Joe's Classic Bikes

Hi Folks! I'm Joe Frisk and here you'll find photos of some of my classic bicycles and information related to cycling. I began serious cycling in 1974, riding a Frejus model Tour de France in my hometown of Austin, MN. I was 14, and growing stronger by the day, I broke nearly every part on that cheap 10 speed, including the Legnano cottered steel crankset and the ttt stem, and replaced them with a hodge-podge of upgrades. Back in the 50s, the automobile having long taken over the roads of America, a few bike racers kept the sport alive, many riding Frejus bicycles after Ferdi Kubler won the 1950 Tour de France on one. They pretty much began the cult of the Frejus in America. My 1974 Frejus has sloppy construction but is still sought after today, as it displayed the flashy graphics of traditional Italian steel frames. The bike was made in Milan, Italy and hung in the window of Rydjor Bike Shop during the summer of 1974. I had to have it, with its champaign and wine color scheme, fancy decals and yellow/orange Clement tires! Today, I enjoy the smooth ride of the bike, but it's no light weight. It is shown below on my old Italian rollers. Head tube decal is at upper left. Bottom right photo shows the steel Huret Sevelto rear derailleur with toothless pulleys. A close look at the seat and downtube decals shows they have faded, very common on these bikes. The burgundy background color fades away easily. The head tube decals rarely fade. Unfortunately, this is the only bike I've owned that has suffered rust damage from improper storage. I left it in a shed for a few years and rain seeped in on it. The crankset shown lower left is the famous Stronglight 99.

Here's my cycling for fitness video:

After the Frejus came a 1978 Peugeot PX10LE, jet black with no chrome, that I purchased from Yellow Jersey Bike Shop in Madison, Wisconsin. I gave it to my brother and hope to get photos of it in the near future. The Peugeot was neat in that it had a small plug of wood placed inside the bottom of the head tube. This was a leftover from early tradition when French roads were rough and forks often broke. The plug was designed to give the rider a chance to stop if a fork crown snapped. The frame was built with Reynolds 531 tubing.

I had the Peugeot for a year when I had saved enough money for my first super bike, a magnificent Colnago Mexico, circa 1979. I bought the frame from Bikology Bike Shops for $500 and added parts as I could afford them. This frame was built with Columbus Record straight gauge tubing, with wall thicknesses of .5mm. The fork had .9mm walls. Nicknamed "The Ferrari of Bicycles" this was a great bike, with liveliness, comfort and neutral handling. The Mexico frame was named for Eddy Merckx's hour record, set in Mexico City, in 1972. Built in Ernesto Colnago's shop, it was identical to Merckx's frame. In 2005, a chainstay snapped as I was climbing a hill. I had around 42,000 miles on the bike.

My Peugeot PX10LE (Above) My Colnago Mexico (1979) Below

In 1985, the Dave Moulton Fuso, representing the U.S., won Bicycling magazine's U.S. vs the World contest, beating out an Italian Olmo. I loved the looks and workmanship of the bike and ordered one! I have #433. I rode the bike for many years and still have it. An accident left it with fork damage that I need to have fixed before I can safely ride it again. The red/gray color scheme and colorful head badge still make for one of the classiest and raciest bicycles on the road! The frame has a fantastic finish and was built with Columbus SL tubing with SP chainstays. In 1993, Dave Moulton retired from frame building but ranks as one of the best craftsman the business has seen!

The red/gray Fuso! Autumn 1985 on my new Dave Moulton Fuso!

Of late, I've been riding a Klein Aeolus triathlon frame, built up as a road bike. This bike also sports a hodge-podge of old and new parts. It's green when seen from the front and bright blue from the rear. Really neat! Gary Klein pioneered the oversized aluminum tubes used in many bicycle frames. With the exception of a small decal on the crankset side chainstay, the graphics on this frame are all painted on with outstanding quality! Being a triathlon frame, it uses 650C tires. I set it up for a road bike position. Total weight with heavy wheels and components is 19 pounds.

All Photos Copyright Joe Frisk 2011.

Site Established August 4th, 2011

Site updated October 8th, 2021