In a message dated 7/2/2004 3:54:51 PM PST, Norris.Lockley@btopenworld.com writes: It's still raining November style over here so I'm still trawling the net...and came across a couple of interesting Italian frames on the US Ebay /Sporting goods/Cycling/Road bikes and Parts/Frames listings.
The first one is a 57cms FAGGIN road, in reasonable nick with all the engravings you would expect to find on such a frame. I worked for a few years for a French company at the Milan and Cologne bike shows, and found that Emilio Faggin's frames were held in quite high esteem... not as high as some but still up there in the rankings..The price is cheap too at around $50. Item No 3685934392
The second one is a 60cms Freschi, of Milan. Unfortunately the photos don't show much detail and tend to make the frame look a little odd. I spent some time with the Freschis in the early 80s, and thought that the little firm produced some excellent quality frames.. and tandems too. They did a short-wheelbase model with a split seat-tube that looked quite interesting. Item No 3686229370. generally there was a good quality of hand-crafting/finishing on Freschis.
Not having been a member of the List for very long I just wondered if
Freschis have been discussed and, if so, what conclusions were reached.
Norris Lockley.. Settle UK
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Norris-
You are correct, those look like some nice stallions. I too have always
heard from the cognositi (sp?) that Faggin were top-end bikes. I don't know if
they are still aorund or whether they ever sponsored any high-profile team,
but of the Faggin that I have seen, they were all high-end exquisite bikes.
Short story, (and you may have been heard on CR list before) about a
fellow I ran into years ago who became the owner of a Faggin. I really can't
recall the circumstances about how he came to be the owner, (maybe he stole it??)
but he felt felt the named Faggin somehow reflected a personal unmanly aura to
his bike. So he took off the "F" anywhere he could find it, and soon settled
into his new found masculinity of riding an "aggin" bike.
I can still see this guy in my mind's eye now. What a hoot! I get a kick
out of everytime I think of him pedaling down the road. He won't get caught
riding any Faggin bike, no siree! Of course most, but not everybody--especially
this guy--knows that Faggin is pronouced
< fa' / jeen >.
I sometimes wonder if anyone ever told him the correct way to pronouce it
and if that made a difference to him.
cheers-
Dave Anderson
Cut Bank MT