I can't claim to have known him well .
I hardly knew him at all .
But I know that he was a great guy . And I understand every word written by others , about his truly humble , truly good nature .
Almost every conversation with him included a casual revelation which made my jaw drop open .
When I mentioned the old legend about Schwinn making a handful of triplets , and referred to it with a certain amount of awe and wonder , he gently set me straight , explained what facts he knew to be true . Oh yes , and as casually as he possibly could , he gently mentioned that he owned one .
He and I had fun recently , playing with the subject of Schwinn's Super Record tires . At the time those tires appeared , I was working at what must have been one of the smallest Schwinn shops in the business . He was one of the people at Schwinn who successfully pushed for their creation and marketing . In the story of those tires , I was the littlest possible fish , and he was a very big fish indeed . But exchanging e-mails with him on the subject , all these years later , was just so much fun .
Most of that exchange wound up on the C. R. List , either directly , or forwarded .
But here are some of Dave's words which I don't think made it onto the List , and perhaps should .
When I referred to myself as being a complete nerd , about such little details , he responded with a little fact about himself which should be more widely known .
What a fine person .
Thanks to each and every one of you folks , for making the C. R. List such a great place to visit .
Raoul Delmare
Marysville Kansas
Raoul,
Now you got me going. I'll look into my archives and see what I come up
with. Since I was located on the West Coast and saw first hand what
Specialized was doing, I considered myself one of the prime motivators at
Schwinn to do this tire line. It helped too when we hired a former product
guy from Specialized.
Anyway I'll look at what I have and see if I can answer your questions.
Regards,
Dave
Hi Raoul,
I don't mind you being nerdy about this. It makes me feel good that people
like you enjoy what I took as second nature. A lot of people in the bike
industry back then were not enthusiasts. I used to take my Paramount around
on my calls and you would be amazed at how many dealers had never seen one.
I think that my racing background was a plus.
In fact, my job interview with Schwinn was arranged by Oscar Wastyn.
Regards,
Dave
I am also amazed at how many connections to my past I have made since joining the CR list. All good, by the way> Dave
> Steve,
>
> As this is so sudden, I do not know exactly what tribute we will
> perform; but rest assured we will do so at Velo Rendezvous this year. I
> would like to make some reprints of the photo, in various sizes, perhaps
> to be available to listmembers, providing permission can be granted. The
> current photo is an 8 x 10 B & W glossy, (not unlike the evidence photos
> in "Alices' Resturaunt") and shows Dave riding his Masi at speed at
> Hellyer Park, I believe. I'm thinking we may build an artistic and
> classy "throphy" to be traded amongst the So. Cal membership at a
> memorial ride each year; possibly during Velo Rendzvous. What do you
> think Chuck? I will make the piece from "recycled" bike parts, crowning
> the "Great Work" with a Masi "M" that was punched out of a BB shell in
> Carlsbad. I have only three of these pieces left. One will take it's
> permanent place atop the "Dave Staub Memorial Cup". It would be really
> cool to use parts donated my the membership to build the piece. I would
> want to "Jury" the parts prior to submission so that I don't get swamped
> with junk. If you have a distinctive bike part or related piece that you
> feel would make a positive contribution to the project, drop me a line
> off list. I'm thinking things that pertain to his life and/or maybe a
> bust of Dave made from bike parts. Just some early thoughts.
>
> I think also it might be fitting to create an "In Memory Of" page on the
> CR site. Certainly Mike Richardson, Chris Beyer, Dave Staub, and Faliero
> Masi could start it off.
>
> Brian Baylis
> La Mesa, CA
>
>
> >
> > As much as I felt bad about Chris' recent passing, I did not feel
> > overly cheated as I had never had the chance to meet him in person and
> > it was obvious that he himself could foresee the end coming because of
> > a debilitating disease. Dave on the other hand seemed the picture of
> > good health and good humour. I had also had the chance to spend a few
> > moments with his charming smile and quick wit. I am, like Brian,
> > incredulous. What a first class bummer!
> >
> > I hate to admit it, but I just spent an hour with my wife going over
> > what I would like to happen with my bikes were premature death to ever
> > catch me. I believe that I have taken sufficient steps to guarantee
> > the future for my whole family, so that my bikes can
> > be 'reappropriated' to deserving people, without any need to resort
> > to 'sale to the highest bidder'. Initially, this was a depressing
> > thought, but I now realize that this has actually brought the flicker
> > of a smile to my otherwise sombre face. Dave was like this during his
> > life, he shared his knowledge and experiences with everybody.
> >
> > If Brian manages to get a copy of Dave's photo on the track bike, I
> > would feel honoured to bring a copy of it to Ghisallo the next time I
> > go over to Italy. While I am certain that he will be looked after, with
> > the image of him riding the boards somewhere dancing through my head, I
> > would be doubly happy to know that the Madonna del Ghisallo be aware.
> >
> > I mentioned in my earlier post that we should institute some type of
> > remembrance to Dave. Is there perhaps some left coast CR listmember,
> > who is familiar with Dave's personal situation, who also has the time
> > to look after this?
> >
> > Steven Maasland
> > Moorestown, NJ