Jerry wrote, in part:
"Ernesto's motivation has always been profit before artistry, but maybe that is why he is a survivor when so many others have folded."
*****
The first part of this statement is laughably inaccurate, Jerry. No offense intended, but until you have a pristine, all-original Colnago from 1970, and a pristine Super Pantografata from 1972 hanging quietly in your office where you can admire them every day, I wouldn't make a statement like that. Colnagos are ALL about artistry. But, artistry is in the mind of the beholder, of course.
And, yes, some badly finished Colnagos did leave Italy in the late 70s and early 80s...but many more were as nicely made as the early ones. I think Ernesto may have expanded too fast, and suffered the usual quality-control consequences of that. He and his people had things were back in hand by the mid-80s, far as I can tell. At least, I've seen any number of perfectly tidy Colnagos from that period, and later.
A Colnago Super Pantografata from 1972 or 1973 (the only years they were made, as far as I can determine) is among the more striking (and functional) racing bicycles ever made, and was easily the most artistically interesting bike among the italian steeds of the period. Ask anyone who coveted one at the time. There are a lot of us out there.
I think Ernesto is all about quality, and if he had a bad patch now and again, it was a function of his success. Because the second part of your statement is quite correct: Ernesto was interested in financial success (AND artistry)...and he certainly achieved that, only occasionally at the expense of quality. If his bikes had really been consistently nasty, finish-wise, he would never have got where he is today.
Charles "unregenerate, unrepentant, totally biased, and quite-happy-about-it-all Colnago-nut" Andrews. SoCal
PS: and those early 70s Colnagos have a ride like everyone says, and more. The perfect italian racing steed, imho.
"Even in such a time of madness as the late twenties, a great many men in Wall Street remained quite sane. But they also remained very quiet. The sense of responsibility in the financial community for the community as a whole is not small. It is nearly nil."
--John Kenneth Galbraith *The Great
Crash of 1929*