[CR]1982 Melton Aero Bike

Chris: You know that Mike Melton and wife Debbie are in the horse business in Kentucky? I last saw him at the Interbike show maybe 4 - 5 years ago as he was making his exit from Huffy and they had ended their Special Projects center. Originally from Ohio, after the Navy Mike set up shop in South Carolina and established his original frame building reputation there. He later moved to Ohio again and set up a tandem building workshop which got a lot of broader press because he employed immigrant Vietnamese workers (This was just post Vietnam war era.) He is a very nice guy and might be happy to talk to you about that bike... Dale Brown cycles de ORO, Inc. 1410 Mill Street Greensboro, North Carolina 27408 USA 336.274.5959 http://www.cyclesdeoro.com http://www.classicrendezvous.com -----Original Message----- From: news@adventurecorps.com To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 11:45 PM Subject: [CR]Need Help Restoring John Marino's 1982 Melton Aero Bike

Hello David and the CR gang:

Yes, that's the definitive, and only, photo of the bike. That's how it was set up for the race, but John used a Brooks saddle (and various other home-made saddles along the way). I believe he also used an adjustable length stem, but I need to double-check the 1982 Wide World of Sports show on that fact. Certainly he had a bigger cassette on there, too! That corncob looks pretty funny for a 3000 mile, transcontinental race!

However, if any photos of John from the race turn up, that would be helpful to see it actually in action and confirm the final details.

Definitely he used the Cyclone Mk-II derailleurs and shifters. The AX derailleurs had unusual cable routing, which is probably why Huffy/Melton didn't use them. I need to post a photo of the braze-on for the front derailleur, actually. The neat clamp around the seat tube was obviously not used since the tube is not round. A nut must have been placed behind the braze-on for the front derailleur clamp bolt to screw into. I'll get that online in a week or two, after I get back from a trip. I was stumped by that braze-on when I was assuming John had used AX derailleurs. Now it makes sense.

Thanks for the scoop on the bottle and cage! I will have to watch that 1982 video to also check if he actually used those during the race. I'm guessing he didn't.

BTW, I'll be in NYC the next three nights. Anything happening I should know about or drop in on?

Thanks, Chris Kostman, Chief Adventure Officer and Race Director

-- AdventureCORPS, Inc. 638 Lindero Canyon Rd #311Oak Park, CA 91377 USA http://www.adventurecorps.com / http://www.badwater.com / http://www.the508.com -- "As I have always held it a crime to anticipate evils I will believe it a good comfortable road until I am compelled to believe differently," Meriwether Lewis, 1805.

On Apr 16, 2007, at 8:20 PM, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org wrote:

> ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 21:37:56 -0400 > From: "David Bilenkey" <dbilenkey@sympatico.ca> > To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> > Subject: RE: [CR]Need Help Restoring John Marino's 1982 Melton Aero > Bike > Message-ID: <004e01c78091$06eee040$14cca0c0$@ca> > In-Reply-To: <1A3D95BF-EAE2-4379-9659-012B0D16B0AC@adventurecorps.com> > References: <1A3D95BF-EAE2-4379-9659-012B0D16B0AC@adventurecorps.com> > Content-Type: text/plain;charset="us-ascii" > MIME-Version: 1.0 > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > Precedence: list > Message: 5 > > Chris, > > Is this pic you've called out > > http://www.raamring.org/images/1982MarinoBike.jpg > > the definitive image that you're using for the restoration or do > you have > others? > > The bottle and cage in the picture is an Italian Profil cage and > bottle made > by Cobra, not a Shimano AX. Interesting that the promo pic shows > Suntour > derailleurs. Did the final bike have the same components? I'll see > if I can > find anything about in my magazine collection. > > David > -- > David Bilenkey > Ottawa, Ontario, Canada > dbilenkey@sympatico.ca > > http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/Bilenkeys-Bikestash/ > > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org >> [mailto:classicrendezvous- >> bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of AdventureCORPS News >> Sent: April 16, 2007 7:21 PM >> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org >> Subject: [CR]Need Help Restoring John Marino's 1982 Melton Aero Bike >> >> Hi CR list: >> >> I am restoring John Marino's 1982 Race Across America bicycle. >> (Actually, that year the race was called Great American Bike Race.) >> >> It was custom built by Mike Melton and sported Huffy decals on the >> down tube. Two years before this type of design would see service in >> the 1984 LA Olympic Games, this frame had aero tubing and internal >> cables. I have had the frame meticulously restored by CyclArt. >> >> The parts build-up was all Dura Ace AX with a few exceptions. I have >> been able to assemble almost all of them in NOS condition, plus a few >> of the parts from John Marino's own attic. Here's what I still need >> and I would be thrilled if any of you fellow CR listers could lend a >> hand. I am hoping for NOS parts and will pay any reasonable price. >> >> I need: >> >> 1) A complete set of Dia-Compe Aero Grand Comp brakes: >> http://www.classicrendezvous.com/images/Japan/diacompe/>> aero_GC_brake.JP >> G >> >> 2) A Shimano Dura Ace HP-7200 headset that takes the funky tool (so I >> will need the tool, also): >> http://www.sheldonbrown.com/shimano1982/pages/22.html >> >> 3) One Dura Ace AX "aero" water bottle and cage. >> >> Also, if any of you "eagle eyes" out there want to look it over and >> give me a "definite" identification, I would like to firmly ID the >> handlebars, bar tape, rims, tyres, and chain. I am guessing the rims >> were some type of Araya (they are "aero" shaped) and the chain is a >> Sedis Sport. There's a large, hi-res photo of the bike online at this >> link (this is the promo / studio shot of the bike after it was built, >> just before Marino received it): >> >> http://www.raamring.org/images/1982MarinoBike.jpg >> >> Once I get the final ID on those parts, I will need to buy them as >> well, so let me know if you have any of them. >> >> Finally, on a related note, do any of you have Bicycling Magazine >> from 1982? My recollection is that they featured each of the four >> Great American Bike Race entrants, one per month, in the months >> leading up to the race that summer, then they ran a big race recap >> afterwards. I really need to scan all of those articles. If you have >> the issues and would loan them to me, I would provide my FedEx >> account number so you can ship them to me for scanning. I would FedEx >> them back promptly. And I'm happy to pay a "library loan fee" or send >> some bike schwag as a "thank you"! >> >> Thanks, everyone! I am very excited about this project and will >> appreciate any support you can provide! >> >> Sincerely, >> Chris Kostman >> -- >> AdventureCORPS, Inc. >> 638 Lindero Canyon Rd #311 >> Oak Park, CA 91377 USA >> http://www.adventurecorps.com >> http://www.badwater.com >> http://www.the508.com

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