Brian,
I haven't talked with Ralph in a few years, but contacted him through Ebay and by phone a few years ago. We did have a few fascinating conversations . He seemed to be very genuine and nice to work with when we talked. Hope you have a good Thanksgiving.
Peter Naiman
Milwaukee, WI USA
From: brianbaylis@juno.com <brianbaylis@juno.com> Subject: RE: [CR]Ebay Confente and Ralph Carnevale To: jmerz@schat.com Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Wednesday, November 26, 2008, 4:33 PM
Jim,
When I first met Ralph he had just opened his first bike shop (I think i t was 1971), and it was in a SMALL place in Huntington Beach. The origin al store front was maybe 8' to 10' wide. He sold Volkscycles, as that wa s all he could get. I walked in one day and asked if he could get me a C olnago to which he replied "I can get you anything". It turned out at th e time he wasn't able to come up with a Colnago. As a matter of fact he' d actually never even heard of Colnago before that time. We became frien ds and his bike shop grew as he was able to establish himself. He moved to a larger location after a relatively short time. In time he moved to the final location which was pretty much a super store full of really un believable bikes. Ralph has some kind of magic, because he has this real ly good eye for cool, interesting, and innovative stuff. That's why he w anted your areo bike. Ralph instinctively knows what is cool. He bought the first two Wizard frames ever built and everything he encountered alo ng the way that "spoke to him" in that special way. He always liked the rare show bike sort of thing and picked up lots of that type of gear. I wouldn't be surprised if he still has that aero bike; I'll ask him. We'r e supposed to talk again later today. Wouldn't it be amazing to see that bike in person!
Ralph collects all sorts of neat stuff, including vintage cars and a goo d number of unusual things like vintage handmade sail and steam powered boats. Ralph also has a VERY KEEN interest in really old bicycles and mi ght even own one of the most historically significant bicycles on the pl anet. Ralph is a one of a kind person and truly unique in almost every. He's honest and fair at all times. All one needs to do to get on his bad side is to not treat him with respect and the same degree of honesty an d fairness that he gives to the people he deals with. If you're straight and good to him, he's the best person in the world to know.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
Carnevale bike shop was quite amazing. I used to have a small booth in t he New York every year show with Bruce Gordon and. Not sure of the year, bu t I made the first Shimano DuraAce AX bike shown in the USA. Maybe 1978? Shi mano gave me the "not for use" prototype parts and special Tange aero tubing something like 2 days before the show. I built the bike and painted it i n time to show it. Ralph really wanted this bike bad, I remember selling i t to him after the show. I visited him at his shop later when I worked for Specialized. This shop seemed to always have tons of fabulous bikes. Loo ked like he had more going on to make money than selling bicycles.
Another history I found the other day. A book "Bike for Life: How to Rid e to 100" has a good interview of Mike Sinyard. They spelled my name incorrec tly but the story is good. Copy and paste the link in your browser and you c an read it.
http://books.google.com/
Jim Merz Big Sur CA
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Dale Brown Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:11 AM To: brianbaylis@juno.com; classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [SPAM][CR]Ebay Confente and Ralph Carnevale
I will echo Brian's endorsement of Ralph.. I met him at the North Carol ina Cirque a few years back and againat the northern Virginia Cirque last ye ar. He is an interesting guy who once had a successful high end bike shop in
Southern California and now has retired to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. He is a very engaging person to talk to nad says he has tons o f old goodies he saved from his bike shop days...
Dale Brown Greensboro, North Carolina USA
-----Original Message----- From: brianbaylis@juno.com <brianbaylis@juno.com> To: chasds@mindspring.com Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:12 am Subject: Re: [CR]ebay outing: confente
Charles and list,
That is indeed a nice Confente. I just spoke to the seller, Ralph Carnev
ale who lives near the new location of the Cirque in Virginia. I spent s
ome time with Ralph when I was at this past event and went to his house.
He has lots of NOS bike stuff and sells a good amount of cool stuff on
eBay. This Confente is really clean and will make someone really happy i
n the near future. We're trying to get the serial number of the bike but
the paint is a bit thick on the BB shell; but I'm pretty sure it's one
of the LA bikes. That would make it a Jim Cunningham paint job; even com
es with a matching? pump.
I've known Ralph since 1971 or so and you can buy from him with confiden
ce. Keep an eye out for his auctions; he will be selling goodies that yo
u all want for a long time.
Ralph will be attending next years Cirque and also is planning on attend
ing the San Diego Custom Bicycle Show in April 2009. So if anyone wants
to meet Ralph (a really good person to know if you're into vintage bike
gear), he should be in attendance at our show in April 2009. Check out w
ww.SanDiegoCustomBicycleShow.com.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
Oh. Boy.
I can say with certainty, beyond the huge collectible premium on
these....they ride really, really good. For the tall guys among us,
this would be a keeper..looks to be in mint condition too!
Charles Andrews SoCal
"Somebody has to be tireless... or the fast buck operators would
asphalt the entire coast, fill every
bay and slay every living thing
incapable of carrying a wallet."
--John D. MacDonald
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