Greg and crew,
I am one of those that have very little understanding, appreciation, let alone knowledge of French Bikes......
I did however, have an early 70s Gitane pro bike with the waffle or honey-comb looking rear drop outs.
Anybody else remember those?
And who can forget the very high quality Mavic rims/derailleurs, etc.....or out of timeline LOOK pedals
On the other hand, I wish I could forget the crazy French threads.....that even though they are metric
and even though the dang French invented the metric system....
none of the french metric threads are compatiable with the rest of the world metric! In any case, it seemed to me that at least during the 70s and ealy 80s, most all french makers were equipping their bikes with Italian components.
Are any of you familiar with mid 70s Uragos?
The top end bikes were 100% Campy, Cinelli, Columbus tubing and Ambrosiso rims and they looked fantastic. Well made attention to detail and a very thin paint job remeniscent of Masi, Chesini or other traditional Italian thoroughbred.
In fact the first time I saw one I thought it was Italian.
Where am I going with this?
Yes, you have to give those froggies their due, they laid the foundation which many British and Italians built upon, but IMO, it looked as though the French had finally passed the torch to the Italians when it came to higher end machines.
i am just saying.
Nels Cone
Seattle WA
> Date: Sun, 17 May 2009 16:28:12 -0400
> From: greg@nofatmusic.com
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR] pogliaghi at cicli berlinetta / Nick March french bike collection
>
> Greetings!
>
> Regarding the Pogliaghi at Cicli Berlinetta -I suspect it is not the
> original headtube decal. The serial number dates this as an early 70s Pog. I
> chased down - successfully - a similar frame (with original paint and
> decals) and must say it is one of the tightest, quickest handling steel
> bikes I've ever ridden (and at 6'3", I ride large 62+cm frames so 'quick'
> and 'tight' are not often part of the lexicon). Low bottom bracket setup and
> whatever special sauce angles seems to account for it. And its very pretty.
>
> http://www.wooljersey.com/
> aghi/
>
> I mention this because 1) I think the Pog at Cicli Berlinetta is not getting
> its due - decals and paint don't necessarily mean it isn't well built or
> will not ride superbly! Just shows neglect and lack of respect over the
> years.
> SIMILARLY!! - and I must add for our french contingent, Italian builders
> built bikes that rode wonderfully, won lots of races, and garnered the
> respect and adoration of many many champion riders from all countries for
> HOW THEY RIDE! That's not mythology - its documented history.
>
> Nick - thank you for the look at your Meral and other French bikes.
>
> http://vieuxvelos.canalblog.com/
>
> Its a real education for any CR listers who don't know these great bikes.
> but your captions are a bit rough on the Italians!
>
> Viva La France to be sure! Singer was an amazing builder. So was Francis
> Quillon (is your bike a Quillon frame?) But Masi, Cinelli, Pogliaghi,
> Bianchi all deserve the same respect!
>
> Ta petite collection de vélos est vraiment mignon et merveilleuse -
> Je te prie d'accepter, l'assurance de mes sentiments les meilleurs!;
>
> Kind regards all
>
> Greg Arnold NYC
>
> greg@nofatmusic.com
> http://www.nofatmusic.com