Sorry - first version was sent prematurely. I was trying to fix the formatti ng and tried to send it to myself and accidently hit the button to send to t he list. I can't seem to fix the formatting, so apologies, but I do of cours e owe a signature. - Ed
I believe all listmembers truly appreciate the work Chuck has done with the Colnago timeline. But longtime Colnago cognoscenti will cleary recognize som e gaps in the information contained therein. Based upon copious interviewing and many hours spent wandering the archives, the following timeline supplem ent is offered as a way to hopefully fill some of those missing elements.
1968 â- Peter Rich receives overseas phone call informing him that a shipment of Masi Specials overdue at his Velo Sport bicycle shop has been âlost at sea.â These frames are later spotted being ridden b y Boy Scout Troop 96 in nearby Walnut Creek. Colnagoâs introduction to the United States begins.
1968 -- Playing card decal graphics. Club on card is actually clover, but no one notices because they look identical.
1968 -- Club cutouts in all three lugs (really clovers).
1969 â- Playing card graphics (clovers changed back to clubs, but no one notices because they look identical).
1969 â- Clover cutouts in all three lugs revert to clubs. No one not ices.
1970 â- Colnago graphics are briefly changed to eagle and Olympic ri ngs (eagle is really a falcon, but no one notices).
1970 â- Dancelli wins Milan San Remo â âLa Primavera â â following long drought by Italian riders. Ernesto digs o ld playing card decal set out of drawer.
1970 â- Playing card graphics, only itâs definitely a flower now.
1972 â- Lots of flowers. Yeah, thatâs what they are.
1974 â- Flowers revert to clubs. No one really notices the switch, b ut the word âbulbousâ enters Colnago lore.
1975 â- Colnago famously sues Irish Spring brand soap, claiming that any connection between âLa Primaveraâ - in any language - w ith shamrocks is rightfully Colnago property. âTheyâve alway s been shamrocks,â Ernesto is quoted as saying.
1976 -- Fork crown has COLNAGO added to shamrock. Ernesto is not taking any chances any more.
1977 â- Colnago becomes first Italian frame builder to employ brazin g monkeys.
1978 â- Brazing monkeys told to âpick up the pace. Or else. â
1979 â- Thanks to brazing monkeys, Colnagos are now available via bi cycle shops, catalogs, tractor supply stores, Ace hardware, and select 7-Ele vens.
1980 â- COLNAGO now stamped on seat stay caps.
1981 â- Brazing monkey jobs outsourced to Asia.
1982 â- COLNAGO stamped on sides of chain stays. Also on key rings, drink coasters, and ball point pens.
1983 â- Colnago factory worker Ludovico Gilco, maneuvering his â Lift Masterâ forklift on the Colnago loading dock, accidently drives over a shipment of Supers just in from Taiwan. Ernesto promptly decla res the damaged frames âlighter and stiffer,â and the Master model is born.
1983 â- COLNAGO stamped on many small appliances.
1984 â- COLNAGO seen stamped on small children in Milan area.
1985 â- Attempts by Ernesto to have COLNAGO stamped on Italian curre ncy end in failure.
1988 â- Out-of-work brazing monkeys hired by Ugo De Rosa.
Ed Granger
Lancaster, PA