I sold a few Palettis in-the-day which were obtained from Dohnnie Einhorn in Florida who also was the first importer of Assos (when they had cranks, rims, pedals, The era of the semi naked girl ads...) and Somec frames.
I understood that Luciano Paletti changed to PMZ in deference to two added partners, Mssrs. Maza and Zanotti (?) Then, not long after that,(4 years?) that group broke up and the two partners became the MAZA brand, as imported & promoted by Branford in the northeastern USA.
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
-----Original Message----- From: Wayne Bingham <veloclassique@gmail.com> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Sat, Jan 8, 2011 1:36 pm Subject: [CR] Paletti and Maza Variants
This is something that I have not been able to completely figure out. The head badge designs shown on the CR/Paletti web site, which I believe are early designs, show the letters PMZ, rather than the more common and familiar design with the letters LP. I have to assume that LP stands for Luciano Paletti. I'm not sure what PMZ stands for, but I'm pretty sure it isn't Paletti Profile System because it certainly doesn't translate that way. Then there's the Maza branded frames, which were also built by Paletti, but possibly in collaboration with others. Most of those have MZ on the fork crowns and in the head badge design. I've heard varying versions of the Maza/Paletti story, but never any real definitive information. Does anyone know for sure? Mr. Maasland maybe?
I have two Palettis at the moment, an '81 Super Prestige and an '86 Meteor, as well as an '89 Maza Competition built with Columbus Max tubing. Palettis and Mazas from the 80's are most often seen in the sort of "over the top" Italian style of the period, with lots of pantographing/engraving/casting of names and logos, on both frames and components, and flashy paint schemes. The Meteor has seemingly every "look at me" trick in the book, typical of many Italian bikes at the time and befitting the first generation C-Record/Delta components it's outfitted with. "Tricks" include severely crimped main tubes, lots of engraved logos, and even the full name Meteor and LP logo engrave in the side of the seat stays just above the brake bridge. The flutes of the crimped tubes are filled with blue on an otherwise pearl white frame with chrome lower fork legs and stays. The Maza has a similar treatment on the seat stays with the Maza name, and is painted in a garish purple/pink/yellow/white fade. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Paletti fan, but if you want a more sedate Paletti or Maza, best to look for the earlier versions.
I obviously haven't answered Kevin's questions, and probably have only generated more. Just thought I'd add what I know to the archives.
Wayne
-- Wayne Bingham Velo Classique PO Box 2069 Purcellville, VA 20134 USA 540-338-8376 http://www.veloclassique.com
From: kevin lindsey <lindsey.kevin@gmail.com> Date: Sat, Jan 8, 2011 at 11:23 AM Subject: [CR] Paletti variant? To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Greetings.
I'm looking at an early '80s Paletti frameset. The difference between this
one and every other Paletti I've seen pictured (which is not very many), is
that this frame has "PMZ" on the fork and stays instead of "LP." I believe
PMZ means "Paletti Profile System" in Italian, but I have no idea whether
that's correct or, if so, what that implies.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Kevin Lindsey