I have 4 Marinonis.
A first year '75 all original, a stock bike (not a Special). Lots of 'patina'. It does not exhibit many of the elements that became trademark details and I believe it to be a very early piece based on the details. A '76 Special (custom) that is currently one of my favourite rides (not equipped period correct) and badly needs the top tube replaced (it has a hole in it a little smaller than a dime!) and a repaint, but it rides beautifully. A '79 Competition with very unique decals that I have never seen on another Marinoni, not the traditional serif font, a sort of 'neon' style lettering. I haven't had the chance to ride this one but hope to later this year. And finally a '93 EL-OS custom that was a Team Magic-Cuts bike set up with '96 8spd Chorus that I use as a crit bike.
I also have a 1973 Bevilacqua that is decaled as a Marinoni. The original owner told me that when he had it repainted his wife asked Marinoni to decal it as she felt it looked to spare without anything on it. Eventually I'll make up some interesting Bevilacqua decals as I have had zero luck in locating any info or images as to what this bike's graphics might have originally looked like.
Marinoni also made the 'house brand' of frames for a shop in town (Peccos) in the early 80's. They were decaled Asso. Whether they were much cheaper or more poorly made that true Marinonis I don't know.
Marinonis are rather ubiquitous in these parts and I don't mind that one bit. They can be had rather cheaply and ride as well as anything I've ever been on. I can't really justify having as many bikes as I do (~35 at the moment), but I'm always on the look out for more Marinonis. I always know they'll ride the way I want them to.
David Bilenkey Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
> -----Original Message-----
> From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org
> [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org]On Behalf Of Stephen
> Barner
> Sent: June 30, 2004 9:58 PM
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: [CR]Re: Marinoni
>
>
> No offense, but I would have to get some solid collaboration before I
> believe that Marinoni put his decals on someone else's frame. I say this,
> because he had a variety of bogus decals specifically to dress up
> repaints.
> These were decals in the same style as his own, but with
> different names of
> fictitous manufacturers. That way, if someone wanted a repaint and decals
> were not available, they could have a flashy Hoolio or Wazzis to ride.
> Actually, I don't recall the bogus names, but they really sounded like the
> names used on Italian bikes back then.
>
> I can just imagine the fun of showing up at a ride with a shiny
> Bradorio and
> having the local Big Jerk boast about how he had one once but found it too
> mushy in a sprint. You know the type.
>
> In the early '80s, Marinoni had decal sets for most of the more popular
> Italian builders. I assumed that he knew these guys well enough that it
> wasn't a problem for him to obtain them. He let me have a set of Marinoni
> decals for my toolbox (they're still there) and we had extras in case a
> frame got scratched up on the floor. If that was common practice, it's
> possible that some riders slapped them on their repainted bikes after
> getting them back to the shop. They don't do decals any more at the
> Marinoni shop. They use software and a knife plotter to cut
> masks and spray
> the graphics before clearcoating. They stay on better, but are not as
> flashy as the decals were.
>
> I did hear that story about the AMF bikes being Marinonis.
>
> --Steve Barner, Bolton, Vermont
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> > Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 13:28:07 -0400
> > From: Edward Albert <ealbert@bellatlantic.net>
> > To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> > Subject: [CR]Re: Marinoni
> >
> > 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