Re: [CR]Ebay FR: '55 Longoni with Valentino?

(Example: Production Builders:Teledyne)

Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 07:59:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Don Wilson" <dcwilson3@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Ebay FR: '55 Longoni with Valentino?
To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
In-Reply-To: <453E06D1.9010902@comcast.net>


Wrong side of bed day, huh? :-)

I don't totally disagree with your comments, but they don't seem to apply to me. I've been tooling around on a $4.79 1975 Raleigh Grand Prix Mixte refitted with mountain bike style bars this week just to see what a Mixte would feel like with such bars. Yes, I have a few nice bikes, as I'm sure you do too, but I find they never quench my thirst for riding something old and odd that I've never tried before, or trying something goofy in the adaptation department. No, I'm not mechanically swift enough to try some of Sheldon's rich efforts, but I scrape my knuckles a little every now then for the fun of it. For all the authenticity folks, I still have the original Raleigh bars for this priceless, hugely collectible ivory tower gem. :-)

Now, back to the Longoni and its Valentio: I've still never seen a 1955 Longoni, or any other 1955 bike, with a Valentino derailleur before, have you? The Valentino was introduced circa 1964 and was apparently quickly disliked. Its seems to me that a knowledgeable cyclist from the mid to late 60s--particularly one on a tight budget--either would have tried the Valentino on his then approx. ten year old bike, and would either have quickly replaced it, or more likely he would have never tried it. Or I suppose it could have been an ivory tower rider who didn't know better, but that doesn't really fit your description. So again I ask, isn't this kind of odd? Another thought is that perhaps someone misidentified a GS, which would probably be period correct for this '55 bike, as a Valentino. Unlikely, but possible. A last possibility is that someone swapped out the bike's GS for use on a better bike and left the Longoni with this Valentino and the bike collected dust somewhere in an attic for many years.

And how about Longoni's? Do you, or does anyone else, know anything interesting about them?

Don Wilson
Los Olivos, CA USA


--- gabriel l romeu wrote:


> People who ride without the pretense of collecting
> or care (question the
> notion) of authenticity would not find this odd at
> all. In the late
> 60's where I was, a sign of a novice was not
> customizing their bike with
> their componentry. I could extend this concept if
> one had enough money
> to build up a frame new, but it was even more
> apparent with many who
> pieced up a frame.
> Most riders break stuff over time, most think it is
> good to get a brand
> spankin' new component. Most of the real riders I
> know have no interest
> matching the original component and would be totally
> entertained by the
> notion.
> This list is an ivory tower...
>
>
> Don Wilson wrote:
> > Go figure, but it looks kind of neat bike anyway.
> > 220039231914
> > Don Wilson
>
>
> --
> gabriel l romeu
> chesterfield nj usa
> ± http://studiofurniture.com Ø
> http://journalphoto.org ±
>
>
>
>
>
>

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