[CR]Wilier Triestina

(Example: Framebuilders:Tony Beek)

To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: <marcus.e.helman@gm.com>
Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 09:49:45 -0400
Subject: [CR]Wilier Triestina

Any man who would buy a bike like that for his father to ride around the neighborhood when he comes to visit, is a devoted son. Obviously the same goes for any woman.

You are lucky to have a father in his 70's who can still ride a bike. Recently my dad tried to ride my wife's mixte, and fell down in the driveway. He is in decent shape, but he has not been on a bike in over 30 years. Maybe you do eventually forget how to ride a bike.

Marcus Helman Huntington Woods, MI

Jay wrote:

A while back there was some discussion regarding the copper finish on an '80s Wilier Triestina bike. Some suggested the frame was copper plated (ramata), other suggested the finish is a copper lacquer over chrome (cromovellato). Well, I made a deal with the seller, Luigi, and the bike is now safely ensconced within the cozy confines of my garage. I can state with reasonable certainty that the finish is cromovellato, a copper colored lacquer painted over chrome. The bike is nearly flawless, save for a 3mm wide spot where the finish wore away revealing the chrome underneath. The areas under the fork crown and the inside of the seattube also show signs consistant with a sprayed on finish. The only other copper bike I've seen in person was a copper plated Harry Quinn, and that bike's tubes looked just like the copper L pipe used to plumb a house. This Wilier looks completely different. I've posted pictures of it on my website. For those who worry about such things, the bike wont! be a garage queen. I bought the bike for my dad when he comes over to visit; he now has something his size to ride around the neighborhood. At 76 he still rides around 10 miles a day, sometimes more ( he still has to hear about his little brother, who at 72 rides 50km each day back in Belgium). So, it's a very nice bike but the search continues for a ramata Wilier. Any leads? http://www.theracingbicycle.com/Wilier_Triestina_1986.html

Jay Van De Velde
Seal Beach,CA