I lived and raced in Toronto during the mid 1970's and for a time it
seemed that just everybody was riding Marinoni's. Over the years I
owned and raced on three cutom bikes of his each time making the trip
to his workshop (next to his house) north of Montreal. The stories
about him in the racing community were legion. For a time it seemed
that every bike was a Marinoni because when people brought their bikes
to him for repaints he put his own decals on them. So, Gios, Viner,
Masi, etc....it didn't matter they all came out Marinoni. At first we
all thought he was just bringing in generic Italian frames and painting
them as his own because there were just so many of them, and they all
looked different. At least that was the story that circulated in the
Peloton. Also the rumor was that when AMF had a top North American team
(Steve Bauer being their most prominent member) the AMF bikes they rode
were all Marinoni's.
The thing was that he was so reasonably priced that when you crashed
out on one you just ordered another.
Eddie Albert
Chappaqua, NY