AZORCH

Pics to follow later on this weekend, but suffice to say that I have stumbled upon a true treasure trove. A few weeks ago, a friend asked me to assist a local seller to come up with an asking price for his bike. The fellow came by my place with an early 70's Raleigh International, built up with some impressive parts, and set up as a touring bike. We chat for a long time - he's a really great guy to talk with - and he tells me about the other "bike or two" he's got at his house. A French tandem. A custom Gitane. A few others, and - apparently - a bunch of vintage parts, new in the box. I ask him to give me a call if he decides to sell anything.

Time goes by and I hear from him earlier this week. We make an appointment to visit this evening.

And here's the thing: I walked into Bike Nirvana. He's got unbuilt frames hanging in his garage, his barn, his attic. BOXES of new brakes, derailleurs, cranks, cables, pads, saddles - everything you can possibly imagine, and stuff I've NEVER seen before. I cannot buy everything he has unless I plan to open a vintage bike shop... unbelievable that he has this much stuff.

BTW, the International was my size and even though I definitely do NOT need another bike, it is out in the van right now. Along with two never used, still in the package, vintage Brooks Pro saddles; same for a Brooks Colt; same for a Cyclone RD; same for a complete Sugino Mighty Drillium crank set and BB; same for a patent 1970 Campy NR drive kit. Probably some other stuff that I'm forgetting - not to mention the VERY cool bars, levers, and brakes on the International. I am still in shock at the stuff this neat old gentleman had on hand. It was a real privilege to stand around chatting with him about bikes for a couple of hours tonight, he's an awesome fellow.

Oh, and he also has some great restored Mustangs too.

Captain Blight

See, this is what makes me want to chew on the derailleurs. Good for you, yeah, but when's it gonna happen to me?!

RubberLegs

PICTURES...or it didn't happen! ;-)

wrk101

Another great example where word of mouth/networking trumps searching ebay, C/L, thrift stores, etc.

scozim 

Living vicariously ........ again

AZORCH

Tomorrow, for sure!

(Oh, and did I mention the gold Mafac 2000 brakes and levers paired with gold Milano bars and stem?)

gomango

Way to go!

Sounds like you had a blast.

Call you in the morning after the soccer match.

LeicaLad 

I have a bunch of friends in K.C.

I'm really thinking it is a time for a visit!!!

Chris_in_Miami

How cool is that?? Congrats and good luck!

ftwelder

That sounds like a major score. It's great when the big cache comes in and we all huddle around the light..

rootboy 

Oh man. That's all I can say.

Michael Angelo 

Good catch !!

strock 

It's tomorrow. Can't wait to see those photos!!!!!!!!!!

AZORCH

OK, just a little taste, nothing fancy about the photographs - here's some of the stuff as I was unloading from the van this morning.





I REALLY wish I'd taken photos of all the stuff he still has, but I felt weird about doing that. I didn't want him to think I was casing the joint or anything, and he's a great guy - I'd like to go back out and just swap riding stories with him again, so I didn't want to mess up that opportunity. I may ask him if he'd be willing to sit for an interview for the blog and get some shots of him and his stuff then.

Lotta "if's"... IF I'd had thousands of dollars lying around unused (y'know, 'cuz of my outrageous teacher salary...), and IF I wasn't trimming back the collection, and IF I'd had a MUCH bigger van or flatbed, I could've walked away with scads of things. But heck, I'm not even building anything at the moment, and pretty happy with where my collection of riders is at the moment. I had to really keep myself in check from buying the (fits me) Gitane Racing Team he had in the barn. (I'm done with French for a while though.)

Oh, and one other cool thing before I forget about it: this guy was a machinist at Hallmark for his career. In other words, he makes stuff from scratch... and a lot of that shows up on the bikes he's got, some of which he should've patented because not only are they cool looking, but they are very functional and useful. Case in point: he machined a piece that allowed two cables to come out of one junction on his French Gottfried tandem... makes it look like a constructeur had a hand in the build.

photogravity

Ohh-lah-lah!! Nice... REALLY nice stuff! I love stories like this... Reminds me of the magic barn jjhabbs happened upon a few months back.

AZORCH

Oh yeah... believe me when I say that jjhabbs treasure trove is precisely what was running through my mind last night. (Oddly enough, my wife thinks the guy just had boxes full of shiny old stuff and couldn't imagine how his wife would allow him to use up all that valuable attic space for unbuilt Houdaille bike frames, wheels, spokes, fenders, and other worthless junk...)

photogravity

It is typically a woman's thing to not understand this type of thing. <sigh> For the life of her, my wife can't understand why our basement now is full of bikes and parts, the living room has two boxes with unbuilt bikes along with another four bikes, and the dining room has four tandems between the dining room table and the windows.

After reading your post more closely, I realize that you mentioned this guy being a machinist. I would really like to see some of the stuff you mentioned in your post. Please try to get an interview with this guy and get some pictures of his handiwork. We can't afford to lose the knowledge this guy has in his head.

repechage

I think that is the area to interview him on. Parts while neat are just parts.
Ideas and the ability to fabricate them are the interesting areas.

AZORCH

And I completely agree with you. I've already sent him a request for an interview and photos with that particular focus. He seems a pretty humble guy, but he's very proud of his accomplishments so I'd like to think this might appeal to him.

dbakl

Dang!

rootboy 

Double dang. I too would love to see what he has made, Azorch. Being an inveterate tinkerer myself I love that kind of thing. Seeing pics of his space and bikes and stash would be a bonus. Keep us posted.

BTW; a machinist for HALLMARK? You mean the greeting card company???
Guitars??? Auto parts ????

Pars 

Very cool! That is an unusual color for an International, or at least I haven't seen that one before. The interview with him will be a treat to read.

AZORCH

Yep, Hallmark Cards. Think about it: the second largest employer of creative professional in the entire world (Disney is number one.) Every machine you can imagine to die cut and print cards, gift wrap, etc... most of which has to be created from scratch. Toys, intricate ornaments, gifts and housewares. They own Binney & Smith (Crayon) and a Spanish television network, The Hallmark Channel. They produce films. All of those photos come from two huge photo staffs and all of the props and sets have to be built - no one's actual house really has the fine woodwork and blazing fireplace you see on a calendar, so it has to be built. Many of the tools we used (I was a designer and typographer there in the 90's), were designed and built in house. It's a huge, amazing place.

AZORCH

According to Kurt's site, it is an uncatalogued Burgandy (or Rudge Maroon) from 1971(?) - 72. The seat stay wraps make me think '71-72 also.

Michael Angelo 

Fantastic find.