Re: [CR]Re: Ross "signature" on Ebay

(Example: Events:BVVW)

From: "Tom Martin" <tom@wilsonbike.com>
To: <EdVintage63@aol.com>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <ac.5bb56bd7.2e130825@aol.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Re: Ross "signature" on Ebay
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 13:47:18 -0700


The pics posted on Ebay do not show any closeups of the frame areas which would indicate it being a handbuilt PA bike. The cheesy decal on the head tube tells me it is not. But the components do. The Super gran tour was never a high end bike that was built through the handbuilt USA frame shop from what I remember.

but $200 is kinda ok for the parts and wheels, no?

Tom Martin
Oakland CA


----- Original Message -----
From: EdVintage63@aol.com
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2004 11:00 AM
Subject: [CR]Re: Ross "signature" on Ebay



> Ross for sale on ebay:
>
> http://ebay.com/<blah>
> rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
>
> On the general topic of "caveat emptor,"
> I don't see any real indication or proof this is a Ross Signature model, but
> the seller is clearly saying it is (though the word "signature" in the item
> description is cleverly not in upper case or quotes), and that it is built by
> one of the four named frame builders associated with the signature program. He
> can't even do better than a seven-year time span for the year the bike was
> built. What little I know of Ross bikes suggests that this is probably a
> Taiwan-built number - and very likely NOT a Kellog or Redcay frame. Maybe I'm wrong,
> but this seems another case of, at best, ignorance on the part of the seller who
> nevertheless makes some pretty strong claims for the item; and at worst, a
> carefully crafted deception. Or am I wrong about the bike? Any Ross experts?
> Ed Granger
> Lancaster, PA, USA
> P.S. As a new list member, some brief info. I am a 40-year-old mostly
> unsuccessful Cat. 5 road racer and A-Group bike club rider. I have been interested in
> vintage bicycles (60s-70s-era lightweights) since I began riding three years
> ago. Of course, I am old enough to remember when the 70s were the current
> decade, and briefly owned a Peugeot road bike circa 1981 that weighed about 35
> pounds. About six months ago, I purchased a mid-70s champagne Benotto 1500 with
> full Campy Gran Sport that I have tried ever since, with little success, to
> identify the frameset of (Dale Brown was kind enough to respond to my email query
> about the bike). Trying to learn more about my frame, building materials and
> techniques, and about vintage components (as a result of pondering an upgrade
> for the Benotto) has sucked me deeper into the mire and led to the purchase
> (or perhaps "rescue" would be a better term) of a pair of early-70's
> fillet-brazed Schwinn Super Sports. The piece de resistance thus far is my newly arrived
> '76 P-10 Paramount, resprayed but otherwise original and in extremely good
> condition. Coveted bikes would include: early 70s Masi GC (orginal pick! - lost a
> bid on one not too long ago, which did have the silver lining of preventing
> marital difficulties), Raleigh Pro, maybe something more esoteric like an Alex
> Singer or Flying Scot; or a nice frame build-up project from Ron Cooper or
> Eisentraut. Heck, I wouldn't mind finding an authentic Ross Signature from Kellog
> or Redcay, either.