I figured I'd clear up the questions about Dinucci and Strawberry by calling Mark up. Here is what Mark had to say.
Andy Newlands started a business importing framebuilding supplies and tools in the early 70's. Mark was the first framebuilder there, followed by Matteo Martinoni and later Robert Blaedel. Andy did not build frames at this point and didn't start until long after Mark had left. DiNucci built the bulk of the early Strawberrys, and at the peak churned out up to 5 frames a week, which he painted in addition to building them.
After leaving Strawberry he went to work with Merz, who had started building frames after Dinucci. Mark continued to work with Merz up until about 1980 when he opened his own shop under the Dinucci name. In the fall of '85 he came to Specialized where Mark and I developed the bike line together. Mark stayed on at Specialized into the late 90's when he went to Anodizing Inc to design frames for OEM customers. Anodizing Inc is the largest OEM producer of frames in the USA, producing welded aluminum frames for many of the boutique brands in the mountain bike world. Mark continues to do the same work for them today.
The steel frames produced under the DiNucci name are second to none and I would put him right up there at the top. This coming from someone that has purchased 4 frames from Baylis. I have the last DiNucci touring bike, complete with DiNucci built tubular cro-moly front and rear racks and custom bags. His bike were very refined and the precision of his work is evident when you put one on a surface plate. Everything is beautifully symmetrical, dead nuts square and exactly where it is supposed to be. It was actually DiNucci who first built these racks, although Merz later became known for them.
Bryant Bainbridge
Portland, OR