Today I was talking to an friend about my interest in old bikes........his interest, being the owner of a BIKE SHOP, is UPGRADE.He mentioned availability of a HETCHINS CURLY owned by a friend of one of his workers and it seemed to be my size.............a quick drive back to SANTA ROSA,CA and I now find myself the owner of what we would guess to be an early 70s model(VM is my novice guess)ser#H10213 It had been ridden by the proverbial LOL who has now traded it in for a 3 speed!! The companion bike which had belonged to her husband had a few features which mine does not, like a chrome bb and chrome it the tips of the seat stays plus front lamp braze on with loops for wire routing... it also features bent top and down tubes!!Seems her daughter has decided to keep the bike as it was taller ,being a little on the KNOME side worked in my favor. The story goes that after ordering bikes to be picked up at HETCHINS they arrived to find them incomplete so had to take 2 "OFF THE WALL" to do their tour. Bike currently sports full NR(165mm cranks w 47/42 gearing!) with the exception being CINELLI BIVALENT hubs including a spare wheel with the same. The bike also has braze ons for a rear tubular rack that looks sturdy but heavy. Anyway couldnt wait to tell you of my good fortune..........as a professed ITALIAN BIKE nut,I now seem to have a garage full of ENGLISH bikes.Donations of 54cm ITALIAN bikes are now being accepted.
BOB FREITAS
MILL VALLEY,CA