<< Is there a reason for the low opinions expressed? Or is this some sort of brandname prejudice since it didn't come out of a small Italian framebuilder's shop who long ago was a winning racer? >>
Hi Douglas:
As they say, everyone is entitled to their opinions but I think the Bertoni suffers from the stigma of being a house brand. Very likely a respected maker built those bikes but because the true maker is hidden under a made-up name, it just robs the bikes of the prestige of associations...
As you say, all this is no indicator of ride quality. But (sadly?) bikes are prized, collected, talked about for more than just their ride quality... Mojo is so important to we aficienados! Silly but true. So just enjoy your bike and to heck with all the snobs and naysayers!
Dale Brown cycles de ORO, Inc. 1410 Mill Street Greensboro, North Carolina 27408 USA 336.274.5959 http://www.cyclesdeoro.com http://www.classicrendezvous.com -----Original Message----- From: dhack@sbcglobal.net To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Wed, 8 Nov 2006 3:34 PM Subject: [CR]My Bertoni handles great! What's in a name?
I have searched on the keyword "Bertoni" and read every word of every post. In summary: a few people used to have Bertoni's and liked them. A few people used to sell them, and don't make any comment on quality. And a few people refer to them in mild to strong negative terms (but don't indicate that they've ever owned one.)
I own one, because I found it in a thrift store (in an afluent neighborhood) and could not resist buying such a beautiful example of the framebuilder's art at such a low price. The hand filed lugs, construction, details, chrome and paint on this Bertoni are as good as anything I have seen. It uses classic Columbus tubing in classic Italian road racing geometry and has the classic Italian beauty (except for the "fadish" rear stays which are larger diameter in the middle than either end). The components were Shimano 600, and it was in nice shape, low miles with rotten tires. It has 74 degree angles, 99cm wheelbase, moderate rake and moderate bottom bracket drop.
Over the past 35 years I've owned and ridden a lot of steel bikes including Masi, Pinarello, Eisentraut, Bob Jackson, Mercier, Gitane, Alpina, Styre, Viscount, Trek, Jamis Aurora and Surly LHT.(currently own 7 steel road bikes). My experience has been that the quality of the ride sometimes isn't related to the prestige of the brand or even the tubing. Some of my favorites have no snob appeal at all. The Bertoni's ride is firm as a racing frame should be, stiff enough for sprinting, but it flexes well and evenly (front and back flex in a balanced manner) over the bumps without chattering, hammering or whipping. It carves turns like on rails, and it is hands off stable. In short, it performs exactly the way it should and much better than a lot of frames I've ridden, regardless of brandname. I am about to strip all the components off my Bob Jackson and move them to the Bertoni as it rides and handles so much better.
Is there a reason for the low opinions expressed? Or is this some sort of brandname prejudice since it didn't come out of a small Italian framebuilder's shop who long ago was a winning racer?
If you have a bike that handles great and isn't popular, do us a favor and tell us about it.
Douglas Hack
Rio Linda, California