Liberace

Posted this over at roadbikereview, but figure you guys have more knowledge.


I picked this one off Craigslist for what I consider a steal. The owner knew it was worth more, but got a lot of tire kickers and didn't want the hassle of getting top dollar. He just wanted his asking price paid. I obliged.

The photos are after I wiped it down with some Bike Lust. It's got some paint chips here and there, and some corrosion under the paint near the top tube cable guides, but it appears to be in very good condition. It does have some non-original parts(front derailleur, chain and freewheel), but I'm in the process of sourcing the correct period specific parts to restore it to it's original glory.

So my question is:

What is the market value of a Confente in today's economy?

I no longer collect vintage bikes, but figure I probably need to add this to my homeowners as the value could be up there. If it's really up there, I might as well sell it and get something else nice to ride. Something along the lines of a KOF custom.

Any opinions or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Sean

repechage

One sold not too long ago for over $7k on ebay, repainted and modified a bit, and close to this size but not as large.

As it happens there is one on ebay right now. Also repainted, and possibly modified. Opening bid is $5k.

The #23 imaged above benefits from original paint and being a .5 frame size. In general, this seems to indicate that the dimensions and or angles are different than what was standard. the cable guides above the bottom bracket shell are also an option, may have been done by request or intended use, who knows. The imaged bike above has had some mods over time, the rear derailleur is later, and I suspect the wheels have been traded out. The pantographed brake levers are California Cool. The size does put some brakes on the price...

Please ditch the tape and buy some fresh hoods.

Thanks for sharing.

Liberace

The rear is a Campy SR stamped 78. I think it's from the original build, but who knows.
Hoods are on the way and a SR front derailleur too. The seller has the original Record hubs re-built w/ Mavic clincher rims. I will find a period correct wheelset in the future.

The size is 62.5cm. Top tube is 58cm.

repechage

From the serial number the bike was built in 1977 in Los Angeles. Swapping wheels was no big deal back in the day, these were bicycles... the revamped SR rear mech. has a bit more capacity that the earlier version, so I would leave it unless you wish the period correct police to keep quiet. I did not look at the front derailleur. It is only 30 years on that enthusiasts get all knicker twisted about date codes... Unfortunately, yours has suffered as most early Confente's do, poor chrome on the fork crown... but I have often seen worse.

repechage

On wheels, Martano rims are common on the early bikes, but not exclusive, FIR rims were used too, and others. Wheels were built in house and sublet to John's Bike Shop in Pasadena, a significant Pro shop back then, now gone.

repechage

I referenced that last Confente auction that I was aware of, early 2009, so it has been a while...

Bianchigirll 

other than saying that is a beautiful bike I can't really comment to the value.

I would be interested in your adding this bike to yoru home owners. have you already done this with some bikes? the last insurance agent I spoke to said I almost need a seperate policy to cover my bikes as a whole and 'riders' for individual more valuable bikes. the real issue however was, I needed to have someone appraise and value the group and individual bikes.

plz let me know how you make out on that front.

repechage

for browsing:

www.italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com

put confente in the search box and a number of articles show up.

repechage

For comparison and Joe, here is a link to images of the current ebay bike, a 58 also made reasonably early and in Los Angeles.

https://picasaweb.google.com/bwarfield1/MarioConfente#


Joe- you could buy this and probably have $$$ in your pocket from the sale of yours.

Liberace

Very helpful. Thanks!

repechage

A bid was placed on the current ebay bike, so lets call the recession floor $5,000. with 3 days to go.
Or, maybe he just has a place to hide it from the wife.

Bianchigirll 

do I dare ask this? what makes a Confente so valuable? is there just not many of them? is there some secret geometry or mix of tubes that Mercxx, Derosa, Colnago and Bianchi have not found? the one on ebay is a repaint and starting at 5K. most of would scoff at a 5K winning bid of a top line Colnago with NOS C-Record delta as being over priced. but a 5K Confente is normal?

Picchio Special

It has to do with a number of factors. For one thing, Confente made only a very small number of bikes (about 135) under his own name. They were made to a high standard for the time - not necessarily the highest level of fit and finish but very, very good. They also have some neat and distinctive (though not necessarily unique) details. The quality of his work was evident enough that top riders sought Confente out as a builder (e.g. Jacques Boyer). Then there's the connection with Masi - Mario built for Masi in Italy before coming to California to run the Masi operation in Carlsbad, which turned out a lot of very collectible bikes on its own. Confente made a real splash when he started selling his frames for a high price and earned himself a lot of attention in the process, especially after displaying at the NY International Bike Show circa 1978. The bikes themselves are attractive and well-designed, and there are folks who swear they ride better than other bikes of the time. There's also the fact that Confente died tragically at the age of 34 in 1979. Then there's the mystique that has subsequently built around Confente - the name has acquired a certain aura in vintage bike circles. Then there's the "investment" aspect of the bikes at work - very few vintage bikes attract money beyond cognoscenti circles as pure investments, but Confente's do. They are the closest thing vintage bicycles have come to being a commodity. As mentioned, the standard of the work is very high, and represents kind of a meeting of Italian tradition and designed sensibilities with American attention to detail and obsession with perfection, but really the value has largely to do with the sort of overall "perfect storm" of factors I've mentioned.

Bianchigirll 

thank you. so the mistique of a Confente is a combination of all that. very interesting and intriguing. it seems odd that if he built such a reputation in so little time someone, Masi for one, did not try and grab the name.

repechage

He had a good reputation in Europe. Actually, he was dangerous. Masi had him working for him, as a subcontractor only. Colnago wanted to work with him too. The problem for Mario was he for reasons not conceivable to an American, Mario was frozen out from the materials he needed by those who feared him and had influence. One of the early Italian Confente's to surface has a Masi bottom bracket, maybe a bit of trouble ordering parts? The Italian bike cartel, for lack of a better term, did not want him building lots of bikes under his own name. History proves that this was a false fear, as Mario wanted to build himself, not run a corporation like Colnago or a business like Masi in Italy.

Mario came to the USA as an employee of Masi "USA". He was planning his departure before he was laid off, his departure just happened sooner than planned.

Picchio Special

You may be interested to know that Mario built some frames for Bianchi before coming to the U.S.

love2pedal.com

Nice article about Confente

https://www.pedaltrout.com/magazine/r...icycles_6.html

repechage

The article relies on Jim Cunningham quite a bit. I think the Russ Howe article is a bit more well rounded. Some of it is creatively enhanced. There is an old old thread on the CR list (approx. October 2001-fwd.) that has additional insight that came forward after the Howe article.

The basic thrust of the article is true enough, he was talented, and capable younger than most. He brought ideas to frame making that were good applications of industrial concepts he learned in school. It would be interesting how he would have advanced his ideas as materials changed and the processes available evolved. Some of what he was trending toward could remove the hand craftsmanship that he was so effective doing. He had dropouts in concept too. That trajectory was probably going to provide a decision point for him, Recht had is plan, the Confente lugs would be used by Medici too to justify the tooling cost. Mario was not happy with this unseen plan when revealed. The lugs got made, but in the translation from model to tool, the aesthetic qualities did not make it. Pretty typical of an unmanaged design project in the day. The guys at Medici did not see, care, or had no clout to improve the shape.

Would Mario have gone the route of Dario Pergoretti?

repechage

11 hours to go, three bids, the initial bidder covered his opening bid. The challenger's bid was topped by the cover bid, now at $5,400.

CR chatter was amusing yesterday alternately praising and condemning the bike.

Picchio Special

Yeah, that never happens.
Dr. George is a real Confente purist.

repechage

Go back and read is CR posts on DeRosa, his view is that his examples of a brand are superior, all others are second rate. That is the takeaway.

Picchio Special

That's kind of where I was going. I've emailed with him enough to know you can't tell him anything he doesn't already know.

BlueDevil63 

Ended at $10k.

repechage

More than I thought it would end at, but all it takes is two, "nobody else will bid this much" bids and the result is impressive.

Liberace

I could use that kind of money especially given the fact its a bit too large for me to ride comfortably, so I just listed it on ebay.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...id=p2145.l1259