11 September, 2009

Gunner's Mooney


I've posted photos of Gunner's bikes in the past. He's one of our oldest customers and bike stylist extraordinaire. Here are a few shots of his latest build, a recently repainted Mooney. Note all the VO parts, racks, bar covers, rims, toe clip straps, decaleur, extra long Honjo fenders, mud flap, etc.

The last is a shot of his latest acquisition, a stunning silver McLean. Gunner's eclectic blog can be found here.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where are those front and rear lights from? They look great!

Dan

Alan said...

Our man Gunnar does have exquisite taste.

Matt said...

I also like the rear lights. The fender's a great place to mount a light, it doesn't get obscured by loads, but good-looking lights are hard to come by.

Gunnar Berg said...

The lights are 1950's or 60's vintage Luxors. As the man said, they were hard to come by.

Matt said...

Jitensha studios does have a fender-mounted taillight that looks interesting. You have to dig around, it's under their New Products category, but it can be made to look pretty nice. I haven't bought one, but you can see it on the Rebolledo randoneuse on their site. I saw it at the NAHBS in 2008 on one of his bikes.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you have a McLean, made here in Wilmington, NC. Very rare and idolized by those in the know . . . that's one you probably can't ride. I never say that, either, and don't even believe in it.

Preston said...

Very classy!! Gunnar, what rear
derailleur is that?

reverend dick said...

Hunh. VO's "oldest" crustomer sure does like to hang purses offa his bikes.

msrw said...

Chris, surely one of your suppliers might be able to produce MODERN but elegant front and rear fender mounted lights?

I've always wondered why that ideal front of the fender position for a headlight seems to have been abandoned by B&M and others. I guess it could be that so few people use fenders--but that seems to be changing.

J ustin. said...

reverend dick-
What the crap does that mean or imply?

-justin

Kilroy said...

Greetings,

I have an identical, honey colored Brooks team pro that has become darkened in the rear section. I don't use any treatment. Can the original color be brought back? Is there any cause for concern? Any comments?

Best regards.

Mike Dean said...

I'm very interested in that adjustable stem - May I please have some details?
Thank You

Anonymous said...

Justin, Read Gunner's blog. He compares bike bags to purses.

Justine Valinotti said...

Ooh baby. The man really understands both form and function. His bikes practically define "bon ton."

johnson said...

kilroy. its beausage.

Kilroy said...

Greetings,

Wow. "beausage"....The days are becoming brighter, my attitude is improving, I can see clearly now.
Thanks for the further enlightenment.

Best regards

Gunnar Berg said...

Just got back to a computer.

I plan to ride the McLean.

Preston- The rear derailleur is a late 80s Campy Rallye.

Justin- it's cool. An insider shot. The Rev owes me a bunch.

Kilroy- Ass sweat. We're supposed to sweat. They all get that way.

Mike- The stem is an old Ambrosio. Neat, but very hard to find. Merged with 3TTT and there are some so labeled, but lost some of the cool factor in the process.

Unknown said...

Extravagant! Gilles GB799 are the sexiest panniers on the planet, the black set is "stop traffic".

Anonymous said...

I think I have an apprecation for nice, traditional road bikes, but I'm more for actually riding them than accessorizing them for looking at. Accessories are only useful if they are needed for the riding. Some of this stuff is starting to remind me of what little boys used to add to their bikes when I was a kid.

Anonymous said...

yeah,

I guess the McLean should in fact be ridden. Not many know much about McLean Fonvielle any more, but he remains dear to some hearts, especially in NC. There's a vintage McLean at TwoWheelerDealer, a LBS here in Wilmington, and it looks like it was made yesterday. He died at 29; he was a very gifted, self-made man who had done a traditional apprenticeship but had a truly individual, understated
aesthetic of his own--any way, he passed away just as he was succeeding on a national level. Nowadays, when cities like Portland have as many frameshops as Starbucks, it's interesting to remember McLean, who invented himself as a first-class American framebuilder when such a thing was practically unheard of. . .

best,
michael white

Gunnar Berg said...

"...what little boys used to add to their bikes when I was a kid." This is a totally accurate statement about this bike. It did bring out the little boy in me. Bringing bikes back from near death gets me through the Minnesota Winter without drinking in excess. I have one other bike that is pimped out and others that are more functional. For instance the McLean will be built as a conservative 1980 racing bike and I will ride it. I hope McLean will approve.

Anonymous said...

Well, Gunnar, at least you haven't put streamers on the handlebars yet :-)

When I was about 7 years old in the late 1950's, a very popular bike accessory was an actual siren that was actuated by the rotating tire, like a bottle generator is. It was quite the thing, to have little sirens sounding all over the neighbourhood. Anybody remember those? It wasn't a serious CCM or Supercycle bike if it didn't have one.

Seriously, that's a gorgeous bike, even though I am the one who posted above about little boys. I actually love those randonneur type bikes, even though I've never been convinced of their practicality versus a sport touring bike.

I also survived a life-threatening medical condition to ride again, so far anyway, and I do understand where you're at. Keep taking pictures of them. Bike pics get me through the worst of our fast approaching winter here.

Gunnar Berg said...

Anony,
I have a set of city pedals that usually live on this bike. The bags maybe too "cute". They also will hold three of my fabric grocery bags. The seat didn't get stained hanging on the wall.

Rick said...

I like the stem shifters.

Anonymous said...

I like the saddle bag / purse. Who makes the bag? Thanks for any leads.

Jethro