[CR] Palo Alto frame info sought

(Example: Framebuilders:Richard Moon)

Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 18:52:29 -0700
Subject: [CR] Palo Alto frame info sought
From: "Shannon Menkveld" <shannon.menkveld@cox.net>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org


Perhaps a Bay Area CR'er will have the solution to a little mystery that's come up at the shop.

We took in a bike for overhaul that no one knows anything about. The frame was built for Palo Alto Bicycles, sometime in the early to mid 1970's. Columbus tubing, the fork crown and seatstay caps have the Columbus dove stamped(?) into them, and the only decals are the head tube and downtube, both saying only "Palo Alto Bicycles". The bike has a full Nuovo Record group, with a "Pat. 72" rear derailleur. I'm not enough up on the variations in NR components to be able to date the bike that way.

Obviously, this was the Palo Alto shop's "house brand" frameset, but does anybody know who built them? It's a nice looking frame, with a now-faded-to-burnt-orange red metallic paint job, a cream fills on the cutouts in the lugs. It's also got a pretty cool BB shell, with three oval-ended slots cut into the bottom of it.

Anybody with info on this bike will be my official hero for the week.

Shannon Menkveld
San Diego, CA