My Firenze Bike!
firenze gl-2000 road bike.
history and modern versions.
and my quest to modernize my vintage firenze bicycle

This is a 12 speed road bike. It feels like it is meant for someone 6 feet tall.

The paint is beautiful and smooth, blue, with slight chipping on rear end of the frame, but not rusted. There is no rust on the frame from what I can tell. There IS a little bit of rust on external parts like the fork and wheels. No damaging rust though.

New handlebar tape. New tires with less than a mile on them

Brand is Firenze, which I admit I hadn't heard of it until I got it.

Here's the story. In the late 1970's or early 1980's, the Italian company, Firenze, produced a road bicycle. This bike was outsourced to Taiwan, who built them.

Thousands Firenze bikes were then imported into the United States. Once they got here, it turned out they were not up to US code. (Much like Japanese cars cannot be sold in America).

A loophole allowed people could give them bikes away as opposed to selling them, so these bikes were turned into promotional gifts for electronics and stereos (perportedly in the Bay Area).

The Firenze bicycle is a lot like the DeLorean car: even though it is mediocre quality, few were produced and not many are still in existance, let alone functional. Today, the DeLorean is a prized car, much like I prize this fully functional Firenze.

When I got this bike in March of 2008, the original parts were mostly rusted, which is good, because it serves as an excuse to upgrade. Most of the original parts are average quality at best. This gives it lots of room for improvement.

The first thing I did to the bike was change the tires/tubes, replace the aweful gritty handlebars with handlebar tape, and adjust the breaks. It got a big washdown.

Please note, this is not my daily-driver, just my project bike.

Modern

Modern Firenze bike. (Firenze branding under the Ultegra name)

2004 Litespeed Firenze Shimano Ultegra 9 Speed group, FSA Wheelset, Vittoria Tire, Oversize ITM Handlebar and Stem, Litespeed Seat and Seat Post
Size: 59cm
Price:$2495.00 Special Price: $1995.00

In 2006, Firenze went compact. Born with traditional European road heritage, the 2006 Firenze has been refined and re-tooled with a popular compact geometry and lightweight, shaped 3Al/2.5V titanium.

A less expensive modern Firenze is a mid-level comfort bike ($300-$600)