It's a real one.
Joe Bender-Zanoni
Great Notch, NJ
> Ross for sale on ebay:
>
>
http://ebay.com/
> 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.