This is not my bike, but except for the colour, (mine was blue metallic, with yellow accents) identical to the one I was racing in 1976 and 1977.
Mine unfortunately, was destroyed when I was hit by a car, whilst out training in Ottawa. (Actually so were both my legs, but that is another story)
I hold that bike in great regard. I raced mine on the road, in fast flat criteriums, climbing in the Gatineau Hills and especially time trials, as it was very stable, predicable and admittedly not commonly seen in Canada, so it had some cache value. It wasn't light, but quite average for any other Columbus SL tubed, road machine. However, it had a lot of flourishes I really liked ... the special cut out lugs, fork crown, BB shell, seat stay caps, etc. and my favourite, Italian threads, in the BB shell.
I loved that bike so much, (or was it because I was a poor student and couldn't afford a new one ... HHMM probably both) that I pulled out a torch and completely disassembled the frame, removing the bent top and down tubes and replacing them (causing some damage I am afraid to one head tube lug, so it had to be replaced).
That frame however was the spark for Hans Metzen and I, to start building frames when I returned to the Sault in 1978. The frame was never the same again, (mind you, never were my legs) so I needed a less racy, and more of a commuting bike at the time. However, my idea of a commuting bike, was a road racing machine, although not optimised for time trialling, nor hill climbing. And as they say, "the rest is history".
This is not my bike, but except for the colour, (mine was blue metallic, with yellow accents) identical to the one I was racing in 1976 and 1977.
Mine unfortunately, was destroyed when I was hit by a car, whilst out training in Ottawa. (Actually so were both my legs, but that is another story)
I hold that bike in great regard. I raced mine on the road, in fast flat criteriums, climbing in the Gatineau Hills and especially time trials, as it was very stable, predicable and admittedly not commonly seen in Canada, so it had some cache value. It wasn't light, but quite average for any other Columbus SL tubed, road machine. However, it had a lot of flourishes I really liked ... the special cut out lugs, fork crown, BB shell, seat stay caps, etc. and my favourite, Italian threads, in the BB shell.
I loved that bike so much, (or was it because I was a poor student and couldn't afford a new one ... HHMM probably both) that I pulled out a torch and completely disassembled the frame, removing the bent top and down tubes and replacing them (causing some damage I am afraid to one head tube lug, so it had to be replaced).
That frame however was the spark for Hans Metzen and I, to start building frames when I returned to the Sault in 1978. The frame was never the same again, (mind you, never were my legs) so I needed a less racy, and more of a commuting bike at the time. However, my idea of a commuting bike, was a road racing machine, although not optimised for time trialling, nor hill climbing. And as they say, "the rest is history".