Orange C. Itoh

This is my latest completed project bike. The only other thing I would do to this bike would be to put a nice wheel set on there. Probably something blouses black. I really like the orange and black color scheme of this bike. Its a C. Itoh, Made in Mexico. Had allot of Japanese parts on it. Everything I read about this bike said it was a crummy bike, but I couldn't resist working on it. I've worked on worse bikes than this by far. Allot of the original parts on the biker were crap but what bike this old doesn't need a few new parts? I've been dreaming of a bike with ornate lugs like these ones for a long time now and for that reason I've decided to keep this one for myself. My second bike. Its a little bigger than my blue Schwinn I ride and seems to fit me a bit better. I slimmed it down to a single speed with a gear ratio of 42 18.

I love the finished bike but if I was offered the right amount of money right now, I'd probably sell it. (let me know. mail@mitchellv.me)

Oh yea and its sort of an interesting story how I got the bike. I was selling the green Ranger on Craigslist and I got a call from a guy who has a bike Museum/ shop in MIlwaukee. He said he wanted to display the bike in his museum so needless to say I gave the bike to him. In exchange he was going to pay my asking price but instead I offered him a trade for one of his many project bikes he had laying around the basement of his shop and a bunch of parts for my future projects too. I was like a kid in a candy store and ultimately chose this C. Itoh because it was brand I had never heard of, had very ornate lugs, and was a really cool color. Turns out the brand is crap but the frame is still awesome and in the end the bike is a super cool daily rider.

Next project is to build a bike for my sister who is getting ready to go off to college. I've only got a month to find her a bike that she will love and will love her for the next four to eight years. Quite the job but it should be fun!