Thank you for all the information. For the right writer, I think there is a
book waiting to be written. Jack has been keeping me up to speed on his
wife's bike. He has kind of adopted me as a neophyte McLean owner, leading
me through the ins and outs - teaching me the secret handshakes and all.
On Sun, Feb 7, 2010 at 8:44 AM, <oroboyz@aol.com> wrote:
> Thanks for outing that bike, Neil. It is absolutely beautiful!
>
> Re: the Performance brochure ... That was an interesting turn of events,
> for McLean Fonvielle to decide to offer his frames through the mail order
> process.
>
> Although I had functioned for a while earlier as his representative to bike
> shops in the eastern seaboard, I was out-of-the-loop in that decision, but
> would be interested to time travel and see what lead up to that
> circumstance.
>
> As background, McLean custom frames had been distributed to bicycle shops
> around the USA by a company named Cycle Imports in Cornish, Maine. Bob and
> Judy Richmond operated that business and when McLean bikes appeared at the
> NY International Bike show (maybe twice) it was in the Cycle Imports booth.
> They also imported Charles Roberts, Stan Pike (albeit briefly) and a wide
> range of components including TA, Campagnolo, etc.
>
> (Jack Gabus recently acquired Judy Richmond's personal McLean frame which
> had become over the years somewhat rough, and rehabbed beautifully as a gift
> for his wife...)
>
> In any case, there must have been a break down in the relationship with
> Cycle Imports, as having the bikes in Performance would not have enhanced
> that distribution channel... It was erhaps no coincidence that there was a
> great friend, Chuck Lewis, a mentor who had earlier run The Clean Machine,
> a local bike shop, working for Performance, so maybe McLean thought this
> new (at that time) mail order concern would do a proper job of representing
> the marque? It would be fun to ask Chuck about that.
>
> Obviously, had I the opportunity, I would have advised him otherwise,
> because even then, mail order was the despised nemesis of all local bike
> shops, and this move would have alienated most of his shops, probably even
> cause many to no longer offer McLean frames.
>
> So, in short, it was quite a shake up in approach to see McLean frames in
> that catalog. It is more than ironic that none were ever sold through that
> means....
>
> Dale Brown
> cycles de ORO, Inc.
> 1410 Mill Street #100
> Greensboro, North Carolina 27408 USA
> 336-274-5959
> http://www.cyclesdeoro.com
> http://www.classicrendezvous.com
> http://www.carolinacup.com
> \u201cLife is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving\u201d
> A.Einstein
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: neil m berg <neilmberg@gmail.com>
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Sent: Sun, Feb 7, 2010 9:12 am
> Subject: [CR] McLean build photos
>
> For McLean followers:
> http://picasaweb.google.com/
>
> --
>
> Neil Gunnar Berg
>
> 1410 Oakwood Drive
>
> Albert Lea, Mn 56007
>
> U.S.A.
> http://oakwoodlife.blogspot.com/
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
--
Neil Gunnar Berg
1410 Oakwood Drive
Albert Lea, Mn 56007
U.S.A.
http://oakwoodlife.blogspot.com/