Re: [CR]Re: confente the unknown

(Example: Events:Cirque du Cyclisme:2002)

From: <LouDeeter@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:35:39 -0500
Subject: Re: [CR]Re: confente the unknown
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>


fred_rednor@yahoo.com writes:


> What I noticed while cyclo-touring in Italy is that nearly every town had a
> skilled frame builder, and the local riders were loyal to that builder.   In
> a big city - especially in the north - you could find a builder in each
> distinct neighborhood.  So whenever we rode with a group from the same c lub, it
> would seem as though most of theriders would be on bicycles built by the s ame
> local frame-maker.
> This sounds about right. If you translate that to Confente, you find that the majority of his bikes ended up sold to riders in California, a mecca for

cycling then and today. If you went to east coast races in the late 70s, y ou would have seen a lot of Redcays I'm sure. If you raced around Chicago, I' ll bet Paramounts dominated the scene, although Schwinn did have a national dealer network. I don't know the experience of other KOF builders who are on the list, but I would venture to say that most would tell you that they sold a l ot more bikes locally during the 70s and early 80s than they did to distant buyers. The large bike shows and magazine articles served to showcase the builder to more people from afar, but how many orders did that actually tran slate to? I recall Dale Brown telling us how big a deal it was for McLean to go to the New York Bike Show and what that was doing to his orders from outside th e local North Carolina market. Back to Confente, that so many California collectors have fond memories of Confente probably translates as much to the

valuation as anything. There are still a lot of real collectors in Califor nia and that helps for sure. Mike Kone's Vintage Racing Bicycle Newsletter had a l ot to do with telling the rest of us about their value from a collector standpoint. So, while the Confente may not be the end all for a riding bik e, if someone asked me which single bike I would recommend for investment purposes , I'd put Confente at the top of that list. One can argue specific models of oth er builders, such as Singer and Herse, but a Confente is a Confente is a Confente. Happy New Year to all. Lou Deeter, Orlando FL USA

************** New year...new news. Be the first to know what is making headlines. (http://www.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntaolcom00000026)