On Thu, 3 Apr 2003 19:09:56 Brandon Ives wrote:
>We already know about Titan bars, stems, and posts<
Titan is still in business but now makes medical equipment rather than bicycle components. Last year while riding a '31 James (thanks Karl) at a car show, I was flagged down by a guy who wanted to take a closer look at the bike. During our conversation it's revealed that his family owns(owned?) Titan. I have found that riding a vintage bike (or walking one around) at a car show is a surefire way to meet at least one fellow likeminded bike enthusiast. Here in car obsessed soCal, there are plenty of car shows to attend and I've met some nice people who are interested in vintage lightweights, yet do not know of the CR list. If there's a car show in your area,ride your vintage bike to it and go trolling for new CR list members. You might even be offered a dusty old Cinelli that's been taking up space in someone's garage ;-) Jay Van De Velde Seal Beach,CA
>Thinking about Eddy Merckx's factory and legend got me thinking about
>why there isn't a rich history of bicycle builders in Belgium. Beyond
>Eddy there's Roger DeVlaeminck, Lucien VanEmpe, Freddy Maertens, and
>Johan Museeuw just to name a few. Belgium eats, breathes, and lives
>cycling as a country. I would imagine the Ardennes in the southern
>third of the country (Wallonia) would have followed their French
>connection in cycle building as they have with language and cuisine.
>The north of Belgium (Flanders) is more closely connected to The
>Netherlands and Germany. Though neither of these countries may have as
>strong a bicycle industry history as France, they do still have a long
>tradition of bicycle manufacturing.
>
>So does anyone have a good list of Belgian bike and parts makers
>through time? >Eddy's company, and maybe Flandria. I find it hard to believe that a
>country that is as, if not more, passionate about cycling than any
>other in Europe had so few bike and parts manufactures. Any country
>that shows any major race on 7 different channels in 5 different
>languages, and has large pull-out sections in most papers for every
>stage of Le Tour is REALLY into cycling. If you'd like to see some
>front pages of non-cycling publications that are full of cycling check
>out:
><http://www.hetvolk.be/(rivexlruosq0da3kxc5gmm45)/index.aspx>
>Any info would be appreciated in helping the cycling history of Mr.
>Merckx's homeland.
>thanks,
>Brandon"aapjeman"Ives
>Santa Barbara, Calif. soon
>to be Ghent, Belgium.
>PS: I'm looking forward to the beer as much as the board tracks.