[CR] 80s Olympia

(Example: Framebuilders:Norman Taylor)

Date: Tue, 25 May 2010 09:39:33 -0400
From: "Michael Shiffer" <dennisflange@gmail.com>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, nlockley73@googlemail.com
Subject: [CR] 80s Olympia


Hi Norris, I'd love to see pictures of the Olympia. Two weeks ago I was contacted by a guy I knew thirty-five years ago when I worked for the Olympia importer in NY. He's even crazier than I am for Olympias.He owns several of their current, thoroughly off-topic bikes, as well as some older ones. He's actually in Italy right now, at the Olympia factory, trying to scrounge vintage stuff.

Olympia is reported to be the second oldest bike manufacturer still operating in Italy. (I believe Bianchi is older.) They were a small factory when I worked on them in the early 70s. They turned out about 20,000 bikes a year: nearly all of them retailed in Italy. I think we sold less than 500 a year in the US. Today they still build a full range of bikes, with CF frames on their top end. I heard Olympia recently bought Scapin in order to keep their hand in the lugged-frame market.

What are you planning to do with the Olympia?

--

Michael Shiffer
EuroMeccanica, Inc.
114 Pearl Street
Mount Vernon, NY 10550
(914) 668-1300
euromeccanicany.com