I first met Albert during the time this project was going, mid '70's. I visited their shop with Mark Dinicci, we drove down from Portland together. Bruce Gordon was a partner I am pretty sure, I think the money came from him. Seems like they had about 15 workers. Albert wanted to have a larger bike company so that his design ideas could reach more people. He made investment cast lugs and BBs, I remember him selling them to Schiwinn. Anyway, this project was a financial failure. Trek started in a very similar way, but maybe they had better business sense.
Jim Merz Bainbridge Is. WA
The Eisentraut Limited was a lower-priced production model ... and
pretty
much a complete failure. Eisentraut himself pretty much disavows them.
>>
Well, slow down.... The Limited was a financial flop but they worked just fine as bicycles! Albert doesn't like them because it caused him business head aches! It was a less expensive alternative to his one-at- a-time customs, the Limited being, by its definition a production frame..... rather like the
Rainbow Traut later on (he apparently couldn't resist trying again) and many people were involved with their manufacture. I don' think Eisentraut promised, even with the A frames, that he brazed every joint or filed every lug. There where times it was just him working and times he had assistants...Bruce Gordon was working for Eisentraut back then too. Who else, anyone know? That doesn't make those frames a loser as bikes except for the monetary aspirations Albert placed on them. And, of course, the decals were... shall we say an "unfortunate" aesthetic decision when viewed backwards in time? <g>
Dale Brown
Greensboro, North Carolina