Originally Posted by onyerleft

Like most idiots who bought Italian bikes in their heyday, I was attracted to the big "names." If I had to do it over again, I would go with the lesser known builders. I'll never forget walking into Corso bicycles in NYC and marvelling at brands I'd never before heard of: Viner, Simoncini, Somec, many others I can't think of. They were drop dead gorgeous.

I'd love to pull the trigger on this Vario frameset, which is in my size, but there is always the thorny issue of raising the necessary capital. I'm almost pretty sure I'm going to hold a yard sale, although I'm not sure what I can sell to raise money -- maybe a couple of paintings, some exercise equipment, some dining ware, an old sofa that I used to sleep on before I could afford a decent mattress. (Actually, my current mattress I found sitting next to a dumpster, and works pretty well now that I've cleaned up the stains with a combination of baking soda, vinegar and good old mechanical action (rubbing).)