MIELE LTD - INTRODUCTION

Miele bicycles were built in Canada for quite a few years.  Jim Miele, the founder of the company, must have been a very fussy guy.  Virtually all of the Miele bicycles, that I have run across, were exceptionally well made and very nice to ride.  My hat is off to these wonderful old road bikes, and to the man who insisted on the best, when he made them.

Simply put, this beautiful Miele is probably the best bicycle in my collection today.  It might well be the best bicycle that I have owned.  And, it is one of the few bicycles that I have spent much money on.

To be honest, I know little about the bicycle's history or its pedigree.  Judging from the Columbus SL tubing and Campagnolo drops, the frame set would qualify as high end.  The chromed stays and fork blade ends, also support that estimation.  The finish is all but flawless, suggesting, to me, that a craftsman built this beautiful frame set.  There is not a file mark or assembly flaw anywhere.  But it is not just these things that cause me to think that this is a special frame set...

Serial  number - 17!  That's it!  Perhaps this is one of a few limited edition Miele models?  I really don't know.  But what I do know is that Seventeen is a very nice bicycle.  Though there were delivery issues with the bicycle, and some repairs were necessitated, I did build the Miele up pretty much as I received it.  I really wanted to try it out.

Though I am anything but an expert bicycle rider, I was immediately impressed with Seventeen's ride.  I happen to have a great soft spot, for Miele bikes, and this one seemed very unusual.  It is the only Miele I have seen that boasted Jim Miele's signature.  I have never run across another with the fast back seat stay configuration.  After riding the bicycle, for a short while, it did not take me long to decided that a full upgrade was in order.  I fully rebuilt the bicycle and equipped it with a Campagnolo Super Record grouppo, including a NOS transmission.  But that is getting ahead of the story.

NEXT - FINDING THE MIELE LTD