I have to comment on the quality other list members have assigned to Jacksons, Colnagos, etc. I think it is important to take into consideration the specific time period of a specific bike when passing judgment. It is no secret that there was a bike boon here in the U.S. in the 1970's and Bob Jackson & Colnago both enjoyed and took advantage of this boom by increasing production drastically during this time frame.
Jacksons were sold by a fare number of dealers, not to mention several mail order catalogs, and Jackson really pumped up production to meet this demand. And their quality was inconsistent as a result, with some examples being quite nice, while others were not so nice. Bob Jackson Cycles has also been sold & resold several times since the 1980s, with quality varying as the business had its ups and downs. At one time, Bob Jackson himself was totally removed from the business (for better or worse) and the new owners put the business into receivership. Personally, I have a two Jacksons and they are quite nice, but I accept that the quality can be up or down, given the specific time period.
As far as Colnago, the early Colnagos were very nice bikes. I have a very early 1970s bike that has beautifully filed lugs and the tubes are mitered so nice. But this bike dates to when Colnago was just establishing itself as a brand and production numbers were somewhat limited. I suspect, but don't know for a fact, that the number of people building Colnagos in the shop were somewhat limited and I suspect that Ernesto was keeping an eye on quality then. By 1976-78 I feel as if Colnago quality had suffered a great deal. I remember my brother picking up a blue 1977 Colnago that looked as if Ray Charles had painted it with a toothbrush. It must also be remembered that Italian bike firms use to farm out a great deal of work to other, smaller job shops, and I'm sure that Colnago practiced this. Colnago was quite popular in the mid-to-late 1970s and you could find them in mail order catalogs, many shops etc. and Colnago pumped up the volume to meet this demand. I also think Colnago continued the practice of jobbing out frame production into the late 1980s, so again, quality varies. As I understand it, Colnago built a new production facility about 5-6 years ago, and now practically all work is done under one roof. I am not sure of the quality, as I just haven't seen that many Colnagos these past few years, so I can't really say. But hey, Ernesto is a master at marketing his brand. He's kept his name under a lot of winning riders over the past 30+ years.
I think the same can be said of Masi, can it not? How many times has Masi changed hands? Has quality varied? I'm pretty sure it has. And a lot of different hands have built Masi frames, to be sure. And the same can be said of many favorite marques that CR list members cherish.
Dave Patrick Chelsea, Michigan
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-admin@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-admin@bikelist.org]On Behalf Of The Maaslands Sent: Friday, June 28, 2002 12:42 AM To: Classic Rendezvous Subject: [CR]Bob Jackson
In response to Brian Baylis' wonderful Confente treatise, I would like to say that it pleases me to no end to witness the dressing down of the modern-day snake-oil vendor of the bicycle trade, namely Ernesto Colnago. Although my frame building expertise is limited to a few frames, I believe I have reasonable understanding about such things. I have always been amazed as to how Colnago has been able to weave his schuckster magic for so long without any drop in his 'mojo' factor. The same also holds true for another Italian from the Veneto, who will remain nameless, as I claim him as a personal friend.
Further to the Colnago part, and as an owner of a Bob Jackson short wheelbase racing tandem, I can attest that Bob Jacksons too are not the greatest works of the frame building art. Non-existent mitering, cooked tubes, sloppy braze-on alignment, incompleteness of brazing are all visible on my bike. It is however perhaps slightly better than average for a Jackson, but nonetheless a far cry from what can be found elsewhere. I do however willingly accept this 'crudeness' because it is the sweetest riding tandem that I have ever had the pleasure to ride.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ
From: Brian Baylis <rocklube@adnc.com> To: <GPVB1@cs.com> Cc: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2002 9:21 PM Subject: Re: [CR] eBay Confente
Among many sage comments, Brian mentioned:
> Well the best example I can
> think of is the Bob Jackson. The article in Playboy many years ago
> featured a Jackson as I recall and suddenly these frames were highly
> respected and sought after. Still some of this remains. The bike looked
> nice in the photos and gushing text was no doubt included; but the fact
> is as a framebuilder of about 30 years now I can say that few bikes
> rated that high in Mojo are as poorly built. No doubt the people who
> have Jacksons they love will take exception. I'm seperating the emotion
> from the facts. Fact is they are crude in so many ways but they work
> fine, so there.
>
> Brian Baylis
> La Mesa, CA
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