As the 18th frameset he made in Chester, Connecticut, in 1975, this is one of the earliest works of the master artisan, Richard Sachs.

It is a 60 cm frame, made for the owner of Hodson Bay Cycles in Indianapolis. I acquired it sometime in 2003, and recently had it restored by Joe Bell in rose gold with a cream headtube panel.

Richie was kind enough to sell me part of his personal collection of NOS Campagnolo Nuovo Record parts. The rear derailleur even has "Pat. 74" markings on it! The brand new Cinelli Unicanitor also came from e-Richie.

According to Richard, this is the oldest Richard Sachs on record that is still being ridden. In addition, the number 18 is special in his religion, meaning "life", among other things. The Hebrew translation of the number 18 is "chai", and the word "L'chayim" means "to life", which is a common phrase to end toasts and other similar gestures.

As such, he said that it is very good that I have given number 18 a new life. By the way, I was 18 years old in 1975 when Richard made this frameset.

The ride is a typical Sachs bike which is solid and very smooth. The handling is simply unbelievable and is very stable at high speed. This bike is just too darn perfect.

Thank you again to Richard Sachs for creating this stunning work of art and for helping me restore this beauty. Of course, many thanks as well to Joe Bell for the stunning restoration. I ride and enjoy this bike a lot here in Manila.