I had a chance to visit Mike Barry's shop today (Bicycle Specialties -- home to the Mariposa shop). It's certainly an interesting place to visit -- a store and also a museum, with a nice Rene Herse Camper and numerous French and Italian restorations. Of course, many Mariposas as well. Including this one:
http://www.mariposabicycles.com/
In talking to Mike, I asked him what he thought of the Mafac GTs. He said that he used to have a pair on one of his bikes, but that he found that the quick release mechanism would suddenly release (quickly!) when braking heavily -- i.e., right when you needed it. This was enough to cool my enthusiasm for a pair. Indeed, maybe the death bike could use a set. I did leave the shop with a nice pair of engraved Mafac 2000s, which Mike was willing to let go for a very modest price.
Indeed, everything in the store is on sale -- because, as many of you may know, Mike is retiring. And he's been unable to find anyone to carry on the business, so the 45+ people on the waiting list for a custom Mariposa (including myself) are out of luck. Mike said that Bicycle Specialties will be clearing out much of their inventory via their website (www.bikespecialties.com), likely in the new year. It's certainly an impressive inventory, with lots of NOS parts from the on- topic era. I left the shop with quite a few nice TA bits.
Mike sounds excited about his retirement. He said he intends to spend his time riding, and restoring his own bikes. We can perhaps hope that his son Michael will decide to take over the shop when he retires from the professional racing circuit.
For those of you not familiar with Mariposa, have a look at their website at:
http://www.mariposabicycles.com/
And here is a link to the letter in which Mike announces his retirement:
http://www.bikespecialties.com/
Adam Hammond
Toronto, ON, Canada