I bought my first 10-speed at GTCS in May 1979. I was just a little too late to have caught that event. My closest riding pal was already racing by that time, and he told me that he remembers riding in Rock Creek Park the week before the event and coming up behind some junior who was out on the course. He remembers stitting on the guy's wheel and counting the cogs... one, two, three, four, five... SIX! Holly crap SIX cogs! We now know that six speed was common back then, but it seemed the ultimate in exotica to my then-15-year-old friend at the time.
Tom Dalton Bethlehem, PA USA
Dale Brown <oroboyz@aol.com> wrote: << By the way, it's my understanding that GTCS provided a bunch of spare Alpine bikes to the Junior World's Road Championships held in Washington D.C. in 1978. >>
Oh yes! That was a very cool event, the road race held in Rock Creek Park (which winds it's way through urban Washington DC)
They had paddocks set up for each national team, so you could stroll along and see the masseuses and mechanics at work in the compounds of Italy, France, Barbados, etc.
The support bikes were all Alpines and it was a quite festive and attractive event.
Dale Brown Greensboro, North Carolina USA
-----Original Message----- From: Tom Dalton <tom_s_dalton@yahoo.com> To: oroboyz@aol.com; smwillis@verizon.net; classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 9:56 am Subject: Alpine Labeled track bike
I just want to add to this week-old message, that by the early 80's Alpine later was actually making their own frames... but this is not one of them. I'm with Dale that it's a rebadged British bike. In addition to the brands Dale mentions, I think some Alpines were MKM. Of course, the decals were stuck on anything that any GTCS employee or Alpine Team rider was using, and that included plenty of Serottas, a Cotten, an Aschemacher.... So, there are "actual Alpines," from the 80's, earlier bikes that were re-badged and sold as Alpines, and bikes that were never sold as Alpines but that simply bore the decals because of team or shop affiliations. When Alpine closed shop, a friend of a friend eneded up with a bunch (all) of the old decals. Some went to my froiend, and then to me, and ended up on a Centurion that I sold to a Mennonite kid at a swap meet. Anyway, look closely once you see the decals.
By the way, it's my understanding that GTCS provided a bunch of spare Alpine bikes to the Junior World's Road Championships held in Washington D.C. in 1978.
Tom Dalton Bethlehem PA USA
The Ebay Alpine:
Dalr wrote: I am betting that is a Condor or Mercian... This was the MO for Georgetown Cycles, the shop where Larry Black started his career & the shop who owned that brand....
Dale Brown Greensboro, North Carolina USA
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