[CR]Confente (Ed Granger)

(Example: Framebuilding)

To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:42:03 -0500
From: <edvintage63@aol.com>
Subject: [CR]Confente (Ed Granger)

"As Fred said, the path to fame is often an association with a famous racer. After all, three of the biggest name italian builders, Masi, DeRosa and Colnago all supposedly built frames for Eddy Merckx at one time or another. A hundred other Italian builders could probably have supplied Eddy with equally good frames, but those three had the contacts to actually meet Eddy and establish a relationship with him."

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Not so fast. Many of the now-revered Italian frame builders were ace mechanics, and that's how they built their reputations. Their frame building activities were almost an extension of those skills. In those days, an ace mechanic was of as much value to a top racer as a good frame - and more rare. Those guys didn't seek out racers to promote their products, they were sought out by the top racers because of their abilities. Let's keep the cart before the horse. They also sought to improve on the tradition they were handed, which can't be said of every village frame builder. While Ernesto may have hyped himself endlessly, I think he does deserve some credit for encouraging the trend toward smaller, stiffer frames and longer seatposts and stems. Just to cite one example. The marketing piece really kicks in once they were building for the stars and saw the opportunity to get out of the smelly, dirty back room where the bikes were built and put on a suit and tie. That made you a businessman and respectable in wider circles. The exception is Ugo De Rosa, who seems uncomfortable as a promoter and apparently still quite comfortable with tools in his hands. They all, in one way or another, had to be good communicators on some level. The best of them also found ways, with slips, sure, to build more frames while maintaining quality - something beyond the abilities of plenty of small-timers. They understood how to instruct and oversee the work of others. So there may be a little more to the reputations of some of the guys who "made it big" than mere luck and a penchant for self promotion.

Ed Granger
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA