MKM's were sold by Mel Pinto Imports in Annandale Va and Georgetown Cycle Sport in Washington DC in the 70's. New they were about $200 and nothing real special about them, just a plain Jane basic racing bike. I remember them coming in a 2 tone paint job. Blue head, silver metallic main frame with a single blue panel on the seat tube with blue bands above and below the panel. You could also get a Ron Kitching frameset for $125 from Mel's store in Washington called 'The Bicycle Pro Shop'.
Cheers,
Peter Koskinen Chapel Hill, NC
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of rodk3d Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2004 9:05 PM To: 'Thomas R. Adams, Jr.' Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: RE: [CR]58 cm MKM Frame on EBay
Hi Tom, I have a MKM track frame and another MKM road frame. Wanna see some pic's? Both need refinishing though. I have seen yours and it's gorgeous! My frames look to be about the same size as yours! Whatcha think of MKM in general? I have not built up or rode mine yet.
Rod Kronenberg Fort Collins, CO
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Thomas R. Adams, Jr. Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2004 6:32 PM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]58 cm MKM Frame on Ebay
http://ebay.com/
eBay item 3678374813
We now see our 4th MKM frame in the US, and this one seems to be in decent shape with original finish, but I'm not sure about the seller's estimate of 10 total miles, given the degredation of the Reynolds full set sticker and his admission of some rust spots.
I posted this to ask about the "M-M" head badge. My bike has it, but
Dale's has a "proper" MKM decal on the headtube, and Derek Wiburn's had
the "M&M" head badge and an MM seat tube sticker too. I don't recall
what Tom Hayes' 23 inch frame had for graphics. See the CR MKM page for
pics. http://www.classicrendezvous.com/
Did Mason and Metcalfe work on their own for a while before hooking up with Kitching, and these headbadges were old stock to be used up? That might indicate that Derek and my bikes are early production.
Was there an importer for MKM in the US? Or are these 4 frames migratory birds, who flew over on their own?
BTW, if anyone is looking for a nice English bike from a small boutique builder, my MKM is an outstanding rider. I beleive Derek likes his, too. I rode mine Friday at Cirque, the sky blue bike with shellaced bars.
Tom Adams, Shrewsbury NJ