I hate to butt in here, but top of the line Urago bikes used Vitus tubing beginning back in the late 1940s/early 1950s and continued this practice into the 1960s. And Vitus is French tubing, is it not?
Dave Patrick Chelsea, Michigan
"kohl57@starpower.net" <kohl57@starpower.net> wrote:
Original Message: ----------------- From: rudy43norvelle@comcast.net Date: Mon, 01 Aug 2005 18:27:57 +0000 To: chasds@mindspring.com, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]Cinelli bikes and their parts
"My Cinelli SC which I purchased from Spence Wolf in 1969 Has TA Cottered/Cotterless Cranks Mafac Top "63" Brakes with Weinmann levers. The only Campagnolo items were the hubs, derrailuers, seat post, bottom bracke t (part of it) and head set. Also the Pedals. Of course that was befor e Campagnolo had brakes so that part doesn't count.
Rudy Norvelle San Jose, CA"
So where and how did Spence Wolfe get his Cinellis? Were these bought fr om the factory as frame sets and fitted it out in his shop with his choice of
components?? If so, we're back to framesets which is not quite germain e in discussing STOCK components for complete machines supplied by the factory.
I am sure someone could buy a Cinelli or Masi framset and put on a Sears Free Spirit "gruppo" (threading issues aside) but it still doesn't jibe with the spec sheets, catalogues and photographic evidence that there were
lots (like zillions) of totally Italian component'd bikes out there during
this period. They were the rule not the exception. The idea that this is something unusual is patiently absurd.
I think it would be accurate to say that the ONLY country in the world (aside perhaps from Japan of which I am even more ignorant) that produced every single top-end cycle component from Columbus tubing to Binda toestraps to Campagnolo derailleur to Universal brakes to REG waterbottle cage etc. etc. c. 1965 to the end of the CR Period was indeed ITALY.
Britain loses out because of the derailleur issue and France is disqualified because of the frame sets (I think). A PX-10 is 100 per cen t French manufacture (except maybe for the Brooks saddle, many had Ideale) except for the tubing. I don't know of any top-end French racing bike of
this era with French lightweight tubing.
Peter Kohler Washington DC USA
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