Actually, there were places where you would see Witcombs raced extensively - the east coast!
Now memory is faint, but the sweetest US Witcombs I saw really were extremely nice - I know people will cringe, but the best of them certainly gave the Masi GC's a serious run for the money.
A friend recently picked up a US Witcomb track frame at veloswap that was really nice. There were a few clunky design features, but the workmanship was top notch.
Growing up in Connecticut, Peter and Richard (and later Chris Chance) were major icons. For many of us, a bike such as a Masi would have been considered a stepping stone before getting a custom frame from one of these guys.
The amazing thing is that as Peter and Richard stuck with it, they found ways to get even better - and now (along with some others of course) are at the top of the game and are defining the limits of frame building workmanship.
Compared with the Masi saga, there is less intrique, no major tragedy, and therefore less of a story - but the legacy Witcomb has been huge and has been largely overlooked.
Mike "rode my Weigle today and loved it" Kone and/or Mike "I shouldn't have sold the painfully gorgeous blue Sachs I had" Kone
Both in Colorado
> I posted:
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Jerry wrote about Weigle and Sachs frames, as compared to Confente frames:
\r?\n>
\r?\n> "I don't think the happy fact that both these guys are still
\r?\n> with us and still building completely accounts for that.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Regards,
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Jerry Moos
\r?\n> Houston, TX"
\r?\n>
\r?\n> *********
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Uh, actually, Jerry, it does account for that, completely
\r?\n> and entirely. And if you ever try to buy a Confente in
\r?\n> any kind of competitive-purchase situation, you will see that
\r?\n> this is so.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> {snip}
\r?\n>
\r?\n> **********
\r?\n>
\r?\n> If Jerry was referring to Carlsbad Masis, rather than actual
\r?\n> Confentes, all the same points hold true, to a lesser degree
\r?\n> with regard to rarity...but, I'll repeat what's been mentioned
\r?\n> recently: there were about 1200 pressed-lug Carlsbad Masi GCs made,
\r?\n> in all sizes. That makes them rare. Not as rare as a Confente,
\r?\n> but rare enough.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Italian-made GCs are around, but it sure seems like many
\r?\n> fewer of those came into the country at that time. So they're
\r?\n> rather rare too.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Try finding one of either. In your size. In clean, original
\r?\n> paint. It's no picnic.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I might also point out--purely subjective statement incoming--that
\r?\n> the Witcombs I've seen looked rather crude to me, and
\r?\n> certainly crude compared to *any* Carlsbad Masi GC.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> And, it's tough to discount racing history and herd-mentality. In the mid 70s,
\r?\n> in my neck of the woods, nearly all of the successful Cat 1 and 2 racers raced
\r?\n> on Masi GCs.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> No doubt if there's a place in the US where guys raced Witcombs
\r?\n> heavily, then Witcombs might be far more desirable there even now, than
\r?\n> a Masi would be. I doubt it, but it might be so.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Charles Andrews
\r?\n> SoCal