Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

User avatar
drubie
Posts: 4714
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2008 11:12 am
Location: New England
Contact:

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby drubie » Fri Sep 13, 2013 11:34 am

I'd rather it stayed together, which it's new owner has promised to do. When I packed it up, the Laprade seatpost wasn't even stuck. Amazing for something that has pretty clearly been out in the weather for a while.
So we get the leaders we deserve and we elect, we get the companies and the products that we ask for, right? And we have to ask for different things. – Paul Gilding
but really, that's rubbish. We get none of it because the choices are illusory.

User avatar
mark field
Posts: 932
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 8:28 pm

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby mark field » Sun Oct 20, 2013 3:14 pm

hi, all i found an Europa at the second hand markets near my work, and its owner found $80 in my wallet. ive been after one for a while but now not sure if i can be bothered, to much other stuff going on. i was curious to know what brand and when i used a bit of acetone to get rid of the awesome fresh paint job that covered the sticker and surface rust i was quite taken back. ive never seen an Europa moto-bmx. As far as i can see its mostly complete save for the rear wheel, seat, grips, brakes, and yes......the spokey dokeys. ( will sell the spokey dokeys on ebay for about $500 min, because they are original and a must have for all vintage pushies ) :wink: i uploaded some pics on flikr but cant figure out how to put the images on, as ive not done it for a while.
steel is the real deal.

User avatar
HappyHumber
Posts: 5072
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2007 11:48 pm
Location: Perth, (S.o.R.) W.A.

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby HappyHumber » Sun Oct 20, 2013 6:30 pm

you're a tease, Mark.
--
Hit me up via the BNA dm; I'll get an alert. If y'know, you know.

TDC
Posts: 587
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2011 8:37 pm
Location: Adelaide
Contact:

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby TDC » Sat Nov 09, 2013 2:43 pm

This might be of interest to Sydneysiders.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Vintage-Aben ... RTM1430835" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PatNZ
Posts: 137
Joined: Mon Dec 02, 2013 12:52 pm

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby PatNZ » Thu Feb 27, 2014 6:28 pm

I have recently gotten an Elan bicycle that i'm about to get road worthy again. I don't really know much about it. I'm not sure of the year or what the frame is made out of. I'm guessing it maybe about 1990?? The groupset is 400ex shimano. It feels reasonably light. I'm not sure where it would stand in the range of Elan bikes. The chain ring is biopace. It has UKAI 700c wheels.

Its missing the front brake caliper and the brake handle for the front appears to be a little damaged as well. So the brakes are the only thing that need to be sorted before I can ride it. The headset looks straight to me as far as I can see.

I'd never heard of Elan before. But I found this at a garage sale and it looked like it was worth saving. As far as I can tell the drive train seems to work well with out any slipping on the few test rides i've done.

I'm looking forward to getting this thing going :).

I'll try to post links to photos below.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/ ... bc3067.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/ ... 473316.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/ ... 3dc7af.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/ ... 5a34ee.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Image

commando
Posts: 104
Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 11:34 pm
Location: Adelaide

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby commando » Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:25 pm

Hi,

I posted a quick shot of this Abeni Triathlon in the 'Hard Rubbish' thread and thought I'd throw a few more up here to see if anyone can tell me a bit more about it, such as an approximate year model. Aside from the Shimano 105 pedals and Mavic wheels, everything appears to be Campy GS. Sticker on the frame says Reynolds 531 butted tubing.

Whaddya think?

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

User avatar
singlespeedscott
Posts: 5510
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
Location: Elimbah, Queensland

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby singlespeedscott » Wed Mar 12, 2014 9:25 pm

Nice find.
Image

morini
Posts: 859
Joined: Sat May 07, 2011 8:53 pm
Location: Southern Downs Qld

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby morini » Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:34 pm

What do we think? I think you should sell it to me for $10. :D

User avatar
drubie
Posts: 4714
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2008 11:12 am
Location: New England
Contact:

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby drubie » Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:41 pm

Want!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
So we get the leaders we deserve and we elect, we get the companies and the products that we ask for, right? And we have to ask for different things. – Paul Gilding
but really, that's rubbish. We get none of it because the choices are illusory.

commando
Posts: 104
Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 11:34 pm
Location: Adelaide

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby commando » Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:10 pm

Cool. It's been many years since I had a proper race bike and after a quick ride around the block I realized how much I miss them. Despite the fact this bike has been neglected and is in need of some work, it still rode well enough to make me rethink flipping it.
Can anyone narrow down the year?

User avatar
Saro28
Posts: 561
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:36 pm

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby Saro28 » Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:45 pm

http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... 3&Enum=108" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... 3&Enum=108" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

if the're campag hubs the locknuts have a year/date stamped. GS from mid 70 > mid 80, frame would be...................?
Fight till the end n never give up. Cadel Evans 2012

cage
Posts: 379
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2013 4:38 pm

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby cage » Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:48 pm

Mid 80's is as close as your going to get. The only Campag. gear left on mine are the GS Brakes, Front Der. & seat post all of which look like what you have. Previous owner of mine said 1986...but then it could have been a 85 that was bought in 86.
Take a look at these...

http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... 7&AbsPos=0
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... 5&AbsPos=0
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... &AbsPos=34
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... &AbsPos=21
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... &AbsPos=28
If drivers and riders spent more time worrying about their responsibilities than their rights then roads would be far safer.

commando
Posts: 104
Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 11:34 pm
Location: Adelaide

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby commando » Thu Mar 13, 2014 7:27 pm

Excellent link, thanks guys! Looks like the rear is either a 990 or 980, but I'll have to get the bike out this weekend and take a closer look at everything.

Scott2468
Posts: 138
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 8:59 am

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby Scott2468 » Sat Mar 15, 2014 11:04 am

commando wrote:Excellent link, thanks guys! Looks like the rear is either a 990 or 980, but I'll have to get the bike out this weekend and take a closer look at everything.
That is a 980. Campagnolo released this in Sep 1980, thus with incredible imagination, they called it the 980. It was in production to 1985.

Your bike appears almost identical to mine.

Well worth restoring for the experience, fun and end result.
Scott2468 wrote:This is the Abeni I was given. It has early to mid 80s Campy gear throughout except the crankset and brake levers.

Image

So I bought these on ebay to keep everything original.

Image

Image

Then I stripped everything down. I glass blasted the frame and then etched and primed in two pack urethane.

Image

Image

During this process I stripped, cleaned and polished everything up.

Image

Image

Image

Finally I top coated the frame in 1982 Vauxhall Green two pack.

Image

Image

Image

Then I had a bit of fun and put everything together.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

I have ordered the vinyl decals but they have not yet arrived.

Image

Last of all I am hunting around for some Campy wheels to match the set. At the moment it has shimaNO 105 hubs on it.

The bike rides like a dream. Yesterday I couldnt take the smile off my face.
Image

cage
Posts: 379
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2013 4:38 pm

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby cage » Sat Mar 15, 2014 11:51 am

Scott2468 wrote: Image
One thing I've noticed is how on most ABENI's the decals have yellow lettering with a black surround. Mines the other way around, same as Scott2468 but commando's bike look's to has one of each type.

On the top tube of mine I've also got this decal
Image

...and the head tube decal is different to the repro's, one I haven't seen before.
Image

I'm going to get Cyclomondo to reproduce them but he's about to go away & winding down his custom work atm. Wont be back till late May so i'll just have to wait I guess.
If drivers and riders spent more time worrying about their responsibilities than their rights then roads would be far safer.

rogerrabbit
Posts: 1219
Joined: Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:12 pm
Location: Seaforth

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby rogerrabbit » Thu Mar 27, 2014 10:11 pm

ImageImageImageImageImageImage

This is a cheapie ($80) I picked up off Gumtree a couple of weeks ago. I have cleaned it up and it has alternative wheels on it for now until I can respoke the originals. It came with a rack, dynamo and chain guard like the one at the start of this thread. I had assumed they were fitted later but I will probably refit them now I can see they were original figment. The frame is a bit tatty in areas but all the parts are really clean.

Lots of steel bikes
Posts: 852
Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:33 pm

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby Lots of steel bikes » Tue Apr 01, 2014 9:23 pm

Spotted this large Europa. Looks like a repaint with new decals. Notice the missing middle cable guide and the rust appearing.
Image

User avatar
Kermit TF
Posts: 370
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 8:52 pm
Location: Canbrrra

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby Kermit TF » Thu May 01, 2014 8:43 pm

Bit of Abeni background...
Last week I caught up with an old friend and frame collector Franco who I think is in his mid 70s. Im buying an Abeni 1982 frame off him, and I asked him about Abeni having both been into cycling in Canberra in the 1970s.
Franco told me that Giovani lived in Canberra and setup a cycling shop in Braddon in the 70s, at some stage he founded the famous canberra made bike called Spokesman , in the early 80s Spokesman moved to the O'connor shops. ( I frequented this shop in 81-83 :lol: )
During this same period he also made the early canberra europas. At some point whilst in canberra he was also responsible for a frame called the Pegasus. The spokesmans where all made to order, from cheap to elite , no 2 Spokesmans where made alike, most of these where Tange frames. (Ive owned a few)
Around 82-83 he decided to move to Sydney and made aluminium frames with the prospect of selling these to European market, "apparently" It didnt go as well as he intended.
Franco told me Giovanis self "branded" frames where up there with the best in Australia, and made the Bundys , Ken Evans etc look cheap.
He also told me what he thought of his :twisted: personality as it appears they knew each other well in the old days.
If anyone wants to fill in the gaps between 1982 to late 80s that would be great, and / or correct my info.
On my next trip, I will interview Franco some more. ...his knowledge of Italian frame builders is incredible. I worry about him as he lives by himself and smokes 2 packs a day, anyway Ive built up a repoir, where he slowly tells me about the good ol days.
When in doubt......mumble.

ironhanglider
Posts: 2842
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:44 pm
Location: Middle East, Melbourne

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby ironhanglider » Fri May 02, 2014 9:23 am

John Rae owned Spokesman Cycles in Lonsdale St (at the other end to the current bike shops) in the mid-late 80s. He had a uni student called Steve working there for a while who was a promising rider. Saw him around a bit later too. :twisted:

Pegasus frames were built by Keith Davis.


Cheers,

Cameron

User avatar
Kermit TF
Posts: 370
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 8:52 pm
Location: Canbrrra

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby Kermit TF » Fri May 02, 2014 5:41 pm

I met John Rae 6 months ago, bought 2 bikes off him...he has a nice collection.
John Rae also did tell me that Pegasus Bikes was a Canberra product, but he never told me who owned it.
Cameron, did Keith "work" for John Abeni perhaps ?
When in doubt......mumble.

ironhanglider
Posts: 2842
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:44 pm
Location: Middle East, Melbourne

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby ironhanglider » Fri May 02, 2014 8:50 pm

I only ever knew of Pegasus as a one man show, and that the man was Keith.

I never had any first hand dealings with Keith, although I did have a second hand 531Professional Pegasus for a while that was built for a friend of mine and is now with another friend.

It is quite possible that Keith had some other arrangements since I was not involved in the business, just a rider and window shopper.

There weren't that many shops then, Big B was owned by Paul Burgild, Canberra Cycles was owned by John and Elaine Harvey, but for the life of me I can't remember who owned/ran Europa cycles. I can remember that he brought his bike out to the races on the back of an MG Midget.

Cheers,

Cameron

BTW Steve the Uni student's family name is Hodge.

User avatar
BradL
Posts: 76
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 12:21 pm

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby BradL » Tue May 27, 2014 11:41 pm

New 'round these parts - in terms of posting, so I don't think I can post pics yet.

Picked up this Elan for $45 a little while ago. Nothing particularly special I guess, with low end suntour gear, no integrated derailleur hanger and a clunky sugino crank that I swapped out for something slightly less crappy.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a63 ... f0391b.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rode nicely for what it was though. I forgot about it for a while and rode other bikes, but ended up pulling it apart and reconfigured it into - dare I say it - a single speed...

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a63 ... b4bdf6.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now I ride it every day. Rain hail or shine. No car, so this gets me to the shops, work, the pub, everywhere. I'm intrigued by the frame. The dropouts are weird suntour popped out things with no hanger, which I thought was a sign of crappiness (only a couple of years in to this compulsive cycling thing so am still learning), but overall it's quite a bit lighter than a similarly proportioned hi ten Super Elliott that I had. Maybe not hi ten perhaps? Regardless, the thing just makes me want to ride

User avatar
ldrcycles
Posts: 9594
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2010 3:19 pm
Location: Kin Kin, Queensland

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby ldrcycles » Sat Jun 28, 2014 8:48 pm

I don't have any experience/knowledge of Europas etc but i do have a mid 80s Dawes with stamped dropouts and "Dawes supertube". Not that light but it does ride BEAUTIFULLY. Sometimes bikes can perform better than the numbers would suggest.
"I must be rather keen on cycling"- Sir Hubert Opperman.

Road Record Association of Australia

User avatar
find_bruce
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 10579
Joined: Mon May 09, 2011 8:42 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby find_bruce » Sat Jun 28, 2014 8:59 pm

BradL wrote:New 'round these parts - in terms of posting, so I don't think I can post pics yet.

Picked up this Elan for $45 a little while ago. Nothing particularly special I guess, with low end suntour gear, no integrated derailleur hanger and a clunky sugino crank that I swapped out for something slightly less crappy.

Image

Rode nicely for what it was though. I forgot about it for a while and rode other bikes, but ended up pulling it apart and reconfigured it into - dare I say it - a single speed...

Image

Now I ride it every day. Rain hail or shine. No car, so this gets me to the shops, work, the pub, everywhere. I'm intrigued by the frame. The dropouts are weird suntour popped out things with no hanger, which I thought was a sign of crappiness (only a couple of years in to this compulsive cycling thing so am still learning), but overall it's quite a bit lighter than a similarly proportioned hi ten Super Elliott that I had. Maybe not hi ten perhaps? Regardless, the thing just makes me want to ride
Any bike that makes you want to ride is a good bike

User avatar
BradL
Posts: 76
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 12:21 pm

Re: Europa / Abeni / Elan appreciation society

Postby BradL » Mon Oct 13, 2014 8:44 pm

Picked this Europa up today, as part of a new project I am undertaking entitled "The Difference Between Knowing and Accepting Your Ideal Frame Size."

The five bikes I own are all too small for me. I've known this for a while, but have been unwilling to accept it. My body is now forcing me to accept this. Each new purchase must now be a 60cm frame, and must replace a smaller frame.

This came up today at an auction. Saw the Europa sticker and thought it might be worth a crack. Overall good nick with a bit of light surface rust and a few chips and scratches. Here it is as purchased.

Image

From reading the rest of this thread it seems that it's difficult to work out which frames were made by Europa, and which were re-badged. Hard to read in the photo, but the washed out part of the sticker says Manufactured by Europa Cycles. I guess that could mean any number of things..

Image

There's also the remnants of a sticker that may or may not be tubing specs.

Image

Unfortunately the seatpost is stuck. I've sprayed it with plenty of Inox and will leave it to percolate before I attempt to remove it again.

Image

Frame number is EC0503 I think. Does anyone know if this is the format of a particular frame manufacturer? Europa?

Image

Lugs look nice

Image

It's fitted out with 6 speed Ofmega friction shifters and derailleurs. I don't know anything about this stuff but it seems to do what it's supposed to do. The brake levers and calipers are Modolo Corsa and are some of the ugliest things I've ever seen. They will go. The crankset is Stronglight. I think that's a keeper.

I'm considering moving some 7 speed Shimano 600 gear to this from another frame, and swapping out the rather plump seat for another. New cables/outers etc. From here it should be good to go I reckon.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users