But I like that the stand is the same color as the bike. Steven Willis The Bike Stand 1778 East Second Street Scotch Plains NJ 07076 908-322-3330 http://www.thebikestand.com
> Very intersting bike, thanks for posting those photos.
>
> Actually the pantographing looks fine, it's just the fill painting that
> looks, well amateurish to be kind.
>
> Kurt Sperry
> Bellingham WA
>
>
> On 3/7/06, The Maaslands <TheMaaslands@comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>> I have been researching a bike found by a friend of mine for the last
>> while and thought that it might interest a number of CR listmembers. The
>> bike turned up in Italy with Confente decals, in the hands of a former
>> team-mate of Mario Confente's. In fact they used to race together. The
>> owner wasn't able (or perhaps willing) to tell my friend much about the
>> history, apart from the fact that the bike had been shown at the New
>> York trade show in the 1970's. The first photos that I received were
>> rather poor and certainly didn't show much detail. I contacted a number
>> of Confentologists to hear their ideas. All said that the bike appeared
>> to be something special, while at the same time most said that they
>> wanted to see more detail before pronouncing themselves any more.
>>
>> The first thing of note is that the fully built bike weighs in at 7.34
>> kg (less than 16 1/2 lbs!!!), so this is obviously not your everyday
>> bike. It would seem that the bike has been made with first generation
>> Columbus Record straight gauge tubing (0.3 mm wall thickness!).
>> Mentioning this, a lightbulb went off in Richard Sachs head, helping him
>> recall that Mario had indeed displayed a naked, unpainted frame on the
>> New York show Masi stand in about 1975. To confirm this memory, he asked
>> for me to have my friend check the venting of the seatlug joint (he
>> colorfully described it as being reminiscent of the business end of a
>> urinal), to photograph the lever bosses, as well as brake bosses... All
>> details corresponded exactly. Brian Baylis then commented that he was
>> not aware of any other Record tubed frames being made at Masi, and that
>> for Mario to have displayed the frame naked, would indicate that it was
>> without doubt one of the nicest pieces of work that Mario would have
>> done. After the show however, the tracks seemed to end for this
>> particular frame. Now it would seem that Mario ended up with it (I
>> wonder whether officially or not). My guess is that Mario had either
>> built it specifically with his friend in mind, or decided that it would
>> make for a nice severance from Masi. In either way, the frame ended up
>> in Italy.
>>
>> How it ended up being labelled as a Confente is still not known. As many
>> people who have seen the photos of the built up bike have already
>> stated, the workmanship of the bike components are not quite up to the
>> level of the frame. It would almost seem as though the paint, decals and
>> build were done subsequent to the rest of the bike. A number of people
>> who knew Mario and his work habits have suggested that it is unlikely
>> that mario was directly reponsible for the selection of the build
>> components. The components are simply not perfect enough. More than
>> likely it could have been built up after his death or perhaps using
>> 'seconds' from a machine shop that was contracted to handle the
>> pantographing and milling of the components. The person doing the build
>> must however have been sufficiently close to Mario to get the decals,
>> frame and pantographed parts.
>>
>> I tried to label the photos so that special features could be
>> recognized, but I am certain that you will be able to find extra
>> details that I have not mentioned.
>>
>> http://www.wooljersey.com/
>>
>> All the components have undergone weight trimming. The bike is fitted
>> with a first generation Campagnolo Super Record seatpost, rear
>> derailleur, chainset and pedals (all with drillium treatment). The front
>> derailleur and brakes are Campagnolo Record with drillium treatment. The
>> BB and headset are both OMAS extralight components. The toe clips and
>> straps are the lightweight Christophe Z (when did they come out?) The
>> stem is a first generation Cinelli 1R that is an obvious msimatch for
>> the 3TTT super leggera bars. The milling of the brakes and cranks are
>> scary, as are the radially spoked 24 spoke wheels, which likely explains
>> why the bike has never been ridden.
>>
>> If nothing else, the bike is unique!
>>
>> Steven Maasland
>> Moorestown, NJ
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>
>
>
> --
> fineartscrimshaw.com