I consider Irio Tommasini somewhat of a friend. We have met several times at Eroica, I have been to the shop, and Have been though his extensive collection of vintage bikes. Having said that I cannot speak for him but I would note the following. Irio loves bikes. He, and the several folks who work in the shop, do everything. They do steel, than clean out the whole place for Carbon, and then do aluminum. We call him a KOF and that puts him in the category with Peter Weigle, Richard Sachs, Brian, etc..... But, I do not think he sees himself like that at all. He builds great riding bikes. Not one at a time but in larger quantities. He once built a bike in the 90's called the Diamonte with special Columbus MS tubing. Several years ago he got a call from Japan, where he is somewhat venerated, asking if he could build one again. He said he had enough Columbus MS left for 20 bikes. They took them all. I do not believe he sees himself as building art whatever the seller of the Pista says. That was a working track bike. Period. The BB's he had had guides so he used them, not problem. If you saw his shop you would realize he is a business man who makes a good living building an excellent product and caters to the market that supports him. He isn't a craftsperson. Edward Albert Chappaqua, New York, USA
On Wed, Mar 10, 2010 at 11:08 AM, Otis <otis@otisrecords.com> wrote:
> "They are obviously cast integrally into the shell. What would be the
> point of laboriously grinding/filing them off? I'm not getting what
> actual purpose that could conceivably serve besides needlessly jacking
> up the price.
>
> Kurt Sperry"
>
> Isn't that the whole point of buying a "hand-built" lugged frame? Using
> your argument why would a builder file any lugs, the frame will ride the
> same and it just adds labor cost.
>
> To me it makes no sense to have a modern lugged pista frame that will most
> likely never see a velodrome or even get ridden on the road further than the
> local coffee bar. But if that's the case it should at least be as stylish as
> possible.
>
> I had a late 90's-2000's model Cinelli Olympic Pista frame that used the
> same BB shell. This frame was as "production" built as it gets, but those
> cable guides had been removed.
>
> Cheers, Jon Williams
> Grants Pass OR USA