Classic & Vintage - Tell me about this 3 speed Atala

Neat little bike, here - Campy, Sturmey-Archer, etc:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2009/2044681760_7a9e6ec0ed_m.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2009/2044681760_7a9e6ec0ed_b.jpg) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2121/2043863531_108017d1f7_m.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2121/2043863531_108017d1f7_b.jpg) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2355/2044685232_514b75f037_m.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2355/2044685232_514b75f037_b.jpg) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2174/2044665166_1d34d8e858_m.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2174/2044665166_1d34d8e858_b.jpg) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2303/2044659910_ab3a76bfba_m.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2303/2044659910_ab3a76bfba_b.jpg) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2205/2043867869_68d143947f_m.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2205/2043867869_68d143947f_b.jpg) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2249/2044669988_a5fd8dab62_m.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2249/2044669988_a5fd8dab62_b.jpg)

(click on thumbnails to enlarge)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2230/2043873383_ee400bc810_m.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2230/2043873383_ee400bc810_b.jpg) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2361/2043877607_c90d3c2986_m.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2361/2043877607_c90d3c2986_b.jpg) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2373/2044673946_5f1250d92f_m.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2373/2044673946_5f1250d92f_b.jpg) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2368/2043881885_bebc0621c7_m.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2368/2043881885_bebc0621c7_b.jpg) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2238/2043884199_aa41575885_m.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2238/2043884199_aa41575885_b.jpg)

What's its value? (we have a decent Craig's List market down here)

Neat bike, Date should be stamped on the hub.

Neat bike, Date should be stamped on the hub.

Oh yeah... I see "74" and "5". Two months younger than me... yikes!

Looks like a nice ride. What's the seatpost diameter? That'll give you an idea how thick the tubing is.

I'm thinking that bike started out as a ten speed and was converted, very nicely, to a three speed. Looks like the chainrings would have been a double. Very typical components on the rest of the bike leads me to think it was converted. Cool bike.

Sharp looking bike! I don't really have anything to add about it, other than that I wish I could find something like it around here...

great bike!! I'm leaning towards the converted thing also, I'm also agreeing with the "very nicely". Are the wheels aluminum? that is very similar to what I want to turn my bianchi into currently it looks like this:

Are the wheels aluminum?

yeah, aluminum rims with the remnants of this decal:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2293/2047177547_40064895ef.jpg?v=0

- anybody know what these are?

yeah, aluminum rims with the remnants of this decal:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2293/2047177547_40064895ef.jpg?v=0

- anybody know what these are?

Fiamme Ergal (yellow label). The football shape is odd, normally I'd say early '50s but that doesn't jive with the rest of the bike. I think in the 70's Fiamme was using the oval or rectangle label.

Edit: Or they are yellow because they are clinchers (Ergals were lightweight race rims). The football shape is still odd.

Atala did make some pretty nice three speeds during the 70s. It might seem a little odd, compared to the relatively clunky 3 speed schwinns and the heavy old raleigh 3 speeds that are so common in the era though.
It may have been converted to 3 speed, but I think it could very likely have been that way from the factory too (afterall, a proper Italian San Marco mattress saddle would have bee a good deal more difficult to find than your typical Brooks or Schwinn mattress saddle)

Atala did make some pretty nice three speeds during the 70s. It might seem a little odd, compared to the relatively clunky 3 speed schwinns and the heavy old raleigh 3 speeds that are so common in the era though.
It may have been converted to 3 speed, but I think it could very likely have been that way from the factory too (afterall, a proper Italian San Marco mattress saddle would have bee a good deal more difficult to find than your typical Brooks or Schwinn mattress saddle)

I'm going to go along with the idea that this is not a home built. The memories are very cloudy, but I do remember that when I did the short time for the Atala/Fuji shop, we got one three-speed in and were absolutely amazed at what the Italians called a three-speed. This bike brought back a few memories and it seems to be very alike to what I remember.

I do remember at the time that we were guessing that Atala didn't make three speeds normally, and cobbled these bikes together out of what was on the shelf to keep the American distributor happy. Guess we were a bit off on our thinking.

By the way, I was at that shop for about four months, and the bike didn't sell during my tenure. People wanted 10-speeds, not 3-speeds back then.

That's really, really pretty.

I'm sure they probably made a ton more for the home market, and only a few came over to the U.S. I remember that Consumer Reports tested one in either 1969 or 1968 I think, and it scored well (A Raleigh scored higher, but it was one with a leather saddle and automatic brake adjusters, etc. - it also cost $20 or so more) and that one was still on the 26 x 1 3/8" wheels, so probably not as good a bike as this one.

That being said, I have no idea what it'd be worth. Depending on what city you are in, you could probably craigslist it for $100+ if you found the right buyer.

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