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1987 Guerciotti GLX

This one was a really cool find on Craigslist. A beautiful Italian bike in chromed steel with a Campagnolo Chorus groupset. And in my size!

I reached out to the seller for more information and learned he was the original owner who had it built up for him back in 1987 where he then used it to race in triathlons among other things. Guerciotti apparently had an interesting business model in those days of shipping the raw frames to the US distributor 10 Speed Drive who then painted them and sent them to shops. Apparently, it was thought that the paint work being done in Italy didn't match up with the quality of the Imron paintwork that could be done in the US. And I've got to say, it looks great and Imron holds up really well (see my Trek 7000 as well)

It was well kept, in basically original condition. It had a minor frame repair due to a crack at the dropout that is effectively invisible (steel is nice that way). One notable modification was an upgrade to an 8-speed cassette up from the original 7-speed freewheel. This of course required a replacement hub with a freehub. Friction shifting don't care 😁.

A few highlights:

  • Columbus SLX/SPX Steel frame. This was a mix of an interesting high end Columbus tubing with spiraled splines inside for extra strength. SPX was a bit heavier duty and used for larger frames (like this 63cm one) but apparently they mixed and matched to the the balance of strength and weight they wanted. I'd say they made good choices given that it is 10.3kg / 22.7lbs ready to ride (as an XL frame in steel) and it has a great, stiff but supple ride that inspires fast riding.

  • Campagnolo Chorus 2x7 (8) friction shifting groupset. This was the first year of the Chorus groupset which was to take the place of the older second tier Nuevo Record.

    An upgraded derailleur design with a more sleek, modern look and better performance. Shifting is dramatically better than the older NR. No need for the old overshoot-and-correct shifting of old.

    They also had what was called a monoplanar brake design where the one lever arm is threaded through the other for rigidity. (See in the fork crown picture below) Campagnolo chose to make the brake levers have the option to route the cable out the top in a loop like traditional brakes or back along the handlebar in an 'aero' style as this one was.

    But they did not choose to implement indexed shifting like Shimano had the year before in the 600 groupset on my Trek 700 Tri Series.

  • Gearing is proper vintage race bike. Giant 53/39 chainrings paired with a 13-23 cassette in the rear. It makes for a different riding style on steep hills 😮‍💨. Funny thing is that the bike just makes you want to ride fast. I've already set several PRs on this thing, even uphill (at the cost of some pain)

  • It arrived with vintage size tires as well. Labeled 23mm. That's as narrow as I've ever ridden and the front one actually measured at 21mm!  (You can see it in the cockpit picture below. That's not an illusion) Since they were a bit aged anyway, I put some "wide" Vittoria Rubino Pro in 25mm. Much better. And probably all that can fit well.

   All in all, a sporty but surprisingly comfortable ride that looks great.

Cockpit with 'aero' routing of brake cables and surprisingly, a blingy red stem bolt that was apparently original

Lovely Campagnolo Chorus crankset

Campagnolo Chorus RD with small battle scars that show much less in person

Cutaway bottom bracket and chromed chainstays

Engraved BB shell and elegant crank base

One of many engraved touches on the frame

NON-indexed downtube shifting from the new Chorus system

Shiny chrome forks with engraved crown

Definitely 80s typography on the decal

Brake levers that could have the cable exit classically on the top or out the back to run along the bars

Chromed chainstay and dropout

1988 (closest found) 10 Speed Drive Guerciotti catalog

1988 Guerciotti Specs

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