (the tyres even held pressure). I knew straight away that this bike deserved more than the same old fixie “upgrade” that I was used to. This old girl needed to be brought back to life as a real racing bike.
And so my journey began. I took about 6 months to research, collect parts and decide on the best way to go about a full restoration.
One of the things I absolutely loved about the bike was that beautiful Spearmint green pearl colour that coated her frame. I knew that when I had the frame powder-coated I would have to keep it Green, unfortunately I could not get anything as light as the original but I am happy with the peppermint green I went for.
The original running gear on her was Suntour however most of it was rusted in place or completely worn out. luckily I managed to collect New or reconditioned parts from the era (late 70’s/Early 80’s) including some BRAND NEW IN BOX Shimano Dura-Ace EX downtube shifters, a BRAND NEW IN BOX Shimano Dura-Ace EX front Derailleur, a Reconditioned Shimano Dura-Ace EX rear derailleur and a reconditioned set of Shimano Dura-Ace EX Brakes. I figured these would have been top of the line at the time this bike was built.
Fortunately the wheels and tyres were in really good condition. All I did was dismantle the wheels, polish the hubs and rims and replace the spokes with new ones. I also replaced the rusted out wheel skewers with some great Anodised Green skewers to match the frame colour (while this is not original I think it had to have some sort of modern bling to it).
I kept the original bottom bracket and axle as they were in perfect condition, I just cleaned and re-greased it all. The original Cranks were pretty good besides some dirt. I took them apart and polished them up to re-use.
The Headstem and handlebars were in amazing condition and all I did was polish them up to be re-used. The headset was rusted so I replaced it with a Chrome one to match the headstem. The original brake levers were in terrific condition however the hoods had perished. I toyed with the idea of re-using them but instead I went for a set of Aero levers to tidy up the cabling.
To finish off the job I added some white bar tape, white cabling, some whitewall tyres and a new white saddle. I even had the decals re-created to make sure everybody knows that this bike is an original Ricardo. I even had the “Made in Australia” sticker reproduced with the original Ricardo Factory address on it.
It actually turns out that my Father-in-law (Who originally got me into cycling) used to work at the Ricardo Factory here in Adelaide. He was working at the Malvern Star factory for a couple of years then briefly moved over to Ricardo on Pirie Street before getting married. He came with me to pick up this bike originally and he knew when he first saw it that she was a beauty. I have since purchased another Ricardo bike (a Ricardo Medallion) which I am going to restore as a gift to him. I will keep that one posted on here also.
Photo’s of the nearly complete project can be found at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... fa4d717c64

I will add Before shots and final assembled shots when I get around to it.

Let me know what you think!

LG
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby LG » Fri May 11, 2012 4:26 pm

I've got this Ricardo Viva in the shed doing nothing... too small for me :cry:

If anybody fits a 52cm seat tube with 56cm top tube, let me know. Happy to dismantle and send frame only if that be your desire, or swap for an older 58cm frame (50s, 60s, 70s).

Image

Image
LG = Low Gear

RicardoBushbike
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby RicardoBushbike » Sat May 12, 2012 6:10 pm

It's good to see Ricardo racing bikes still surviving, but are there many owners left of Ricardo Bushbike mountain bikes? I've got a black model I bought new in '88, and I covered a lot of miles on it. These bikes have to be the most comfortable and hard-wearing bikes I've ever had. Unfortunately I lent it to my Dad while I lived in North Fitzroy (no bloody space) a couple of years ago, and it subsequently the frame got destroyed. I was just about to rebuild it too.

Luckily, I came across an '88 orange model in fantastic condition on eBay a year ago, and I've spent a bit at a fantastic local bike shop (Walkers Wheels here in Montmorency) upgrading to a 24 speed set (using the original SIS selectors in friction mode), and just modernising where required while keeping the original character intact. Just had some retro-looking full-length mudguards fitted, which really suit the bike.

Only thing is, the original decals need replacing. I still have my original black Bushbike under the house, and those decals are intact so it should be easy to duplicate them. How would I go about taking a photo of the decals? Do I need to have a ruler in the photo to scale the decals, or do I just need to measure them? Any good companies anyone would recommend?

I'll have to post a photo of my bike.

Stuey
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Stuey » Sat May 12, 2012 9:32 pm

Welcome Bushbike. Look above this post about 150mm and you'll see a name for decal reproduction.

RicardoBushbike
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby RicardoBushbike » Sun May 13, 2012 11:57 am

Image
Image
Image
Image

1988 Ricardo Bushbike. This bike is fast as an (upgraded) 24 speed. Still has the elliptical cranks and the under-frame U-brakes. It's not the lightest, but it's a beauty to ride - very stable and comfortable. This is a hugely tough bike that needs little maintenance. Can't wait to take it to Perth with us.

This is my daily rider I leave at work for lunch-time rides.

RicardoBushbike
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby RicardoBushbike » Sun May 13, 2012 12:07 pm

Stuey wrote:Welcome Bushbike. Look above this post about 150mm and you'll see a name for decal reproduction.
Thanks Stuey. Sorted.

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jbchybridrider
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby jbchybridrider » Sun May 13, 2012 6:53 pm

That Ricardo MTB is a lovely looking bike in great condition. I'm always looking for one myself but have only seen one that had all the brazeon's hacked off to make a single speed. I've got many parts but no complete bike, it wont stop me looking though.
"Bushbike" if you go back through this thread and look at posts from Ricardoman you'll find brochures listing all the different models, you should find your model.

RicardoBushbike
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby RicardoBushbike » Sun May 13, 2012 9:36 pm

jbchybridrider wrote:That Ricardo MTB is a lovely looking bike in great condition. I'm always looking for one myself but have only seen one that had all the brazeon's hacked off to make a single speed. I've got many parts but no complete bike, it wont stop me looking though.
"Bushbike" if you go back through this thread and look at posts from Ricardoman you'll find brochures listing all the different models, you should find your model.
Thanks Mate - just did that. I think I had that catalogue back in the '80s! I actually know the model really well - I bought my black model new in '88, and I've had it ever since. I know what you mean about trying to get one of these bikes - they're so rare. When my black bike was wrecked, I just happened to have a look on eBay and up the orange one popped, just a couple of suburbs away. I would have paid heaps for it, but managed to get it for $50. The rims were toast, but the actual frame was in amazing condition. A real find.

Steve

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munga
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby munga » Sun May 13, 2012 10:14 pm

Cruiser_11 wrote:So about 6 months ago, maybe longer, I got an email from a good friend of mine who came across an advertisement on the Adelaide Cyclists forum that he thought would interest me. Over the past 2 years I have made a hobby out of converting tired old bikes into newly refurbished Fixies. I’ve done about 6 or 7 fixie conversions of old Malvern Stars, Repco Racers and a Ricardo. The advertisement he sent me was a bloke GIVING AWAY an old Ricardo race bike, my friend thought it would be a good one for me to convert to a fixie. I thought the same thing when I first read it and arranged to pick it up form him. Then I saw it…. This bike was an absolute beauty. She looked as though she had only been ridden a handful of times in her time then left to sit in someone’s garage for the last 2 decades (the tyres even held pressure). I knew straight away that this bike deserved more than the same old fixie “upgrade” that I was used to. This old girl needed to be brought back to life as a real racing bike.
And so my journey began. I took about 6 months to research, collect parts and decide on the best way to go about a full restoration.
One of the things I absolutely loved about the bike was that beautiful Spearmint green pearl colour that coated her frame. I knew that when I had the frame powder-coated I would have to keep it Green, unfortunately I could not get anything as light as the original but I am happy with the peppermint green I went for.
The original running gear on her was Suntour however most of it was rusted in place or completely worn out. luckily I managed to collect New or reconditioned parts from the era (late 70’s/Early 80’s) including some BRAND NEW IN BOX Shimano Dura-Ace EX downtube shifters, a BRAND NEW IN BOX Shimano Dura-Ace EX front Derailleur, a Reconditioned Shimano Dura-Ace EX rear derailleur and a reconditioned set of Shimano Dura-Ace EX Brakes. I figured these would have been top of the line at the time this bike was built.
Fortunately the wheels and tyres were in really good condition. All I did was dismantle the wheels, polish the hubs and rims and replace the spokes with new ones. I also replaced the rusted out wheel skewers with some great Anodised Green skewers to match the frame colour (while this is not original I think it had to have some sort of modern bling to it).
I kept the original bottom bracket and axle as they were in perfect condition, I just cleaned and re-greased it all. The original Cranks were pretty good besides some dirt. I took them apart and polished them up to re-use.
The Headstem and handlebars were in amazing condition and all I did was polish them up to be re-used. The headset was rusted so I replaced it with a Chrome one to match the headstem. The original brake levers were in terrific condition however the hoods had perished. I toyed with the idea of re-using them but instead I went for a set of Aero levers to tidy up the cabling.
To finish off the job I added some white bar tape, white cabling, some whitewall tyres and a new white saddle. I even had the decals re-created to make sure everybody knows that this bike is an original Ricardo. I even had the “Made in Australia” sticker reproduced with the original Ricardo Factory address on it.
It actually turns out that my Father-in-law (Who originally got me into cycling) used to work at the Ricardo Factory here in Adelaide. He was working at the Malvern Star factory for a couple of years then briefly moved over to Ricardo on Pirie Street before getting married. He came with me to pick up this bike originally and he knew when he first saw it that she was a beauty. I have since purchased another Ricardo bike (a Ricardo Medallion) which I am going to restore as a gift to him. I will keep that one posted on here also.
Photo’s of the nearly complete project can be found at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... fa4d717c64

I will add Before shots and final assembled shots when I get around to it.

Let me know what you think!
great story and a great result, mate!

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HappyHumber
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby HappyHumber » Sun May 13, 2012 10:46 pm

Lovin' this!

Ricardo was the last of true, domestic built brands.

+1 for saving a Lxxxxx serial number frame - whatever the guage or weight! :D

Now I want me one of them later built, but early MTB frames!
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Stuey
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Re: Ricardo Appreciation Society

Postby Stuey » Mon May 14, 2012 12:12 am

Yep, that MTB is a beaut. I've never seen one before. Top 'guards, too. Maybe needs a spacer at the lower mount on the rear, just to make the guard follow the tyre? (Nit picky I know). Love practical bikes...

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