Hi, Wayne, Chuck, all--
I have lately managed to scrounge around the dusty corners of the Internet and (excepting for whats contained in the repro of an Ideor catalogue) what follows is the sum total of all my information on the company. The earliest reference I found to an Ideor bicycle is in a story (which takes place in 1959) in which a man from Chicago mentions his 1952 Ideor track bike.
The company sponsored the Ideor Spanish cycling team for some years, long enough to notch 1374 total points and rank them 309th on the all-time list spanning 1909-2003. (cyclingranking.com). The Spaniard Salvador Botella Rodrigo raced for Ideor in 1954 and that year won the Ronde van Levante for them. The next year he switched teams and then raced for a succession of Faema teams from 1956 until his pro career ended in 1962.
Ideor also made high-quality multi-speed city bikes, perhaps as early as 1950 (date unconfirmed). The latest model Ideor I have a reference to is a 1962 Asso racer. So the company existed--at a minimum--for a decade, from 1952 to 1962, and perhaps longer at both ends. If anyone has further information, it would be much appreciated.
I am also wondering about the scope of Cinellis framebuilding operation during the late 40s/early 50s and any possible key personnel departures that might have formed the nucleus of Ideor.
Wayne, you pose interesting questions about "TORELLO" and MONTROSE BIKE SHOP. I'd love to know.
Peter Jourdain (in the cycling haven of the Kettle Moraines) Whitewater, Wisconsin
> Chuck
>
> I agree with you, an Ideor is not a Cinelli and a
> Masi is not a Gloria. I
> deliberately crafted the "subject header" to
> generate the thread (guilty).
>
>
> Was there only one distributor in the USA? I know of
> a few Ideors in
> Toronto, anyone know who imported Ideor to Canada?
>
> The relationship with the MONTROSE
> BIKE SHOP for warranty support is noteworthy, did a
> similar set-up exist for
> the East Coasters? Anyone buy one on the east coast
> brand new. I know there
> are a few track bikes around, who sold these back
> east?
>
> Peter, I wonder if the Ideor operations may have
> been an operating company
> within "Torello" (perhaps the money folks behind the
> ex-Cinelli personnel).
>
> Chuck, according to the only official document I
> have (excellent reprint by
> the way) these were quality bikes, many built with
> quality Columbus tubing.
> Was it typical for companies to have similar product
> depth (5 road models, 4
> with Columbus tubing, quality components) in Italy ?
>
> Wayne (being Ideor challenged) Jolly, Toronto Canada
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chuck Schmidt" <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: 20 October, 2003 7:03 PM
> Subject: Re: [CR]Re: Ideor--Is it really a Cinelli?
>
>
> > Wayne Jolly wrote:
> > >
> > >In the November 1977 edition of Bicycling is a
> very interesting comment
> in
> > >Dick Swann's column "Question Man" on page 64/65.
> > >Mr. H.J.Battjes of Palo Alto, CA writes: I have
> an Ideor. I am told it is
> > >circa 1960, near Cinelli's factory, a fine frame.
> Could you elaborate?
> > >Response:
> > >This is one of several makers that have appeared
> in Milan over the last
> 20
> > >years. Most of these small makers are ex-Cinelli
> workers; so the stuff
> > >should be very good indeed. Dick Swann
> > >
> > >The response seems to confirm a link to the
> Cinelli factory. Has anyone
> > >heard about this before? Would anyone agree that
> the build quality of an
> > >Ideor is comparable to Cinelli?
> >
> > Peter Jourdain wrote:
> > >
> > > Wayne--you raise a very intriguing issue, Ideor
> as a
> > > possible Cinelli spinoff!
> >
> >
> >
> > I think it is important to bear in mind here that
> a "spinoff of Cinelli"
> > and Cinelli's ex-employees starting a company of
> their own are two
> > different things entirely.
> >
> > Faliero Masi worked for Gloria originally. Would
> you call a Masi
> > bicycle a spinoff of Gloria? Are 7 Cycles a
> spinoff of Merlin?
> >
> > Chuck Schmidt
> > South Pasadena, CA
> >
> > ..
> > _______________________________________________
> > Classicrendezvous mailing list
> > Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> >
>
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