Dave wrote:
> For some reason, one marque of Italian bikes has been completely
> missing from the CR site as well as metioned only rarely on this
> list, Pinarello. Yet, that company produced some simply
> incredible bikes through much of the period we focus on, bikes
> that rival and (IMHO) may be better than the products of many
> other contemporary Italian builders.
snip
> The ride and feel of this bike is also top notch. Indeed, given
> the small number of early Pinarellos one sees coming up for sale,
> I wonder if their production was just too small for them to come
> up on the secondary market or if their owners are just too happy
> to part with them?
Dave,
When I lived in Treviso, I got to know Nanni and his family quite well. You are quite right that the late 70's and early 80's Pinarello bikes are indeed very nice. I agree with you that they were indeed a far better deal that an equivalent age Colnago. Their workmanship was definitely towards the top of the Italian heap in that period and their ride was first class. What you perhaps don't know is that the Pinarello family has been building bikes for well over 50 years. I have seen quite a few Pinarello bikes with Cambio Corsa gears and am presently negotiating the purchase of just such a bike. While working at Bicyclesport in Toronto (Mike Barry's shop and the home of Mariposa bikes at the time) in the early 80's, they were definitely our Italian frame of choice. Quite coincidentally to Dave's choice of bicycles, Pinarello was later supplanted by Tommasini as our bike of choice in about 1985.
Pinarello, now in his 80's, still turns up in his shop in Treviso on a daily basis, but is definitely beginning to suffer from his age. When I last saw him this spring, you could unfortunately see that a few lights were no longer burning: a true pity for somebody who has earned such respect from everybody in the Italian cycling world. I too agree that Pinarello deserves a section in the CR Italian section.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ