Steven,
We are talking about the correct David Tesch. Dave worked at Trek in the very late 70's or early 80's. He came to San Marcos in about 1981 I think. He was building his own frames by about 1983 or '84. Dave went into the Navy very young; I think no later than age 18 if I'm not mistaken. Dave was about 6 or 7 years younger than I, and I'm 50. It all works out.
>From reading the obituary I recognize several names, including his sister Phyllis, for whom he built a frame that I remember painting for him.
I think it might be cool if maybe we can get a bike from each of our departed friends to have on display in their memory in Greensboro. I know Pergolizzi has the Goodrich that was built for Chris Beyer that I painted. I have the Tesch tandem and an interesting collaboration Tesch S-22 track bike that Dave and I built together. I'm hoping maybe I can somehow get the 1964 Masi Special that belonged to Dave Staub for the occassion. I think that would be a super tribute to our dear friends.
Brian Baylis La Mesa, CA I really wish we were talking about a different Dave Tesch.
I'm starting to question some math, now ...
Sources online indicate that Dave Tesch was at Trek & then Masi in the 1970s ... but if he was 44, that means he would have been born in 1959 ... turning 18 in 1977 ... figure a minimum 2-year stint in the Navy, takes him to age 20 in 1979, leaving precious little time to build at both Trek & Masi in the 1970s.
So ... long was he in the Navy ... and was he at Trek/Masi in the 1970s, or not until the early 1980s?
Or is he older than 44, and thus this particular David Tesch might be a different one?
On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 18:29:57 GMT, brianbaylis wrote
> Dale,
>
> Thanks for that great writeup on Dave. I believe I know most of
> Daves' history in the bike biz and a bit about his prior life in the
> Navy and other things. I will try to put together a piece on Daves
> memory that will also serve to inform those who are unfamiliar with
> Dave, the "Manic Master", a name I have never heard. It did not
> originate with me for sure. It may be an East Coast phrase.
>
> The reality of Daves' passing has hit me finally, and I am sad to
> tears now. This year has seen 3 super depart our world in a far too
> untimely manner. Chris Beyer, Dave Staub, and Dave Tesch. How is
> this fair??
>
> Thanks to those who have sent me private emails in sympathy. I will
> try to repay the list by comming up with something significant about
> my true friend. There never has been nor will there ever be again a
> person like Dave Tesch. Our relationship over the years was kind of
> up and down, but overall we both had a tremendous respect for one
> another. Rest in peace Dave, those who really knew Dave are most
> certainly saddened by the loss.
>
> Brian Baylis
> La Mesa, CA
> I may attempt to put the final finishing touches on the one and only
> Tesch tandem frame ever built, for display at Le Crique, 2004.
>
> -- OROBOYZ@aol.com wrote:
> Well, I waited to be certain that a mistake hadn't been made...
>
> Dave & I went way back.
>
> He always made me laugh as he was indeed a funny and occasionally
> outrageous guy. He took joy in creating a sensation. His personality
> was strong and sometimes a bit self focussed but he was also
> sensitive and considerate. (That is a fairly constant characteristic
> I have observed in all the best artists politicians, actors etc. I
> have hung around.)
>
> The nick name the "Manic Master" says some of it! Ha! (wonder who
> gave him that nickname? Do you know, Brian?) He loved bikes and
> riders and the flash & fury. In any event, he was always a hoot to
> hang out with, always entertaining.
>
> Maybe someone can do an honest, properly researched Dave Tesch
> biography, as he had a roller coaster ride in life. I first met him
> way back in the earlier days at Trek. I was their first south east
> sales representative and he was working inside. He then went full-on
> California... to Masi and later to his own brand frames.
>
> Oddly, I distinctly remember him showing his new brand at the New
> York Show at the same time he was at Masi. Can that be right? Maybe
> he had just quit Masi and was hanging out in the Masi booth... Any
> way, his bikes always looked hot and had great mojo. Those cool top
> eyes, the full-on race persona he promoted. Very cool.
>
> He got a good bit of press, which was an object of discussion
> between he & I. By that time, I was selling his frames through CDO
> and he came out with the oversized tubing frame ("S-22). That was a
> bust in my shop.. no lugs, fat tubes
> (Looks like a Cannondale! Yuk!)
>
> Then, in an interview in Bicycle Guide (I think... maybe Bicycling
> mag) he talked & gave readers the impression about how fast he could
> make them and how it was all done by machinery rather than by hand..
> I called him and raised hell as he had said all the things that
> removed rather than added mystique to this rather anonymous looking
> frame model! How could I sell them to customers who wanted "hand
> crafted" and hours of labor-of-love? He, typically, argued back
> vociferously ... and he & I went a few years before we talked again...
>
> Later I heard from various sources he had lost the legal use of his
> name for use on his bikes through business stumbles and possible
> mismanagement along with a Partner. Who knows exactly what happened
> there as clear unbiased reports were hard to come by..
>
> Anyway, he and I finally reconnected through this list and him
> having found the page devoted to him on the CR.. He was flattered
> and happy to see it. He obviously had mellowed over the years and
> was interested in making some more bikes. Despite making his living
> in the automotive world for the past 10 years or more, he still had
> the love.
>
> Dave Tesch was a crazy, fun person who enriched our lives with his
> nutty and imaginative zest for life. He will be missed!
>
> Dale Brown
> Greensboro, NC
> _______________________________________________
>
> _______________________________________________
--
Steven L. Sheffield
stevens at veloworks dot com
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