Maiden Voyage of the Italvega

My goals for this season are to ride the Tour de Cure in Napa with a fixed gear bike. The 50 mile route should be quite tolerable with mild rolling hills, hence no need to bring along any extra gears or freewheels for the job.

I found an old Italvega bike at the thrift store many years ago, for $18. It was in marginal condition, with crushed rims and antiquated parts which are hard to find replacements for. But it was Italian, and ever since the movie "Breaking Away" this aura of classic bike culture has intrigued me. So I took it home, tore it apart as if to rebuild it, and then quickly forgot about it among the countless other projects someone, like me, tends to start and never finish.

In an effort to "spring clean" incomplete projects from my house, I have decided to assemble the bike back together into a fixed gear bike, which takes much less effort than building a regular road bike. Fewer parts, simpler transmission, no cables to route, it can be done in a day. Fueled by the goal to ride the 50 miles in Napa on this steed, I will be training on this Italian stallion for the next month.

Serial number and part dating tells me that this Italvega frame was manufactured in 1970, which happens to be the same year I was born!