Today as I departed my local hardware store I spied a rather tatty road bike leaning against the bike rack. The chrome head lugs caught my eye, making me think Italvega. As I scrutinized the bike and took note of the very nicely thinned lug points, campy dropouts and the three holes in the seat stay caps I realized that this bike was something special. I decided to track down the rider and so back I went into the hardware store, checking everybody and their shoes out. Sure enough, the first guy I approached, with the back pack, was the owner of the bike.
Anyway, to make a long story short, after a long conversation during which I tried to get him to sell me the bike, to no avail, he revealed that he got the bike from his brother who brought it back from London after buying it from the man who was the original owner. The story I got is that an Italian builder living in London built the frame. Fontinella is the name he gave me.
So, does anyone recognize the name Fontinella? I'm not sure of the spelling, and the archives coughed up a big zero.
Thanks very much.
Jay Sexton
Sebastopol, CA