OldsCOOL

Well, not completely forgotten....just the name. Back in '74 there was a small band of cyclists that would gather at the highway meeting point and race the 5mi to school on the nice days. We had fun drafting, pulling and trying to break away from the 5-6 in the group. Then one day this guy shows up with a new bike he purchased for an unheard of deal. In fact, none of us heard of the name. The bike was sub-20lbs, sew up's (tubulars, of course), alloy everything, downtube shifters and the tightest set of freewheel gears we'd ever seen. Nobody could catch him in that top gear. I was immediately envious and suddenly disliked my Motobecane Mirage.

The bikes were a brand you couldnt purchase at the local shops and were offered for sale at our friend's tool/rec rental shop. Good thing I can remember their names and have sent them a facebook message.

I'll let ya'll know how this one turns out. Cant even recall which continent it was made in.

Ever have a haunting bike story like this? My wife thinks I'm crazy.

cudak888 

Call it a Confente, and you'll never have to look for one again.

-Kurt

OldsCOOL

You might be right

Two other distinct differences his bike had over ours now come to my mind.....his had side pull calipers, where the rest of us had center pulls and he had rubber hoods on the brake levers. Those were important differences to us, just made his bike look different. The bike had race written all over it, it looked fast sitting still in the bike rack at school.

If I can just get a name brand from this guy I'll know what bike to look for. That's right up there on my vintage list with a Colnago, Bianchi Record and....and.....what kind did you mention again??

old's'cool

Good times...

I remember drooling over the exotic bikes with the corn cob freewheel clusters in Gooch's Bike Shop in Winnipeg back then, but can't remember the brands. I suspect most were Peugeots, given Peugeot's presence in Canada at the time.

Chris_in_Miami

I have a somewhat different "haunting" story: In the early 90's, I was in the depths of a photography hobby and doing some paid photog work. I was experimenting with some expired orthochromatic litho film in an old 4x5 camera and took a photo of my old English roadster which had been stuffed into a hedge outside my darkroom. I loved the high contrast look of the image and I made a few contact prints from the negative.

I remembered the prints a few years ago and searched for them, but concluded that I'd lost them during the course of several moves. I was digging through some boxes in my garage a few months ago and finally found one of the prints plus the original negative

The bike in the image was either an Armstrong or a Phillips, and I hated the thing at the time. I usually had to bend the fender stays every time I rode it to keep the tires from rubbing, and I thought it was hopelessly slow. In the end the bike didn't matter, I was haunted by the memory of the image, and I'm glad to have found it.

cb400bill

Lambert.

OldsCOOL

Looks like a scene from "American Pickers".

zandoval 

Chris - I like it - Properly balanced and dodged - I have always loved the colors you get off a monochrome image - For the love of an old dark room - I can smell the fixer now - (thats not to say I don't appreciate a digital image)...

Chris_in_Miami

Thanks! It looks like it's had some manipulation, but it's a straight contact print - the film was well beyond its expiration and most of the lot had that halo and other quirks. I liked that unpredictability...

Gary Fountain

Nice story and good luck with your search..

My 'haunting' bike story: I drooled over a red Cinelli frame in my local bike shop. It was there for about a year then it disappeared. I thought it must have been sold but about 10 years later I was talking to the bike shop owner and he told me that the shop had a break-in and the frame was stolen.

Funny thing - I think it has come up for sale over the past few months and it is in excellent condition. I am confident it is the same frame. Not many Cinelli's came to Australia in the 80's.