> Message: 11
> From: Bikerdaver@aol.com
> Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 18:09:42 EDT
> Subject: Re: [CR]Rodriquez
> To: LouDeeter@aol.com, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>
> Lou-
> I too have heard of (Angel) Rodriguez bikes, (Glenn) Ericksen bikes,
> and R& E bikes. Angel has liscensed out his name for the Rodriguez bikes,
> and
> they are still made in the shop below the R&E store, but he hasn't even
> stepped his foot in the store since the late 80s. I believe he is now in
> managment at REI.
> Glenn is still making beautiful frames with lugs that put Hetchins
> to
> shame, and for affordable prices as well. In the summer he leads tours over
> in Italy.
> Actual R&E bikes were made for a brief time in the early 70s, and to
> be honest with you, they never were at the level of Glenn's frames.
> Reasonable craftmanship, but more along the lines of Schwinn Paramounts.
> Probably more than what you wanted to know. Cheers,
> Dave Anderson
> Cut Bank MT
>
Dave et al, A little more correct information on the subject, as best I
remember: Angel Rodriguez and Glenn Erickson started R + E Cycles in the
early 70s from essentially nothing. They used to ride their bikes down to
the RH Brown warehouse to get the parts they needed for that day's repairs.
Angel began the frame building business soon thereafter, and made his first
tandem in 1978 or so. I had my 1965 Jack Taylor tandem painted there in
1977, and I think Glenn might have been painting then. In the early days, he
imported some frames that were made for him by Tonnard Cycles of England.
The frame that started this whole discussion was one of those. If you saw
the pics, note the typical british-style domed and slotted stay and fork
ends, and the full-wrap seat stays. I always thought the Tonnard frames were
a decent British frame similar to a Holdsworth. R + E made a lot of actual
Rodriguez bikes and tandems through many years (not a brief time as you
suggest). Glenn was part of the framebuilding business and probably helped
on many custom Rodriquez bikes and tandems. List member Mark Bulgier was a
frame builder there for a time. Back then, they called the touring bikes and
tandems Rodriguez and the racing bikes Ericksons no matter who worked on
them. They had a good size crew, so, like many builders, no one person made
a whole bike in most cases. So to compare Rodriguez to Ericksons at the time
would be apples and apples. Glenn sold his interest in the shop to Angel in
the late 80s, and continues to make very exquisitely designed and finished
frames himself in his own shop today (although some would question your
definition of affordable!). Angel sold other frames made for him by someone
else at times too. For a time he sold aluminum tandems that were the same as
Specialized, made I think by either Anodizing Inc of Portland or possibly an
outfit called American Cycles. Earlier, he also brought in tandem frames
made by Lejeune, modified and painted them in his shop, and labeled them
Rodriguez (Not fakes or forgeries, we call these private label sourcing).
Same with a few Italian tandem frames sourced through Specialized. And in
more recent years, the shop has sold frames made by Dennis Bushnell of Auburn
WA, a very accomplished framebuilder. Angel sold the shops ( he had four
storefronts by then) to Jim Visbeek in 1989. Within a year, Jim had also
purchased Seattle Cycles and De La Rosa and Kolin's Northwest Cycle,
incorporating them together as Seattle Cycles Inc. Jim soon fired longtime
manager Estelle Gray, and proceeded to alienate other employees, suppliers,
and longtime customers, many of whom switched their allegiance to other
shops. Within two years, he had bankrupted the entire $3M+ per year company.
Angel was the principal lien holder, and reacquired the R + E part shortly
after, and then sold it to Estelle Gray, who runs it very successfully today.
Estelle continues to sell Rodriguez bikes and tandems, and her own Stella
Women's bikes. Matt Houle, as mentioned in someone's post earlier, did work
as a contract builder and painter in Estelle's R + E shop for a few years,
but is no longer making frames. Angel is living in his home country of
Panama, and ever the entrepreneur, has been in the hotel business, farming,
ranching, real estate, and who knows what else. He is still on the board of
REI (not in management as you suggested), makes a couple trips up here per
year for board meetings and to visit friends, and I am sure has stopped into
his old shop many times in recent years. I don't think he will ever divorce
himself from it completely. For a horses mouth perspective, visit their
website at http://www.rodcycle.com/
Bob Freeman (longtime friend, fierce competitor, and sometime customer of the various R + E stores)