Benotto Bike Restoration

Another shaggy dog story:

I have an old Benotto Triathlon bike.  It is circa 1986.  Despite being tagged as “Triathlon” and being painted Pearl White and Candy Red with a red saddle, it is heavy with rolled steel tubing.  I acquired the bike second-hand for USD 125.00 in 1998 in Bermuda when I was working there for a short period of time.

In April 2011 I was cycling along the front at Bognor with some 11 year olds when one of them cycled too close and his rear derailleur went into my front wheel stopping it dead.  I went over the handlebars and nutted the tarmac, this being the one occasion I wasn’t wearing a cycle helmet.

Needless to say my bike sustained damage (as did I).  The front forks were bent back and the Shimano Ultegra wheel I had temporarily put on the bike rather than fix a puncture was ruined.  The bike has been forlornly hanging in my garage for the last two years.

In my heart I know the bike isn’t worth repairing, and it is too big for me really as I have to have the saddle right down to be able to get on it, but it does have a nice paint job and I am very sentimental having ridden the bike for many miles end to end each weekend in Bermuda and more recently often on a Sunday morning around Bognor and Arundel.

Nevertheless, I decided last week it was time to do something decisive with it.  I did some research and found Argus cycles in Bristol who build steel frames (a new steel frame will cost you circa £1,400.00) and restore and repaint old frames.  All I had to do was dismantle the bike, pack it, and arrange for their courier to collect the frame.  I did the dismantling and packing on Friday last and decided I would ring them Saturday to arrange collection.

Saturday morning I was woken early at 06:00 am by The Wife’s loud snoring.  I don’t know if you live with a snorer but it doesn’t wake you immediately, it gets into your dreams and gets on your nerves so you wake up very tense.

As I was awake I got on the internet and found that the journey to Bristol was only two and a quarter hours driving.  I had to be in Bognor in the afternoon and from Bristol to Bognor was another two and a half hours meaning if I left at 07:00 am I would be in Bognor via Bristol by 12:30.  I jumped into the car with the packed frame.

It was a nice sunny day, the roads were clear so early and the radio has some interesting content so I had a very pleasant journey down to Bristol.

I was expecting Argus to have an old run down workshop but was pleasantly surprised by a modern well organised warehouse unit on an industrial estate.  The guy there was very pleasant and didn’t turn his nose up at my old frame.  He had loads of restored frames newly repainted awaiting collection/dispatch hanging on the walls.  His verdict, the forks were a right-off and the frame being rolled tubing was heavy and nothing special.  In his opinion restoration was a folly not an investment but I was the customer and he was happy to do whatever I wanted.

New forks built to order cost £180, however, he was pretty sure he could source some second-hand forks (they wouldn’t have the Benotto moulding) for a more practical £20-£40.  The bike originates from Mexico (I think) rather than the original Italian models (Benotto moved from Italy to South America to capture the emerging cycling market in South America after oil was discovered in Venezuela creating wealth in the area).  Argus had Benotto transfers/decals but they were different to those on the bike.  They also only had the standard Benotto transfers/decals not the “Triathlon” and Benotto signature decals.

We agreed he would repaint the frame in Pearl White and Candy Red, would fit second-hand forks (repainted Pearl White) and would fit his stock Benotto transfers/decals.  The cost (don’t tell the wife, please!!! It is more than my life is worth) around £285.00 and the job will take a month, but at the end I will have a frame that looks spectacular and new.  Then I just have to refit the old components with new cables, chain and brake pads.

Now I have to polish the components (some have rust so I must consider replacing) so they match the frame.

I paid a deposit and I left Bristol a happy man, satisfied that the result from the face to face discussion reaped a better result than had I couriered the frame and and a telephone discussion.  I got to Bognor at 12:30 as planned after another pleasant drive along the M4, A34 and A27.