Wayne Jolly wrote:
>
>In the November 1977 edition of Bicycling is a very
interesting
comment in
>Dick Swann's column "Question Man" on page 64/65.
>Mr. H.J.Battjes of Palo Alto, CA writes: I have an
Ideor. I am told it
is
>circa 1960, near Cinelli's factory, a fine frame.
Could you elaborate?
>Response:
>This is one of several makers that have appeared in
Milan over the
last 20
>years. Most of these small makers are ex-Cinelli
workers; so the stuff
>should be very good indeed. Dick Swann
>
>The response seems to confirm a link to the Cinelli
factory. Has
anyone
>heard about this before? Would anyone agree that the
build quality of
an
>Ideor is comparable to Cinelli?
Peter Jourdain wrote:
>
> Wayne--you raise a very intriguing issue, Ideor as a
> possible Cinelli spinoff!
Chuck Schmidt wrote:
I think it is important to bear in mind here that a "spinoff of Cinelli" and Cinelli's ex-employees starting a company of their own are two different things entirely.
Faliero Masi worked for Gloria originally. Would you call a Masi bicycle a spinoff of Gloria? Are 7 Cycles a spinoff of Merlin?
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, CA
Yes, Chuck. Glad you pointed that out. I realized after I'd sent the message that the word "spinoff" wasn't the right one. It's not that Ideor was possibly a spinoff of Cinelli in the sense that "Laverne & Shirley" was a spinoff of "Happy Days." I mean, as an enterprise with a historical and artistic link to Cinelli because it may have been started by former employees. What I'd like to get to the bottom of is 1) When was Ideor started? 2) By whom? 3) If Ideor was started by former Cinelli employees, what role did they previously play at Cinelli? How high up the totem pole, etc. And there are many more questions. E.g., How many framebuilders did Cinelli employ in, say, the early '50's? I have no idea as to the physical and numerical scope of Cinelli's framebuilding operations back then. I wonder how many ex-Cinelli employees capable of soloing were running around Milan in those days.
Peter Jourdain Whitewater, Wisconsin
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