Product Description
57cm Land Shark Cyclocross / Gravel Frameset: SPIDERS! Fillet Brazed Steel - Il Vecchio - Fender & Rack - Metallic Crimson Red & Deepest Black Goth
This frame appears to have been built for Il Vecchio as a shop bike or for George (the owner) as a personal bike. I bought this to be my personal bike, but it just doesn't fit well enough to justify keeping around. This unique build is fillet brazed and features a sloping lugged fork crown, cantilever brake posts, fender eyelets / stay bridge mounts, & seatstay rear rack mounts. It has a cable stop neatly integrated into the seat cluster. It is quick and stable, more stable than the steep 74/74.8 degree angles would suggest. It easily fits 32mm tires with fenders and (untested) should fit some 38mm tires w/o fenders.
Its unclear what it was intended to be. Was it an X-Shark CX bike with touring capability? Was it an agile light touring bike with more road geometry? The 1" quill stem, lugged crown & dropped down seat stays indicate likely late 1980's to early 1990's build. This was built as a randonneuse bike when I bought it, and it's great for randonneuring, gravel riding, and even it's likely original purpose of cyclocross racing.
Like the Late Dario Pegoretti's bikes, Slawta's bikes are literal pieces of artwork as much as they are functional & fast bicycles. The paint job is one of John's supremely weird yet subdued and tasteful works of art vs his absurdly loud "look at me" works. Just in time for spooky season, behold the most goth and gloom I've seen from Slawta as if he were listening to Slayer's Reign in Blood while painting. It features delicate spiders floating above a lovely crimson red that bleeds darker and darker into night black at lugs & dropouts. Staring down into the BB lug from above feels like sinking to the depths of hell by how dark it feels. Near those fades are dark splatters (John's really axe-ing away at the blood theme).
Condition
Overall this frame presents in glorious near mint to mint condition, though when looking closer you'll find some chips. Frame is straight, ZERO dents, dings, cracks, bends, rust. The finish is deep and glossy, and free of the usual micro-scratching and general wear you find on vintage bikes. As for those chips; 1) top of downtube near head tube is the only significant chip. This one has been retouched in black and clear coated. 2) ~2mm chip seat tube below bottle cage bolts 3) chip bottom side of driveside chainstay, under the "D" 4) marks on crown from race removal. There are other very minor imperfections but none worth noting.
Details
- No frame number
- 700c wheels
- 1" threaded steerer
- Top tube: 57cm
- Seat tube: 56cm c-c, 58cm center to top of seat tube
- Head tube: 179mm
- Chainstays: 435mm
- Seatpost needed: 27.2mm
- BB threads: English
- Head angle: 74 degree
- Seat angle: 74.8 degree
