Montarino

Montarino

Cross posted on the TBE Blog

A few months back a customer brought an old road bike into the shop looking for someone to take it off their hands. Although very old and beat up, Tom took the bike thinking it might make a good project bike for someone. After looking at the ugly beater hanging from the ceiling for months, I decided to pull it down and measure it. It came in around 58cm which wouldn't you know...would work just fine for me. The bike is a Montarino, which sounds Italian but it's not, the sticker on the seat tube proudly proclaims that it was made in West Germany. From the little bit of information I could find regarding the Montarino brand on the Internet and using the components as a gauge, I estimate that this bike was manufactured during the early to mid 70's. I decided to strip the old busted components off of the bike and make it a fixed gear city cruiser. I tried to keep it as original as possible yet still make it safe and comfortable. New wheels and tires were a must since I was unable to locate tires that would fit the original wheels. Besides that, I flipped and chopped the handlebar, gave it a fresh wrap of Cateye cloth tape and added a new seat and chrome toe clips. I've taken it out a few times so far and it's a great ride. It feels good breath life into and ride something you saved from the landfill.