RE: [CR]Second Tier Bicycles worth mentioning

> The Atalas I saw were in several Chicago shops say 1969 thru
> 1971: Turin
> Bicycle Co-op, Roberts Cycles, Nottingham Cycles, and were
> generally
> comparable to UO-8s, with the exception of a Campy derailleur
> set rather
> than Huret Allvit or Simplex. Same $85-90 as a UO-8. We
> didn't see many
> upper end Atalas, I only discovered them later. Did Atala
> have a wide range
> of models? I never saw them, but if they were there, ok!
> Live and learn.

Well, there are people who've never seen Peugeots other than the venerable UO-8...

So behold - from the Classic Rendezvous Web site, no less:

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Italy/atala/Atala_advert.htm This is from 1974, I'd guess, and by then they were selling a "demoted" version of the Gran Prix. The circa 1960s Gran Prix (whose model ID was #105, I think) had TTT Gran Prix bars/stem, Record or Nuovo Record derailleurs, Record hubs and butted tubing.

The more expensive models were relatively unchanged, except the earlier Competizione had NR cranks. (At least that's my recollection.) And perhaps the cheaper bikes were always in the shop and I just never noticed them. But remember, we could see cheap bikes anywhere. We went to places like Stuyvesant and Avenia (importers of Atala and Frejus, respectively) to see the good stuff.
     Best regards,
     Fred Rednor (Arlington, Virginia, USA)