Doug,
Are you speaking of Darrell Hand of Raincross Cyclery? I know him well b ut haven't seen him in years. It would be interesting to know where he i s and what he's up to.
The Confente you saw belonged to Ken (can't remember his last name now; but it will come to me right after I send this email), who was one of So Cals top riders at the time. His brother had a Confente also. Mike Kone owns that bike now if I'm not mistaken; he may remember Ken's last name. He bought the bike from Darrell at Raincross Cyclery I believe. It was a dark blue metallic frame, no?
Brian Baylis
I'm always fascinated by people's opinions of what they consider to be t he best frames and in particular the value of a Confente. I doubt it is possible for most to agree on what makes the "best" anyway. The ride, t he way it looks - and if it is the ride, what one likes another won't.
I've always had a bit of a grudge against Confente. Not him personally (I can't remember if I talked to him at the 1977 New York show) but this attitude got started when I was visiting my relatives in Southern Califo rnia in 1976. I have a cousin (once removed) that started Raincross Cyclery in Riverside, CA. I was showing him the bikes I made for my wife and I thinking there might be the possibility of some business between us. He
seemed only politely interested. I was expecting him to look close at t he lug work and say something nice and find that I had apprenticed in Engla nd of real interest. Isn't that what family members are supposed to do? B ut no, he wanted to tell me about Confente instead. He wondered if I could do brake attachments like him. So he had one of SoCal's nationally known racers (a name I've forgotten now) come and show me his Confente. That was the first time I saw recessed brake bolts.
In retrospect I can see why my cousin had such a high opinion of a Confe nte and held it up to me as the standard. His impression was formed by the combination of decals, paint, lug cut-outs, the trick brake bolts and th e fact that the rider he most looked up to rode one. He wasn't looking closely at how my nicely my lugs were filed, etc. That in fact didn't matter to him because he wasn't about fine details but rather the overal l effect. I doubt he paid much attention to mine after looking at my plai n decals (which I refined a year or so later).
Doug Fattic
Niles, Michigan