Dale wrote:
> << 1970-1973, but one of the things I remember is my first "CR"-style
vintage
> bike, actually the first decent ten-speed I ever owned. It was an Aquila
>>
>
> That is very interesting ... That is the very first reference to Aquila
bikes
> I have heard EXCEPT in the Flying Dutchman branded frames/bikes as sold
by
> the Big Wheel in Denver...a number of CR members & BOB list folk bought
> those frames, all part of that shops close down/blow out of a huge number
of
> shop-worn but NOS frames lefty in stock (the store closed 3-4 years
ago...)
> The dropouts on some (not all) frames were stamped "Aquila" and I am
pretty
> sure Jack Van Gent, the owner, had told me that most were made for him by
> Aquila in Italy... Of course I had never heard of Aquila but since then
there
> has been a lot of speculation about those frames.. Some hinted at the
frames
> actually being sourced from South America...and others think they were not
> really 531 and Columbus tubing but sport fake decals... Who knows?
> But that is the first time I have heard of a company named Aquila and that
> they might be Italian?
> Anyone else heard or even owned an Aquila?
Aquila means eagle in Italian and a company by the same name produced a lesser qulaity version of the Brooks saddle that was ubiquitous in Italy prior to WWII. Listmember Ray Homiski has a great example of one on his Umberto Dei. I too have owned a few of these saddles in the past. There was also a bicycle tire company by the same name founded in 1912 that produced some very high quality tires in the first half of the 1900's. Lastly, in the province of L'Aquila (about 50 miles to the East of Rome), there was formerly a bicycle manufacturer who sold Aquila bikes. I am not sure if they still produce anything today.
Steven Maasland Moorestown, NJ
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