No_Minkah

Hi,

I've had this bike for awhile now, but I've never been able to find any information on who the framebuilder was, or when it was made. Does anyone have any information? Someone else on this forum told me the builder was Carla Gianla, but I'm not certain of that either.

Thanks for any information you can provide!









Here is the full Flickr set

unworthy1

This came up waaaaay back a long time ago, might have been a thread lost in the server crash. IIRC the LAST name (surname) is Carla, not a first name nor a female builder.

No_Minkah

Yes when I first got the frame I started this thread, but I thought maybe some fresh blood in this forum might have some info. I've since built it up with all grey 10 speed Centaur, and it's just fantastic, my favorite bike by a wide margin.

Citoyen du Monde

Just because you didn't get the information that you wanted the first time around does not mean that it will change this time around. I can guarantee that the name is neither a first name nor Carla, but rather a surname either Carlà or Garlà. With the 'G' engraving in different places it would seem quite likely that the bike is actually made or sold by a shop of the name Garlà. The brazing seems to be very workmanlike, nothing special or specially delicate.

braingel

So should he not try then? You're too grumpy, go to bed

natvmansuperx

Hello, I Just Joined This Club To Look Up Proof Of My Bike For The Insurance Company. I Lived In Southern Italy For 5 Years, And Had A Full Blown Race Bike Built For Me By This Shop. This Shop Was Or Still Is, I Do Not Know, A Little Hole In The Wall In Lecce Italy. The Cool Thing Is There Was A Velodrome Down The Street, And This Shop Serviced Bikes For Racers That Practised There. The Owner Only Had 1 Other Person Working With Him. He Even Had Pics On The Wall Of Him Shaking Hands With Francesco Moser. Once Yiou Walked Into His Back Room It Was Amazing! He Had A Wall Full Of Big Money Tubing, Campy Parts All Over The Place, And His Own Baking Oven For Curing The Paint Jobs. He Was A Really Cool Guy, As Long As You Did Not Want Anything Japanese Put On His Frames. He Had No Problem Fixing A $20.00 Local Bike, Or Building You A $6,000.00 Road Racing Bike. In His Place It Was Truly A "get What You Pay For" Shop. The Frame You Show Is A Middle Of The Road Frame, As Far As Cost Goes. I Had Him Build Me A Upper Class Race Frame, With All Of The Cables Hidden In The Frame Tubes, And The Shifter On The Down Tubes Were Attached To A Brazed On Stand. If You Need Any More Info Let Me Know. It Was One Of My Prized Possessions, And I Wouldn't Even Let Anyone Touch It. I Lost It 3 Months When My Garage Shop Burnt To The Ground. I Have Not Been To Get A Replacement Yet, But I Am Still Looking. Good Luck, And Hold Onto It, I Would.

unworthy1

So, natvmansuperx, how do you manage to Get Every Word To Be Initial Caps?
Seriously, are you familiar with the builder of this Carla (or Garla) frame? If so, what's his full, correct name?

natvmansuperx

we just called him carlo. but i believe it is carlo monterroni. sorry for the all caps, but i have severe arthritis, and it is hart to use the shift button to cap out my propper nouns, and beggining sentences. i love my bike so much that even though i could not ride it anymore, i hung it up in my shop as art work. carlo even let me come to the shop to help spray and bake the custom black and fuscia paint job. i do not know if he is still alive or not. i left in 1990, just before the gulf war, and he was quite old then. there was about 12 of us that bought his bikes, that rode in our club of 22 guys. i even commissioned him to build me a mountain bike. he made one that was so bad ass, i was afraid of hurting it. well i got to go, my hands are hurting. ciao, scott.

unworthy1

Scott, thanks for the information, it always helps to add more knowledge to our collective "brain". Sorry if it seemed like I was making fun of your post and the initial caps, I certainly don't intend to make light of a painful medical condition.

No_Minkah

Thank you very much Scott, I appreciate your taking the time to give me this information.

ottobon100

First, “No Minkah” - Beautiful bike! I really like how you brought back a very deserving classic. And, thank you for the post. Brought back some great memories. I lived in Italy from October ’85 to October ’88. Hopefully I can add some to your information request on this master builder. I am one of the 12 (at least) mentioned by “natvmansuperx (Scott)”! I had a bike built by him in July ’88. A birthday present. A very small local builder, he could do whatever you wanted with a frame. Measured your body and custom built the frame just for you. As I recall I only saw one assistant on my many trips to his shop. I do remember while I was there two people in our group having mountain bikes built, Mickey and Mark. These were Carla’s first mountain bikes. I was there when the first one asked Carla if he could do it and Carla said “bring me a picture” and then proceeded to build a beautiful mountain bike, his first. I cherished my trips to visit and see the progress on my bike and just talk with him for hours while he worked. He was a great person, probably in his early 60’s at that time. While he was Italian he liked to throw good natured jabs at us “Capitalist” Americans. He had several Communist posters hung up in his shop. His little shop was located on the outskirts of the city of Lecce in Monteroni de Lecce. One of our club members (Victor) had a bike built by him and took me there. Here is a picture of my bike and one of him working on my friend's frame.

natvmansuperx

I Truly Loved That Bike He Built Me. I Was One Of The First 4 To Have A Mountain Bike Built By Him. I Am Still Fighting With The Insurance Company Over The Replacement Of My Bike That Was Lost In The Garage Fire. If You Have Any More Full Size Pics Of The Bike Or Bikes Please Email Them To Me So I Can Shove Them In Allstates Face. When I Had My Bike Built He Even Let Me Come Down And Pick Out The Paint, And Then Spray It With Him Then Bake It. I Wonder If He Is Still Alive. The Only Bad Thing About Old Dudes Like That Is There Is No Internet Access To Him, And I Have Not Found Any Info On The Web About Him Or His Shop In English. I Did Find A Couple In Italian, But Since I Got Back My Italian Got Lost Someplace By Not Speaking It. Thanks, Scottie.

maestrocarlo

We are the grandchildren of Carlo Carlà. He is alive and now he have 88 years.Yesterday we created a Facebook page that is called “Maestro Carlo Carlà Biciclette” and here you can find all the information about him, like his phone number and his address.😊

Wildwood 

3 newbies on this thread.
How wonderful!
The knowledge from (the huge number of) non-Forum members who join to 'fill in the blanks' on lesser known topics is greatly, greatly appreciated.


Thank you @natvmansuperx, @maestrocarlo, and @ottobon100.

Poguemahone

Yes! Love threads like this, filling in the gaps of the board's considerable knowledge! Thanks, all!

MauriceMoss

@maestrocarlo - thank you for updating this thread! This kind of personal input is what makes Bike Forums so great.

In case anyone hasn't seen it, there is a short film about Mesciu Carlo well worth watching:

https://vimeo.com/78280177

And some accompanying pictures:

Carlo Carlà ? Gianni Rab Mazzotta Photography

CampioneDItalia

I saw this one today in Canada. It's as good as it seems to be. It's still a work in progress so don't mind the crank.

BTW - thanks for the Vimeo video. It is beautiful.

le bici di jaco

I am glad the OP rekindled the interest in this builder since it definitely added knowledge to the community.

I am looking at purchasing a Carlà frame. There is "G" and "Carlà" panto'd on the seat cluster; "Carlà" panto'd on the brake bridge, BB shell, and fork crown; a "G" above "Carlà" on the head badge; "G" on the lower head lug; and "Gialma Carlà" panto'd on the stem. Given the firsthand knowledge by his grandchildren as to his name Carlo Carlà, I am left wondering what the significance of Gialma is? A middlename, nickname, partner, family member, etc. (would seem to be of feminine gender)?

bertinjim 

le bici di jaco-

I believe Gialma was Carlo's father's first name. If you watch through the Vimeo video, it appears in the subtitle translation.

Lattz

There is a nice frame currently on ebay which has definitely seen better days, but still cool. Paintjob seems to be the work of Carlo Dossena.
and some pics for the record as the ad might disappear at a point.

ottobon100

Just an update on this master builder. Apparently he is still building bikes! In March 2018 he was 88! As stated by his grandchildren posted above he does have a Facebook page that is posted occasionally. Last post was February 15th. "Maestro Carlo Carla Biciclette"