Nanni Pinarello is the builder of the Italian North East that I mentioned in one of my posts. He is a good friend (he is now well into his 70's, perhaps even 80's) and an incredibly nice man. I respect him for who he is and who he once was. He is a true mover in the Italian bicycle community and once offered me a job. I can't respect his son Fausto, who now runs the show quite as much as I feel that he has lost a bit of the focus his father had. Nanni is not actively involved in the day to day work of the framebuilding shop, he prefers to spend his time with his friends and customers (one and the same group of people in his eyes) in his retail sporting good shop where they sell more non-cycling goods than cycling goods. Pinarello continues to make many lugged frames but has mainly moved on to aluminum and other materials like all of the other big builders. One of my best friends from the time I lived in Treviso worked for many years in the Pinarello frameshop. Pinarello sells about 15K frames per year of high-end stuff and in the province of Treviso sells at least as many low-end city bikes. They are effectively a small regional version of Peugeot or Bianchi. They have something for everybody in the province of Treviso (they however only export the top-of-the-line frames), including some bikes that are the closest approximation you will find of a KMart bike in Italy.
Colnago on the other hand makes two types of high-end bikes only: those masterful pieces of work that are supplied to the pro teams, sponsored riders and celebrities and then those that are sold to the public. These frames meant for the consumers are cookie cutter frames that do not take into account the individual riders needs. Yes, they have nicely designed angles and therefore handle comparatively well. Their finish is, as Brian described, not superior. I feel they can best be compared to mass-produced high-end bikes from Fuji, Miyata, Specialized and others who all have better finish and equal ride. Colnago is however idolized and continues to be spoken of in the same way as Confente, Baylis, Sachs and other more focused framebuilders. This is why I feel that his frames are highly over-priced for what they offer. Like you say, his past was illustrous, as evidenced by the Mexico bike and many others, but that is all from a bygone era. Just look who Merckx turned to when he set up his own production: De Rosa.
I will keep to my De Rosa's if I need something from Italy, or perhaps a Passoni if I can come up with the money.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ
<Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Saturday, June 29, 2002 11:26 AM Subject: Re: [CR]Bob Jackson
> I think snake-oil-vendor is a bit harsh for Ernesto Colnago. Certainly
the
> quality of Colnago does not compare to a Baylis, a Sachs, or a Confente,
but
> they are not his competition, His competition are the other firms
supplying
> the pro peleton - Bianchi, Peugeot, Gitane, Pinarello, etc. The first
three
> I believe are all owned by the same conglomerate and produce pretty much
the
> same TIG'ed aluminum frames painted in different colors. I'm not sure if
> Pinarello even produces a lugged steel frame any more, and if so they
rarely
> advertise it, while the Colnago ads still feature lugged steel along with
> carbon and aluminum models. Granted they are steel frames with overdone
> paint schemes that feature straight forks which I always suspected, and
> Brian confirms, are designed to simplify production, not improve
> performance. But compared to most of the competition, the Colnago Master
X
> Light is pretty darned classic. Certainly Ernesto Colnago is a showman
and
> a shrewd businessman, but how else could he compete in the high-end high
> volume bike market? I thnk he has more regard for traditional
construction
> than any other high-volume shop except maybe Eddy Merckx, but he is also
> clever enough to ride current trends with other models, which is why he is
> still a major player in the road bike market. And while some of his past
> innovations were of questionable usefulness, he did after all produce Eddy
> Merckx's Hour Record bike, even though it had Windsor decals slapped on it
> at the last minute. Give Ernesto a break, he's no Brian Baylis or Richard
> Sachs, but his name isn't on the Chinese-built TIG'ed aluminum mountain
> bikes at K-Mart either.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Houston, TX
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "The Maaslands" <TheMaaslands@comcast.net>
> To: "Classic Rendezvous" <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2002 11:42 PM
> 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
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> >
> > 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
> >
> >
> > ---
> > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> > Version: 6.0.372 / Virus Database: 207 - Release Date: 20/06/02
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
>
>
---