American and English build quality equals or surpasses European bikes in the CR time frame, particularly from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s. Italian paint is shite. The brazing of several Colnagos and De Rosas that I've seen from the mid-1970s is uneven. Eisentraut is a not a nice guy, but he's a one horse show and his bikes are awesome. Same goes for Hans Schneider, except that he's nice. Richard Sachs over charges for his bikes, but Ugo and Ernesto never built anything as nice as "e-RICHIE". I try to avoid jingoisms, but when it comes to purchasing a traditional, brazed frame you've never had to look across the Atlantic to find one. Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T