.... the jackal rides and run....

Added some decals purchased via Ebay (from Australia). The seller sent me the wrong decals and promptly resend the correct one upon me informing him. Great service. Bike is a little bit dirty due to the wet road and rain! Vintage Columbus Tubing Decal - opted for the Vintage version that does not indicate type of tubing, of course we all know is actually the lowly 'Aelle' tubes...Matching decals on the fork as well Championship Stripes - only opted to get this as the original bike had the stripes as well.

Here are a few Tecnotrat 'Saronni' and 'Others' still hard at work. Tecnotrat shipped a lot of these frames during the 1985-1989 period, badging them as Saronnis, Ferraris, Europa, a whole lot more! Tecnotrat Saronni This one's in Japan . Original paintwork intact! Same chromed fork as mine. Well maintained! Love those cages..... ( www.campyonly.com/ retrobikes/gallery.html ) Some pics of Saronni frame alone Tecnotrat 'Others' 'Europa' badged Tecnotrat, brought into Australia for Europa Cycles. She is in not too good condition but as a steel, it will be easily refurbished by its new owner. Another Europa, in better condition, serving as a dog-cage as well A well used and neglected Europa in Sydney.... Tecnotrat 'De Benardi' Probably one of the last incarnations made by Tecnotrat.... Same frame for Track Bike build....notice the rear facing drooputs Another track build... Road bike circa 2001....same steel design, campy dropouts...

Did a short research on Tecnotrat. Located in Cuneo, Italy. Previously supported a couple of parent brands such as Condor, De Benardi. Its basically a family owned business but has in recent years reputedly some family issues. Tecnotrat brand no longer exists but have instead using the same staff based in S. Defendente of Cervasca in Cuneo have formed a new company. Got most of the info from an Italian cycling forum. In fact Technotrat is quite well known amongst the amatuers around the Cuneo region for its good quality yet reasonable price point. Fact is all small family owned bike makers are finding it increasingly difficult to stave off the Asian invasion. While a long time ago some of these makers thrived either with their own brand or parent brands such as Colnago or Cinelli, today the rapid shift of production towards Asia and higher marketing towards aluminium, CF and to a lesser extent, titanium had almost put a lot of them out of business. However, locally, some still survive,...

Rivendell remains one of the last (if not the last) companies that believe in lugged steel frame bikes. Not only for its material performance but also for the more intangible and personal attributes of steel with age....great interview and inspiring. Just might take up the steel bike building course from Sulaiman! INTERVIEW : GRANT PETERSEN

Well, in the weeks that I was recuperating from the knee strain, I've been doing a lot of thinking about getting a pair of lasting wheels. I bought a pair of Ultegra hubs and have been soliciting with The Rebound Centre on making a pair with DT Swiss Double-Butted spokes and Mavic Open Pro Rims. Apparently indestructible, well at least given my non-racing state of cycling anyway. However, this I plan to complete in a month or two. No rush, given the R540s seem to be holding up quite well on my short training routes. The other thing that kept playing on my mind is a single-speed/fixed-gear setup....sounds yummy. I have most of the parts to do it. I have the Sante stuff and 105 brakes etc, I can get the crack on the GT welded, and even re-use the Montreal Tubular Wheels....The only major thing in pursuit of this is getting the rear Montreal wheel laced with a flip-flop hub (single speed on one side and fixed gear on the other). I'm guessing this new setup bike can be very light, ...

Absolutely lovely. The frame felt stiff yet confortable. I can go through speed bumps along Changi Coast Road at 30km/h without the risk of fracturing by sit-bones. The bike was surprisingly responsive. Acceleration is not as brisk as the lighter GT but good enough. On the first 2 occasions, I managed to keep up (for most of the journey) with my friend on a Pina Banesto averaging 30kmh with some up to 36kmh short sprints. But them I must admit, thanks to him being in front, I was safely in his slipstream....it could be all different with if I had to lead. Went cycling twice through the Changi prison route as well...4 uphills and downhills. I managed to climb those hills without even once getting out of the saddle on the Saronni, I think its good considering its quite a heavy setup with me on it and that its only my 4th ride outing since 3 years ago. See the route here . However, couple of days later.....my left knee went into limp mode. The pain was so excruciating I had to go on paink...

It took a while but well worth it. There was absolutely no way I can have 2 bikes stored in my space-lacking government flat; the GT and the Saronni. ....There can only be one. ... Keeping the Saronni the way that it is was tempting but that will lay my GT to complete waste. After long self-deliberation (actually a couple of minutes), I decided that I want the ride of old steel but with state-of-art mechanics. The simple solution was to transfer all the parts from the GT to the Saronni. Re-spraying was also in the books. I opted to go to a so-called expert (well at least in Singapore...maybe) at the Rebound Centre. The ever-busy chap called Mr. Sulaiman was only too eager to help and advise. I opted to re-spray to metallic pearl white, for both frame and fork Place new 'SARONNI' decals Decal 'Tecnotrat, Cuneo, Italy' at the top tube Re-space the drop-outs from 126mm to 130mm to fit newer cassettes and wheels After a 3 week+ wait, it was all ready to go. 'The Saronni...

No. Its not the Colnago Saronni. Instead its a Tecnotrat version. All I can find out on this frame is that this small company was most probably a cottage industry producer of steel frames of the 70s and 80s era. It served the mid to low-end market from their very own factory in Cuneo, Italy. Their bikes were marketed with the Saronni name (as well as Ferrari...) circa mid-80s. Below is a picture of the bike as it is when purchased. Tell-Tale signs of a Tecnotrat Saronni is the simple lug construction and heart shape cutout on the lug for the front of the top tube. The frame is based on Columbus Aelle tubing. Not exactly the best at the time at all! But hey, its still Columbus! Nice point about the original paint is that it sported the championship colours. Here are some details on full bike as purchased (all parts are from circa mid-late 80's. Tecnotrat Saronni circa mid 80's frame, Columbus Aelle tubing (2.5kg thereabout) with chrome fork Shimano 105 calipers Shimano Exage bra...

After a layoff of over 10 years, I've decided to come back to cycling. Yet 4 years ago, I proudly acquired a GT Aluminium frame bike with 10 Spd state of the art Ultegra components. That did not do it for me. The ride was somewhat harsh. Some might debate its the material but to me its just the way the frame was made and down to personal preference. You see, I've been on steel for most part of the 80's, starting out with an old Motioncraft with Shimano parts back in 85' (a gift from my uncle). That was great bike that served me well as I use it as my daily commuter to friends, after-school tuition, badminton and that occasional 20km ride to school (I stress 'occasional' here). That was of course until i inadvertently knocked into the rear-end of a solid mercedez benz (probably was dreaming or looking at some girl crossing the street at Jalan Raja Kam in the suburbs). That took the fork with it. Well my dad, being the gifted handyman that he is, bent it ...