I met Alexi at an event here in Denver last year (along with Bob Roll, Andy Hampsten, Greg LeMond and many others whos' names escape me). He seems to be a very easy going, relaxed man now. He also builds timber frame homes - quite a change from his racing days.
John Price Denver CO
-----Original Message----- From: olyoop@attbi.com [mailto:olyoop@attbi.com] Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 10:49 AM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Paint fades (as on ebay Colnago)
I stand to be corrected, but...
"Modern" fades, such as those found on the ebay Colnago (and in contrast to more classical paint effects as found occasionally on Galibier, Bill Philbrook, and others), date, I think, to Alexi Grewal's 1984 Olympic-gold winning Pinarello. The paint job was certainly new to the writers at Bicycle Guide. When they asked the mechanic responsible, he replied that so-and-so wanted a red bike, while what's-his-name wanted a yellow, and so the air gun was brought out and history was made.
That Pinarello was also an early showcase for "aero" brake levers (which obviously caught on in a BIG way) and squashed frame tubes (which didn't.)
Alexi is now a preacher, apparently. I hope it's brought him the inner peace that he so clearly lacked when racing in Europe.