Dicampli-Frejus-Update
We received this email today with a little more info about Dicampli in Philadelphia…
“I came across your write up about DiCampli bicycles…….It is very interesting because I bought a DiCampli Super Corsa in Philadelphia in 1972 from a large bicycle shop which I recall being called the Bicycle Warehouse (but my memory might be wrong). I had come across the original bill of sale a few years ago but don’t know if I still have it. The bicycle was sky blue with chrome headset lugs and the paint and decal pattern was very similar as to the one in your article. It was clearly an upgrade from the Corsa as it had a stronglight cotterless aluminum crankset. It had the same front derailleur as was in your picture. It had Campagnolo “Tipo” high flange hubs and TTT handlebars and stem as well as universal center pull brakes. It had Campagnolo shift levers on the down tube. The bike also had Falk double butted tubing. I still have the bike but unfortunately had it powder coated so it would be hard to identify except for the bottom bracket and lug patterns. Anyway, I don’t know if I still have any of the original parts…..I know that I have sold some off over the years but would have to look. ”
Part 1.
Via Matt’s Frejus got us talking about DiCampli Bicycles formerly in Philly.
There’s no real info on the shop online but with the info below we can say:
Nick DiCampli owned a bike shop specializing in Frejus on Quince Street in Philadelphia.
It opened sometime in the late 60’s and closed an indeterminate amount of time later.
A small number of DiCampli Corsa road bikes were sold out of the shop.
These bicycles were likely rebranded Frejus’s.
Here’s the post from 2012:
“If I had a decent beach cruiser I’d trade for this bike just for this really unclear history.
I think this CL ad is unrelated to the following thread highlights from: (???? )
but its still relevant information.
“As the story goes, she was living in Philadelphia in the late 60’s/early
70’s and was dating the owner of a local bike shop. Supposedly he was one
of the top sellers of something at the time and that manufacturer sent him
this bike. A year or two later he got a nicer one and gave this one to my
mom. She rode it all over the place for a few years, it has pretty much
been stored hanging in her garage for the last 15-20 years, however. Used
to have a Cinelli frame-mount pump, but that’s long since missing,
unfortunately.
I’ll swing by again tomorrow and get some more pictures of details, but
there isn’t really much stamped on it that I recall.. The handlebar stem is
stamped with ‘mod record’ on one side and ‘mm.75’ on the other.
As for putting air in the tires, I brought it to the LBS to see about
getting it running again but they didn’t have the type of tire it would have
needed in stock and pretty much convinced me that getting a newer bike would
be better for starting out with a bike obsession than restoring the older
one right off the bat. Otherwise I would be riding it right now!”
“Nick DiCampli was the owner of a bike shop in Philadelphia that was one of
the top sellers of FREJUS bicycles. Because of this FREJUS sent him this bike as a ‘thank you for your good work’. A year or two later, the bike was
given to a girlfriend when Nick got a new bike.”
Can Chickenman or someone tell us more information about Nick DiCampli?”
2016 Note:
With the information we have now I think we could guess that the DiCampli road bike is a low end, rebranded Frejus. As for the location of the shop on Quince Street I took a look on Google Maps and tried to make an educated guess about where the shop was. Quince only runs a few blocks, and is mostly residential, so the options are limited, but it was NOT the Bike Stop.
another ebay description:
“Vintage 1970’s DiCampli CORSA Roadbike 56cm bottom bracket (center) to toptube (center). Campagnolo Deraileurs, shifters and Hubs. Unknown 3-piece Cotter pin cranks and pedals, BB axle has “57” stamped on it. Universal brand Center pull brake calipers. and Levers. Italian ttt stem. Kenda High pressure tires. New Chain KMC. All original decals and paint. Paint is chipping in some areas and the frame is ALL chrome underneath. It doesn’t say it is Chromoly, but the frame is Very light and Thin Walled. Made in Italy decal says “Seamless Steel Tubing”. Bike rides very nice. The rear hub axle is slightly bent. The hub skewers are original Campagnolo. The rear rim has a couple of dings but is straight and feels perfect when riding. The front rim is perfect. The rear Rim is “Maccari Torino” steel and the front is “NISI TORO” Aluminum”
another in Legnano green! This one was for sale from UC Berkely last year. Maybe you could still get it.
ttt gooseneck stem.
ttt road drop handlebar.
Ribbon handlebar tape (Made in Italy).
Universal brake levers.
Universal Med 61 center pulled dual pivot brakes with quick releases.
25.4mm diameter seatpost.
Campagnolo downtube friction shifters (2X5).
Campagnolo front/rear derailleur.
Campagnolo cotterless crankset: 40T, 52T.
Part 2
Below find info from Via Matt and Norm Hellman about Frejus history, New York and Philadelphia
“When I was talking to the guy I got mine from he said the shop was at Spruce and Quince. He claimed to have been good friends with them and helped out in some business dealings as he was a lawyer at the time. The story was that he had a bike stolen, a nice old Fiorelli and went to the DiCampli’s to buy a new bike.
They had just brought over a container from Italy through a creditor, but upon its arrival were not able to pay for it. So, it sat in a warehouse on the docks. One of the brothers told him about the container of bikes and said he could buy one. All he had to do was go into center city and pay the creditor for one of the bikes and then he could go down to the docks and pick it up, which is what he did.
The bike was then taken to the shop and assembled by the DiCampli’s for him. I want to know what happened to the rest of the bikes / parts in that container as they knew what was up and were bringing in hard to get Euro shit at the time! From what I understand, the shop was struggling and a solution was to bring in a partner (money) to help out. However, they would be losing total control of the business and did not want to go that route. As a result they closed down sometime later.
The original owner beat two bouts of brain cancer and used this bike as way to get back into shape / therapy! Dude is tough as nails and hard to kill! He said he was sad to see it go, but was down sizing and this was one of the few things he had left from his youth.
I reassured him it was in good hands and would get the respect / attention it deserves. We shook hands, exchanged money, and parted ways. The bike is actually a Roma Olimpiade model, which was Legnano’s top of the line race model for a decade or so at this point. Frejus and Legnano were the same family, so this bike is basically a Legnano in Frejus clothes! I like it even better because of that, less common!”
Via Matt Philadelphia, PA
Here is an email from a Classic Rendezvous member regarding this bike shedding some light on its details:
Dear Dale, Matthew, and Other CR Folk-
I can shed some light about this recent Frejus find. In 1972, upon Tom Avenia’s recommendation, I went to the Frejus/Legnano store in Milan. They had the exact same Frejus bicycle on sale, and also the Legnano model Roma Olimpiade. I was so impressed with the beauty of the Frejus that I bought one in the Frejus team colors,Champagne and Maroon,all Reynolds 531, all Campagnolo components for the princely sum of $240.00. I was treated like a king by the staff.
I considered it to be an ITALIAN FREJUS, because if you examine the frame closely you will see that the frame has 1) a tight wheelbase, a shallower fork rake, no eyelets on the frame,and no chrome except for the fork crown. Contrast this frame to the Frejus that Thomas Avenia imported for many years with a longer wheelbase for fenders, more curve on the fork rake, eyelets on the front and rear dropouts and chrome on the headtube lugs, lower fork,and about 6inches on the rear stays. This particular Frejus was really designed for racing, ahead of its time in frame design, tighter than a Masi or a Cinelli in 1972. They pop up occasionally, Big Wheel in Colorado imported them later on the 1970s, but they are much rarer than the Tom Avenia model IMHO.
I can vouch that this was were the top of the line Frejus model as I was in the Frejus Store. They were also available in other color combinations. And, what was weird was that they had the exact same model in the Legnano design, with no chrome, etc, also for sale.There was also Frejus and Legnano wool jersies and shorts for sale, all made by Sergal.
I asked the salesman about these two similar models, and as I remember he shrugged, and said some people like the Frejus decals and other like the Legnano decals. The particular lettering design used on this particular Frejus downtube was the same design used to advertise Frejus bikes in Italy for many years. I still have mine, and cherish it always. You can see the original Frejus-Legnano business card which I picked up at the shop which is on Dale’s Frejus website.
Keep Spinning All-
Norm Hellman, Bronx, NY.
One more—Here’s a NOS Frejus that recently sold on eBay from Germany.
LINK
“Up for auction is this beautiful handbuilt new old stock Frejus road bike. Made in the middle of the 70s in Italy. This original bike was never used before,
it is out of a bike shop storage where it survived the last 40 years.
The beautiful original red metalic paint job had some small marks of storage wich i repaired carefully. The original decals are still in a perfekt condition.
I cleaned this racer, all bearing are new adjusted and new lubricated. The tires, the bar tape and all cables are new parts.
This italian racer is assembled with a complet Campagnolo Record group.
An original bike in perfect new condition, interesting for all friends of classic italian racing bikes and a really rare opportunity. ”
and since we’re going all out:
-Via Matt
