Nice. You can never have enough bikes. 
Are you going to ride it a lot in inclement weather where you need to keep yourself reasonably clean?
Personally I wouldnât as itâd ruin the look of the bike. 
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I already adjusted it down to provide for relaxed wristsâŠit was angled way too high. I also tilted the seat forward to more level and Iâm going to replace that rack with one that screws into the frame holes.
My Dancelli, made in the Colnago factory in the early 90s. Iâve upgraded the groupo and wheels, but everything else is stock. Steel is real. Good story behind it. Running out the door to have dinner with wife and kidsâŠ
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We are coming out of Dulles in another hour or so for PDK. Hoping we can sneak in to the Downwind before it closesâŠmight have to be Hudsonâs Grill if we arenât out of here by 7PM thoughâŠ
We just got home and looks like you are blocking out in 30 mins. Would have been perfect if we had gotten home sooner, but went to one of those Medieval Times places, with knights jousting, sword and axe combat, fair maidens, eating with your hands, etc. Was quite fun, but would have rather checked out your Citation. Next time.
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HaâŠI would have enjoyed jousting, wenches, and mead! Out of here in a few minutesâŠcatch ya next time!
I would be tempted to not put them on, then make the decision based on your future experience with the bike. The rear one keeps mud off of your ass and back, but that back rack will absorb must of it anyway. The front might protect the down tube and headset from grime, but I wouldnât worry too much about that on this bike. I mean itâs a gravel bike after all. Ride the thing like an animal and give it a bath when you get home. IMHO, the previous owner was pretty much a neophyte, based on the angle of the handlebars. Or perhaps he never went in the drops and prefers that angle. I expect that bike to have very low mileage. Good find.
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SoâŠfinishing up the Dancelli story.
Vintage bike lovers only
In the early 90âs my former profession allowed me the good fortune of living as an expat in Europe for the better part of 5 years. The majority of that time I kept an apartment in Munich, although I did spend a couple of summers in Milan and a few months in London.
Anyway, other than watching Greg LeMond win his tours and a couple of great movies, like American Flyers and Breaking Away, I was completely ignorant of professional cycling. About a year into my ex pat journey, I decided to correct that condition by purchasing a proper road bicycle. That effort resulted in a 58 cm Dancelli complete with Shimano Ultegra and amazing paint bought new from local Munich bike shop owner and former German track star Sigi Renz. Although he did not suffer my cycling ignorance lightly, once my German girlfriend/translator convinced him of my sincerity, he happily separated me from hard earned geld.
Through my gym in Schwabing, I met a few locals and other expats who were into cycling and spent the rest of my summers riding as much as my schedule would allow. Our favorite Saturday morning ride would start at the Seehaus im Englischen Garten, head south out of Munich, and loop lake Starnberg, for about 100 km total. Upon returning, a few delicious mass biers and superb lunch would serve as replenishment.
In time I became to really love the Dancelli. It fit perfectly, had a comfortable ride, and above all, looked the business as I did my best to prove (mostly in vain) that we Yanks could spin as well as my continental cycling mates.
During my last 18 months in Europe, a German friend had secured a large apartment on Schellingstr. above the old Tele 5 studios, about a half block from the infamous Schelling-Salon. And he was looking for a couple of flat mates. I joined him along with a mutual friend from Scotland. The girlfriend had recently departed for Paris in the company of her dance instructor, so I gladly returned to the ranks of young bachelors, keeping vampirish hours and clubbing like madmen. I did somehow manage to make the rides and kept the Dancelli in our lock-up in the attic of the 5 floor walk-up.
However, this was the early days of the fall of the Iron Curtain and the incredible German reunification. Along with exhilarating times, came the sobering realization that it had to be paid for. Munich being a popular destination for both tourists and opportunity seekers, political change brought strains on social services and the economy.
One Saturday morning I went to our storage room for a ride, found the lock cut, and the space vacated. Equal with the loss of girlfriend was seeing the Dancelli missing. I was gutted. In truth with the economy in disarray, along with a recent bout of homesickness, my time in Germany was winding down. I opted to hold off replacing the Italian mount until returning to the States.
A while later and starting with the Lance years, like so many Americans, I began riding again. Say what you will about the doper extraordinaire, but for almost a decade Mr. Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel, big George, and company sold many tens of thousands of bicycles and positively impacted the economies of France, USA, Italy, and the CFRP producing countries. My local bike shop in Atlanta was propelled from the doorstep of bankruptcy to becoming profitable, and then adding 3 more locations. Group rides had hundreds of people and in the summer many of us took trips to see the Giro and le Tour. We couldnât enough cycling.
Architect or master villain?
https://twitter.com/JohanBruyneel/status/1124256743989682176
In the midst of this I began a quest for replacing the Dancelli, whom while not the match of my current carbon fiber Trek, was my first love of road cycling. Internet searches revealed that not only was the brand not sold in the US, but also not well known outside of a few central European countries. To be honest, I didnât even realize that the the bicycle wore the name of Milan - San Remo winner Michele Dancelli. Reportedly, they were made in the Colnago factory, the only differences being the lugs cosmetic design.
From this article.
Dancelli was the eponymous brand of Michele Dancelli, an Italian professional racer from the â60s and â70s. In addition to winning the 1970 Milan-San Remo, he also has 11 Giro dâItalia stage wins and a Tour de France stage win to his name.
Folklore suggests that Ernesto Colnago, while working as a race mechanic for Dancelli, was inspired by his Milan-San Remo win to create the now famous ace-of-clubs Colnago logo.
To that end, I created an eBay search for a 58cm Dancelli complete bicycle or frame. I was looking for the exact paint scheme in excellent condition. It took a few years, but finally in 2010 one came up that met my criteria. The frame was located in Påpa, Veszprém, Hungary and judging by the photos was in amazing condition and the correct size. The seller had 98% feedback for cycling items, including many vintage bicycles. Cost including shipping was palatable $450. After agonizing over it a few hours, I decided to pull the trigger. Transaction completed, I was then warned that the seller was on vacation, and that he would not ship for 4 more weeks. In reality, it took an excruciating 6 weeks for the frame to arrive. Admittedly, there were many nights when I lay awake wondering if I had been fleeced by a crafty thief, most likely buying dinner for his friends in Majorca as I suffered.
From the original eBay add.
But then one day at work, UPS dropped frame box which bore the wounds of its crossing. I carefully unpacked the frame, which was to my glee identical to the original and in hardly-used condition.
To complete the bike I had acquired a same era Trek with lightly used Ultegra 600 group. The chrome fork came from another 58cm Dancelli doner frame that I purchased during the wait period from a state-side seller. This would return it to almost original condition. Tempting. But guru friend measured the frame and argued that with a small widening of the stays, perhaps a few mm, he could slide in a SRAM Force 10 cog setup. Since I was planning to ride this on one group ride a week, most likely Monday night recovery, I decided to go with his resto-mod plan and keep the other components should I ever decide to make it original. Overall, I dropped about another $1500 in the SRAM group, Shimano carbon/alloy hybrid wheels, and various components. So over a couple nights and a few Fat Tire brews, the bike came together.
Nearly finished.
It looks pretty near the original, albeit with black wheels and magenta handlebar tape compared to the original alloy wheels and white tape. The ride is classic Italian steel, which at my age is very much appreciated. The handling is pretty quick for the vintage, but not nearly as quick as a modern race bike. My only adjustment is to descend a little less aggressively, since the steel fork feels like about 50% the stiffness of a carbon fork. For sure its the only Dancelli that Iâve seen state-side in the wild, although I do know that a few of them are out there.
I bet that most of you would rather own a Pinarello or Colnago. Canât blame you. But for me itâs the bike that I pushed proudly out the door of a bike shop in the spring of '92 with so many miles lying ahead. It proclaimed DANCELLI!
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That was a great bit of @chipwich history. Beautiful bike as well.
Long live steel! (GuessingâŠaluminum is fine too)
Thatâs a beautiful story and a beautiful bike!
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Speaking of BruyneelâŠI always really enjoy it when he appears on Lanceâs podcast.
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God I am officially old! I stopped paying for VeloNews several years ago when they switched to a style that didnât appeal to me. Then I stopped riding. But I still keep up with cycling from time to time. So in the mail, once again, came the occasional issue of Velo. In every article was mentioned âgravel racingâ. Gravel Racing?! Where did that come from? Not judging. It looks fun. I donât see how it differs from âcross or trail riding but, OK, sounds cool. Then another guy, founder of Cervelo, says gravel will be the biggest segment in cycling in 10 years. Really? Where have I been? Then he says that the front derailleur will disappear in the same timeframe. Every bike advertised had disc brakes. The last time I was keeping up with the sport, disc brakes were evil implements that brought the risk of amputation to every fall in a race. A lot has changed in cycling in the last two years. Time to catch up.
WellâŠI donât know about gravel racing per seâŠbut gravel riding is just infinitely more safe than getting out there on the roads, particularly if you are not doing group rides. The distracted driver is a bigger concern than it was 10 or 15 years ago, and it is only getting worse.
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Great post smokinhole. If you want to try something really revolutionary and mind blowing, take a test ride on an e-bike. Trek dealers usually have them in stock.
A friend owns a bike shop and begged me to take a test ride one day when we returned from a group ride. The one that I rode was a hybrid with disk brakes. So, you have to pedal about 2 strokes before the e boost will kick in. Then itâs like the hand of Mercury thrusting you forward with a subdued whoosh. âWow!â, came from my lips.
âThatâs what everyone says. They canât help it.â, Don remarked. Sure enough, all of the roadies that tried it were impressed to the point of a uttering some sort of exclamation.
The controls are quite logical and effective. A handlebar âthrottleâ allows a quick setting of desired assistance or resistance. One owner/commuter whom I spoke to, said that he uses boost on the way to the office, then at the end of the day, changes to riding clothes and sets resistance for a great workout on the way home. A no-sweat commute to work, and a sweaty return home. He said that his commute was relatively flat, so he alternately dials in a bunch of resistance to simulate hills.
Trek CrossRip
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I both fear and loath the times we live in. Yet sometimes I can not imagine living without the surprise of something new around every corner. Wow.
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IMO, âLegsâ has earned a little less training LOL.
Does the resistance mode also charge the battery or is all the work transformed into heat? 
AFAIK from my brotherâs eBike it does load the battery.
Edit: wait⊠I am actually not sure anymore⊠I think some bikes do, most donât.
The Trekâs Bosch Pedal Assist system does not charge the battery. The battery takes 3-4 hours to charge. Not sure about the other e-bikes.
Thereâs gotta be a way to get around that, and probably pretty simply without voiding too much of the warrantyâŠ
Somebody hold my beer.
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