Tonight I had the opportunity to view an old chain that is apparently made with titanium face plates, (at least, perhaps internal parts as well). I was allegedly hand made by Fossati, and bears his name stamped into each plate. The gentleman who showed me the piece said he bought it in France many years ago (for around $200, or so), where it was hanging on display in a bike shop. He thought the owner of the shop mentioned that it was made for some special use, perhaps as a one-off, but he could not recall what. The only info I could find in the archives is that Steven Maasland has/had a couple of Fossati frames, as well as Tom Hillman (no sold). My friend mentioned that Fossati was a very successful grand tour mechanic in his day. I'm sure Steven can fill us in some about the builder, since he was able to find some info that he used in an Ebay description but did not include in his CR post on the subject. But, does anyone have any info on this chain in particular, or any other very early TI chains? Is it on-topic, as it appears? Perhaps this was used on one of Eddy's potential Hour bikes! Dream on ... but is was a VERY cool chain regardless, and weighed in my hand about as much as a Nuovo Record rear derailleur ... it felt crazy light!
Ciao, Mark Agree Southfield MI USA
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