A Marinoni story. For very stupid reasons I sold my custom McLean Silk Hope to a guy when I was living in Vermont. The next day he crashed it. Badly, buckled down and top tube. Marinoni repaired that bike to perfection. I can only think that he looked at McLean's brazing and said- "I can do that if I really want to."
Joe Bender-Zanoni
Great Notch, NJ
> I am totally with you on this one, Jose. I think Guiseppe (Pepe) Marinoni
> is one of the least recognised of the great builders of the '70s-'80s.
Much
> of this, I believe, is due to the fact that his mission was to offer an
> extremely high quality product at a price that would be affordable for
> impoverished racers. His connections in Italy, where he raced as a youth,
> gained him access to materials and components at "insider" pricing, which
he
> proceeded to pass along to his customers in the form of very afffordable
> pricing. (He made trips back to Italy at least once a year to visit
family,
> maintain connections with pals like DeRosa, and barter for parts and
such.)
> His frames exhibited workmanship that was at least the equivalent of the
> Colnagos, Bassos, DeRosas and other high-end production Italian bikes of
the
> period. He did customs at virtually no extra charge and at one time
> repainted bikes for $35 Canadian! Of course, the Italian paint he used,
> while absolutely stunning, didn't tend to stay on the bike, but that's
about
> the only flaw I have ever found in his product. The favorable exchange
rate
> also worked to make his frames an exceptional value, even after the duty
was
> added.
>
> Marinoni's workmanship is not to be compared to a Sachs or other top-shelf
> US builder, but his market has always been different as well. The
alignment
> on all his frames was always dead-on. Marinoni had all the same
attributes
> of the revered Italian builders, with a few exceptions. First, he
actually
> did the work. Did Ugo or Ernesto braze their own harps in the '80s? I
> don't think so. Second, you could buy your frame directly from the
builder,
> or from a shop who worked with the builder. Repairs, etc., ditto. Buy a
> Guercotti and you were working with 10-Speed Drive, not the factory.
Third,
> Marinoni has stayed personally connected to racing. He actually won his
age
> category a few years ago in the Mt. Washington Hill Climb!
>
> I imported Marinonis and other European bike goods through Canada into the
> US in the early '80s and fondly remember working with Giuseppe and his
> extended family on my many road trips across the border. My '82 Marinoni
> custom is still my favorite bike and I expect it always will be. I
> sometimes think that if Marinoni had moved back to Italy and doubled or
> tripled his prices, he would have captured the mystique that we tend to
> reserve for those who rip us off.
>
> Steve Barner, Bolton, Vermont
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> > Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 20:28:37 -0700
> > From: "Jose Fonseca" <locortjody@earthlink.net>
> > To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> > Subject: [CR]Marinoni
> >
> > Hi all. Maybe this is a thread starter. Why is it I don't see much buzz
> about Marinoni? Last year I purchased a Marinoni from the original owner,
> and he told me he ordered the bike in '75 and got it in '76. I think the
> workmanship is on par or better than most "high end" bikes from the
period,
> and the bike demonstrates typical "Crit" style ride and handling, without
> being too harsh. Overall, a really nice bike that you don't see
everywhere.
> (at least not here on the west coast) Can anyone tell me more about this
> maker? I know they're still around, but I don't think they're hand
building
> anymore. Just wondering if anyone knows much about this maker during this
> period.
> >
>
> > Just wondering in Whiskey Hill CA
> >
> > Jody Fonseca