Today Dan Kehew has offered an appropriate perspective on the seldom-seen Italian Path Racer.* Indeed, he got me to thinking about my own peculiar Italian bike:
It is a "Roma Sport." It is a real bike, and rides very nicely, but a very odd combination.
--> road geometry, oval fork blades, but fixed-gear, rear-facing, drop-outs. Light weight, but seamed tubing. cast loopy lugs.
--> Finish young enough to have the "chromed" paste-on "decals" as bands on the down-tube (over patinaed candy apple, translucent red-over-silver).
--> Old parts: best Magistroni cranks, FB HF hubs, Ambrosio Champion aluminum bars and matching built-up, relatively short stem. I bought it at a swap meet, with a Brooks B-15 that promptly broke.
Maybe someone added the down-tube bands, because it otherwise would be guessed as 50s (?). Or do they go back that far?
Otherwise, it's just a really sweet bike to ride, as long as you love looking at Patina.
Happy to send pix if anyone has ideas about establishing a date for it.
harvey sachs mcLean va usa. *Sorry, Dan, I really like it very much, but it's only a Mini-Sheldon. :-)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 8:51 AM, Jay Van De Velde <jaysportif@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Offered on eBay,a rare set of Italian Path Racers. Skeptics will argue that
Italy did not produce path racers, that they were the exclusive province of British makers, but here is irrefutable proof that path racers bearing the names of De Rosa, Pogliaghi, Colnago, Masi and Cinelli do exist.
>>
>>
>> http://ebay.com/
>>
>> Jay Van De Velde
>> Seal Beach, CA
Re: [CR] Italian Path Racers on eBay