[CR]Paganini

(Example: Events:Cirque du Cyclisme:2004)

Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 12:57:33 -0800
From: "John" <velostuf@qwest.net>
To: "Classic Rendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>, "Phil Grizic" <pgrizic@haggie.co.za>
Organization: Velostuf
Subject: [CR]Paganini

CR Friends and Phil- Here's the info I received from my friend Bob Williams about Paganini. He is the Director at the track in Blaine, Minnesota:

Paganini was a mark that was used by Veltec Inc. of Gavre Belgium in the

early '80s (as far as I know). Bikes were built by an Italian factory (the same one that made Concorde I believe. They probably made bikes to order for others as well as this was/ is a common practice. The frames were shipped from Italy to Belgium with a coat of primer only for paint. The decals and color were applied at the warehouse in Gavre. Veltec was/is a major importer/distributor of high end racing bikes and equipment in Belgium and the Netherlands and Germany. They also ran a chain of about 12 bicycle shops in Belgium. The shops were full service bike shops but catered to racers

more than most shops at that time. The shops were called Plume Vainquer (spelling not correct?) which means "the plume of the victor". They had their first or largest shop in downtown Gent and later franchised or actually owned about 12 shops in smaller towns in Belgium. They also sold bikes under the Plume Vainquer lable. I understand that Veltec Belgium is still in business however it is no longer the largest importer/ distributor in the area. They closed or sold their Plume Vainquer shops. Only the original one in Gent is still operating.(Rosa Desnerck, my landlady in Gent was part of the operation. Her husband took over the original shop from his father in the 40s?. Her son inherited the business and started and still

runs Veltec Belgium.) The head mechanic at Plumes and eventually at Veltec was Ted Wood. He oversaw the frame finishing and consulted with the factories on the frame construction. Ted is Mark Allen's father in law.
--
Bob Williams
Cycling Coordinator
National Sports Center
763.785.5614