<< I have a Piaggio badged Bianchi touring frame in Celeste. The seat stay cap is engraved "Melton". There is little info out there about Mike Melton the frame builder. What I did find seems to put him in the early 1980s. Does anyone know if he produced bikes in the '1970s or earlier? This is clearly an older frame devoid of shifter bosses etc. I am trying to understand if the paint is authentic and Melton actually built it as a custom for Bianchi or if it was simply painted and decaled using a Bianchi scheme..... >>Hi Randy:I am pretty sure Mike Melton opened his frame building business about 1974.Certainly that year plus or minus one year anyway... He did a lot of repair work, painting, and just about any bicycle frame related business. One year he painted all of our team members bikes the same color on a special deal. I remember driving a van load of frames down to him in South Carolina about 1976 I think. It is quite possible he did a repair job on that frame and added his seat stay caps... I would seriously doubt that he made a frame for Bianchi proper. I guess the other possibility is that someone rode for a Bianchi sponsored team and had their Melton "dressed out" as a Bianchi? Even that seems a stretch though....Dale Browncycles de ORO Bike Shop1410 Mill StreetGreensboro, North Carolina 27408 USA336-274-5959http://cyclesdeoro.comhttp://www.classicrendezvous.com http://www.carolinacup.comhttp://www.greensborovelo.comhttp://www.bikegso.orghttp://nbda.com-----Original Message-----From: Randolph Blatt <hirelevel@mindspring.com>To: CLASSIC RENDEZVOUS <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>Sent: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 9:11 amSubject: [CR] Bianchi / MeltonHi All,First a brief introduction. I am a rider and collector located in Raleigh, NC.My collection consists of mostly English lightweights from the '70s but some others have slipped in as well. 1955 Jack Taylor Tourist 8 speed Simplex Cyclo etcHetchins Keyhole SpadeRaleigh Pro 1974 dressed in minkRaleigh International 1974Raleigh Competition 1974Masi Prestige Super / C RecordMark Nobilette Racer SLXCinelli Super Corsa 1995 SLX NEW1929 Elgin Bluebird (restored)1941 Schwin Autocycle Super Deluxe (Carolina Blue!) restored1938 Schwinn Motorbike restored1974 Raleigh Sports still in orig boxMy question is:I have a Piaggio badged Bianchi touring frame in Celeste. The seat stay cap is engraved "Melton". There is little info out there about Mike Melton the frame builder. What I did find seems to put him in the early 1980s. Does anyone know if he produced bikes in the '1970s or earlier? This is clearly an older frame devoid of shifter bosses etc. I am trying to understand if the paint is authentic and Melton actually built it as a custom for Bianchi or if it was simply painted and decaled using a Bianchi scheme..... Thanks,Randy BlattRaleigh, NC