Originally Posted by bargainguy

Detel was a short-lived brand started by Brent Emery, an Olympic cyclist from Milwaukee who still operates a shop there. His idea was to import Ishiwata frames, build them up with parts and sell them as branded bikes. Apparently shortly into that venture, some investors pulled out, and I think the brand was out of business in less than a year.

There were two models produced, the Legend and the Marathon, and the only difference I remember was the particular Ishiwata tubing used in each. There may have been parts differences as well, but the parts were fairly pedestrian, so it's not exactly like one model had high-end parts and the other didn't.

I've seen a few Detels. Most of the value is in the Ishiwata frame rather than the entire bike. Otherwise there is nothing much to distinguish these bikes from comparable models from more well-known brands.