re:[CR]the eBay 54 (?) Atala...2209607503

(Example: Framebuilding:Paint)

Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 10:55:02 -0500
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "Bikeville" <Bikeville@erols.com>
Subject: re:[CR]the eBay 54 (?) Atala...2209607503


hello the Atala is owned by Sam Fitzsimmons of Baltimore and he has his friend Larkin posting it. Sam still isn't all the set up to sell on Ebay and this is his first attempt at selling an item, even though it is through is friends account. One of these days I have to go down there and help him, I am just a little lazy. Not sure of what status Sam Fitzsimoons has on the CR list. It offered it to us first, but sent us really crappy photos so we declined, then he called us us and send that Larkin had listed it for him, and the photos looked amazing. >From what I gather, the bike supposely came stock with painted derailleurs? Not sure about that? I think the price really reflects the fact that the Japanese bidders love the Simplex derailleurs from the 50's, esp. the 543 model. To reiterate, the seller is a real person, just selling it through a friend. thanks ralph w. Philadelpha, PA

Via Bicycle http://www.bikeville.com bikeville@erols.com

Harvey wrote- " don't remember who "outed" this bike (2209607503), but I'm having some trouble seeing the value proposition (It is above $1300 now). I gave Beloved Spouse an Atala from about 1960 as an engagement present (in 67), one with Columbus DB tubing and that exact (I think) set of cast (?) lugs with huge windows. Maybe that's what a Simplex 543 and a handpainted (?) matching front are worth, though. I could be wrong, but it looks to me from the lovely pictures that the bike might have been originally all blue, with the greyish olive applied over it. What brings me to ask is the blue on the rear drop-outs, and the suggestion of blue just behind the upper head lug in one picture. And, of course, the way the downtube panel was preserved. I wonder what color is under the front dreailleur? I'm hardly an expert on that vintage of any bike, but somehow olive drab is not what I associate with the Italian bikes of the next decade. Otherwise, it does rival the most patina-enriched bike in my fleet! From the fact that sellers other auctions are all model railroad stuff, I certainly don't want to accuse him/her of any deception (particularly given the wonderful photos), but I confess to some confusion about the bidding. harvey sachs mcLean va"

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