Steven,
Good post, and you obviously did your homework on Miche. I also have a set of wheels built with Miche hubs, and although they were often relegated to a mid-price range bike, they are very nicely finished and very smooth (maybe the many miles of riding have polished the bearing surfaces). Like many of the other small manufacturers that were shoved out of the market by the Shimano/Campagnolo war, Miche made some very nice components, and undersold the giants by a significant margin.
Galen Poole
Jackson, MS
> Jerome wrote:
>
> "As to Miche, I have one pair of Miche hubs, and they roll very nicely
> indeed. I think Miche is an example of a lesser known Italian component
>
> maker turning out very good quality without the high prices associated
> with the more famous Campy stuff. I think there are (or at least were)
> a
> lot of very good Italian componets by other manufacturers which get
> overshadowed by the fame of Campy."
>
> Miche is one of the two companies that stemmed from the Michelin family
> bicycle business (the last name is not pronounced like the tire
> manufacturer. It is pronounced Me-kay-leen). The other company is Ciclo
> Piave. Both still exist to this day and are located between Conegliano
> and Ponte della Priula in the province of Treviso. When living in
> Treviso, I visited them both. Ciclo Piave continue to make some
> beautiful lugged steel bikes to this day. Miche, by the admission of the
> company owners was long known to be a lower quality, lower price point
> supplier, at least one level below Ofmega and the like. Recently they
> have successfully concentrated on a number of niche markets including
> track componentry and componentry for children's racing bikes. They have
> also brought out the Super Type gruppo which is also quite a bit higher
> up on the quality totem pole. To say that they brought out "very good
> quality" in the CR period would however be a major exaggeration, that
> even the Miche owners would not be comfortable with. I believe they
> would be much more happy to be known as a supplier of fairly valued
> components.
>
> Steven Maasland
> Moorestown, NJ
>
> PS: I unashamedly ride Miche pedals on my 2005 Colnago.