So, when my Trek 500 died this past December, I needed a new bike frame quick. Except, in the way of bicycles, I ended up buying two. I've already mentioned my new '83 Trek 600, which I outfitted as a bad weather bike with fenders and sealed components. It performed remarkably throughout the ice and snow choked weeks of January, February and March, dropping me only once on a partially frozen puddle on the Midtown Greenway a couple of weeks ago. Not bad!
But I also bought another frame, a 1973 Juvela Special, made in Switzerland by Mondia. And I'm kind of, well, liking it a lot.
It's kind of a princess, tho, with a Campagnolo headset, bottom bracket, and seat post, none of which is very well sealed against the elements. It'll always be a fair weather ride.
But I also bought another frame, a 1973 Juvela Special, made in Switzerland by Mondia. And I'm kind of, well, liking it a lot.
It's kind of a princess, tho, with a Campagnolo headset, bottom bracket, and seat post, none of which is very well sealed against the elements. It'll always be a fair weather ride.
My fixed gear 1973 Juvela. I really like the ornate Nervex lugs.
It's built with the same Reynolds 531 steel as my Trek 600, but something about it makes it feel like it just wants to burn up the road. For one thing, it's got a long 63cm top tube, which really stretches me out and activates more core muscles than my other bikes. It also feels very light and responsive. Whippy.
The Juvela is basically a Mondia Special with a simpler paint job. They were imported by Montrose Bike Shop near Los Angeles; indeed, mine bears a Montrose decal. I bought the frame from a seller in Bozeman, Montana who was willing to keep most of the Campy components that I wouldn't be needing.
The Juvela is basically a Mondia Special with a simpler paint job. They were imported by Montrose Bike Shop near Los Angeles; indeed, mine bears a Montrose decal. I bought the frame from a seller in Bozeman, Montana who was willing to keep most of the Campy components that I wouldn't be needing.
The Juvela's original build
Juvela headbadge. I'm sure plenty of restoration purists would object to turning such a fine bicycle into a fixie, but I regret it not at all. Truly, it's a joy to ride in fixed gear. Expect another post about that someday if you can bear it.
I built it up with a vintage Suzue track hub in back and a Shimano hub in front, both of which are laced to Weinmann rims with 25c Gatorskin tires. I chopped some alloy drop bars to make bullhorns (another gauche move) and added Dia Compe centerpull brakes. (Centerpulls are fussy to install but they will stop you fast. My favorite vintage brakes.)
The drivetrain has a 16t Surly cog and an old steel 44t BMX chainwheel bolted to a vintage Sugino Super Maxy crankset. (When I bought the chainwheel at Mr Michaels, they asked me if I was going to use it for a picture frame. I think they charged me $2 for it.) With a fixed gear, I like not having to worry about bending my chainwheel and a few extra ounces for steel is well worth it.
Ridiculously, the Campagnolo Nuovo Record seatpost has its two bolts on top, right under the saddle. It allows you to adjust the seat to the exact angle you want, but you have to wiggle a wrench down under the seat to reach the bolts. Luckily, my mother in law got me a Brooks cambium saddle for Christmas with a handy pressure relief hole that lets me get at the bolts from the top.
The only really tricky thing was the bottom bracket. I learned while I was riding through South Minneapolis that the Campy spindle was incompatible with my Japanese crankset. You learn this when your crank starts to fall off. For some reason Europe, Japan, and US disagreed for a long time about how these things should be built. I really didn't want to spend $200+ on a compatible Campy set.
Online forums suggested that Mondia used either Swiss or goofy French threading on their bottom brackets, meaning that the fixed cup threads may or may not be threaded in the opposite direction of every other bike in the world. Velo Orange makes a sealed French threaded BB, so I ordered one up for $60 and, well, if the Juvela's threading is French, its fixed cup is on there really, really tight. Or, it's actually Swiss threaded, which is the opposite of French but has the same weird threads per inch and I was probably just tightening the cup the whole time. Who knows? In any case, no one seems to make new Swiss bottom brackets.
In the end, I used the hollow spindle I pulled from my Trek 600 along with some new bearings and hey presto! it works great. I'll need to open it up and repack it every once in a while.
I'm glad I figured it out because, as I mentioned, I really like this bike. The other day, I caught a glimpse of it parked at our store out of the corner of my eye and thought, "Oh wow, that's a cool bike...Oh, hey, that's my bike!" The pleasures of a slow middle-aged mind.
I built it up with a vintage Suzue track hub in back and a Shimano hub in front, both of which are laced to Weinmann rims with 25c Gatorskin tires. I chopped some alloy drop bars to make bullhorns (another gauche move) and added Dia Compe centerpull brakes. (Centerpulls are fussy to install but they will stop you fast. My favorite vintage brakes.)
The drivetrain has a 16t Surly cog and an old steel 44t BMX chainwheel bolted to a vintage Sugino Super Maxy crankset. (When I bought the chainwheel at Mr Michaels, they asked me if I was going to use it for a picture frame. I think they charged me $2 for it.) With a fixed gear, I like not having to worry about bending my chainwheel and a few extra ounces for steel is well worth it.
Ridiculously, the Campagnolo Nuovo Record seatpost has its two bolts on top, right under the saddle. It allows you to adjust the seat to the exact angle you want, but you have to wiggle a wrench down under the seat to reach the bolts. Luckily, my mother in law got me a Brooks cambium saddle for Christmas with a handy pressure relief hole that lets me get at the bolts from the top.
The only really tricky thing was the bottom bracket. I learned while I was riding through South Minneapolis that the Campy spindle was incompatible with my Japanese crankset. You learn this when your crank starts to fall off. For some reason Europe, Japan, and US disagreed for a long time about how these things should be built. I really didn't want to spend $200+ on a compatible Campy set.
Online forums suggested that Mondia used either Swiss or goofy French threading on their bottom brackets, meaning that the fixed cup threads may or may not be threaded in the opposite direction of every other bike in the world. Velo Orange makes a sealed French threaded BB, so I ordered one up for $60 and, well, if the Juvela's threading is French, its fixed cup is on there really, really tight. Or, it's actually Swiss threaded, which is the opposite of French but has the same weird threads per inch and I was probably just tightening the cup the whole time. Who knows? In any case, no one seems to make new Swiss bottom brackets.
In the end, I used the hollow spindle I pulled from my Trek 600 along with some new bearings and hey presto! it works great. I'll need to open it up and repack it every once in a while.
I'm glad I figured it out because, as I mentioned, I really like this bike. The other day, I caught a glimpse of it parked at our store out of the corner of my eye and thought, "Oh wow, that's a cool bike...Oh, hey, that's my bike!" The pleasures of a slow middle-aged mind.
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