In a message dated 12/3/2004 7:33:27 AM Pacific Standard Time, richardsachs@juno.com writes: snipped: " I'm sure someone on the list can explain why, and I imagine that it hod to do whith who apprenticed where, and with whom."
it should be in the archives. i met raul garza, a former top racer and son of my first-ever client, at the 75 ny cycle show. raul was manning the benotto booth and we discussed his being mentored at derosa so as to make the high-end benotto frames to the specs of the mexican brand. e-RICHIE chester, ct
Nice Benotto... err DeRosa. I don't know exactly what you have there, other than a nice bike that is probably Benotto and *may* have been buit by DeRosa. I will add though, that the nicer Benottos from the 70's and 80's were DeRosa-like in many ways. I'm sure someone on the list can explain why, and I imagine that it hod to do whith who apprenticed where, and with whom. Note that many of the nicer Benottos were made in Italy, not Mexico. The round-diamond-round stays were featured on models such as the top-end Mod. 3000. The heart motif appears on old Benottos, inclding my rather crude, Italian made Benotto from the late 70's (Mod 2000?). The common denominators are there, and your Benotto was not necessarily made by DeRosa. The panto parts are not really a clue, because the bike is such a mix of parts from different vintages. The SLX sticker is probably an add-on, and the presence of the 531 fork decals only further enforces the possibility of a sticker-happy former owner. Based on the pressed seat lug, this is an older frame that predates SLX. That's about all I can say, but I'm sure someone knows more about the Ugo-Giocinto connection.
Tom Dalton Bethlehem, PA Thanks for the input. Didn't know all that about the Benotto-De Rosa association, but figured it must have been something like that. This just looks an awful lot like old De Rosa's I have seen. Including the pointy dropout-seatstay connection. Some kind of close relationship anyway to have all that De Rosa stuff on there. Heart cutouts in bb shell too. The SLX sticker appears to have the same patina as the other decals, and may even be clearcoated, but I did peek down in the seat tube with a flashlight and cannot see any rifling. I have not overhauled the BB yet to see if there is any in the dt or chainstays. The fork is definitely Reynolds because it is the English oval not the continental oval to fit that crown. Masi used a similar crown in the old days and Reynolds tubing. Looking at my poster of Rebecca Twigg on her early 80s Benotto team bike, this one doesn't look anything like that. Different crown, lugs, seatstay connection, seatstay plugs, and no diamond chainstays. I am sure hers would be Mexican but if they were trying to mimic De Rosas they didn't on hers.
Bob Freeman
Seattle