Tom,
I have wondered myself recently when did the 650c rim first appear? I built the 650c wheel road bike I still ride in 1989. How much before that was the 650c rim introduced; does anyone know. As far as I know there was no such thing when I began framebuilding in 1973, but I sure would have made use of it back then if there were such a thing. I also built a 650c wheel track bike in the early 90's and it is the most potent weapon I've ever used on the track.
As we discussed a while ago, Cinelli had the idea as far back as the mid 60's, maybe even sooner. Aside from that, I would be surprised if the introduction of the current 650c wheel came before the 1983 cutoff we use on the list.
I was going to order a Hetchins Magnum Opus Oakham with vibrant chainstays and hellenic seat stays built for 650c wheels in the mid 90's and David Miller agreed to do it. I never ordered the bike but ended up ordering a Millinium frame (number 11, but built as the 3rd or 4th frame) in 2000. I wish I had gone through with the other bike, it would have been rather unique.
Sorry for dropping the ball lately. My replacement computer also had the worm virus but I was able to catch it this time after some effort. I'm really busy right now and also am helping out a friend who has had bypass surgery a few days ago. I don't know if I'll be able to get back on track within a short time. I really owe the people of the Seattle area a report on my trip there. It was full of great people and good times. They deserve my compliments, especially Mark Petry, Jeff Groman, and Pete Brissing.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
So much to do, so little time.
> Where you begin to find a vintage bike with 650c wheels? I'd love to find
> one, especially a fixed/ track frame and fork. I guess that is a niche
> within a niche- a vintage 650 track frame. does that exist at all? Should
I
> go for broke and request the potential availability of a 650c curly stay
> fixed Hetchins? A Magnum Unobtanious?
>
> Tom Martin
>
> Oakland CA
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mary Kaminski" <marykaminski@mac.com>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Monday, August 18, 2003 11:16 AM
> Subject: [CR]Re: Small Colnago's (& other classic frames)
>
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > Since the topic of both Colnago's & eBay have come up, I thought I would
> ask the
> > collective wisdom of the group about this topic: small Colnago's (&
other
> CR bikes).
> >
> > I recently saw an auction (#3621468309) for a 47cm (c-to-c) Colnago.
Full
> SR Campy,
> > Columbus tubing, 6spd; per the seller. No model name given. Seller
stated
> it was
> > about 20 yrs old. I never knew before that Colnago's were made this
small.
> >
> > Being a member of the Brian Baylis SSOT group, classics in my size are
> hard to come
> > by. Unfortunately, the reserve was wasay out of my price range on this
> auction, or I
> > would have made a serious attempt to "bring 'er home".
> >
> > My question is: does anyone know how common this small size is/how
> available is it?
> > How about a rough ballpark price for ones in decent condition? Any other
> info (years
> > made, reliability, etc.)on this or any other CR-type bikes available in
> smaller (<49cm)
> > sizes would also be appreciated. Anything with a 650c wheel is even
> better. I believe
> > Colnago made one 650c bike for Tony Rominger a few years ago for the
TdF,
> but I don't
> > think it ever went into production. Neutral support was the problem.
> >
> > Feel free to respond off-list, if you prefer. Thanks.
> >
> > Mary Kaminski "who would kill to ride a 53cm",
> > in Philly, PA