CLASSIC AMERICAN BICYCLES - the map
#26
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Bikes: 1946 Holdsworth Cyclone, 1969 Cinelli SC, 1972 Raleigh Pro, 1973 Merz road bike, 1974 Alex Singer Sportif, 1974 Merz track bike, 1975 Teledyne Titan, 1976 Ritchey road bike, 1977 DiNucci built Merz track bike, 1977 (?) Exxon Graftek, many more!
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Me on the first Merz cycle! 1961
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#27
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John Slawta - LandShark bikes (started in Orange County Ca )
Jim Holly of Griffon bikes Santa Monica
Art Stump of A.D. Stump in Santa Monica
Slawta was and is the most prolific builder of the three just noted.
Jim moved to NZ
Jim Holly of Griffon bikes Santa Monica
Art Stump of A.D. Stump in Santa Monica
Slawta was and is the most prolific builder of the three just noted.
Jim moved to NZ
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#28
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Very interesting map and a great resource! Hunter Cycles in California is missing too. Rick has been building bikes since 1992, awesome handmade frames that are coveted in many bike fields from bike packing to racing. He's won at NAHBS, he's had longtime collaboration with Nitto. My Hunter track is my favorite American made bike.
But since you posted here, I will offer this feedback:
What keeps me from getting this map (and the others in your lineup) is the giant bubble font corsaclassic.com taking up all that space at the bottom. It's visually distracting and takes up so much real estate it leaves no space on that map. No room to breathe.
In visual art the Greeks who were masters of classic design had a term for this: "horror vaqui" fear of empty space.
Besides, I don't see how the .com is going to get you any more web traffic when your maps are displayed in people's homes, bike dens.
Still a worthy piece and I applaud your work.
But since you posted here, I will offer this feedback:
What keeps me from getting this map (and the others in your lineup) is the giant bubble font corsaclassic.com taking up all that space at the bottom. It's visually distracting and takes up so much real estate it leaves no space on that map. No room to breathe.
In visual art the Greeks who were masters of classic design had a term for this: "horror vaqui" fear of empty space.
Besides, I don't see how the .com is going to get you any more web traffic when your maps are displayed in people's homes, bike dens.
Still a worthy piece and I applaud your work.
Last edited by Biketiger; 05-27-23 at 03:56 PM.
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#29
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And one notable addition, REDLINE. This opens up a whole other can of worms. Classic what? If you are going to include Linn Kastan's company, then what about Cook Brothers, PK Ripper, Hutch? Hey, I own a Redline just think that belongs on another map

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I don’t see Brian Chapman out of Providence, RI, there.
#32
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Very interesting map and a great resource! Hunter Cycles in California is missing too. Rick has been building bikes since 1992, awesome handmade frames that are coveted in many bike fields from bike packing to racing. He's won at NAHBS, he's had longtime collaboration with Nitto. My Hunter track is my favorite American made bike.
A much bigger omission is Dave Moulton. He started off in California (previously working in NJ) working for Masi, then started his own brand, mentored Tesch, created another well known brand FUSO. I'm really surprised Dave Moulton is missing - he epitomizes the Classic American Builder. He's not some obscure master. He's personally built thousands of bikes in the US. Fuso is also a really cool logo, fire!
But since you posted here, I will offer this feedback:
What keeps me from getting this map (and the others in your lineup) is the giant bubble font corsaclassic.com taking up all that space at the bottom. It's visually distracting and takes up so much real estate it leaves no space on that map. No room to breathe.
In visual art the Greeks who were masters of classic design had a term for this: "horror vaqui" fear of empty space.
Besides, I don't see how the .com is going to get you any more web traffic when your maps are displayed in people's homes, bike dens.
Still a worthy piece and I applaud your work.
A much bigger omission is Dave Moulton. He started off in California (previously working in NJ) working for Masi, then started his own brand, mentored Tesch, created another well known brand FUSO. I'm really surprised Dave Moulton is missing - he epitomizes the Classic American Builder. He's not some obscure master. He's personally built thousands of bikes in the US. Fuso is also a really cool logo, fire!
But since you posted here, I will offer this feedback:
What keeps me from getting this map (and the others in your lineup) is the giant bubble font corsaclassic.com taking up all that space at the bottom. It's visually distracting and takes up so much real estate it leaves no space on that map. No room to breathe.
In visual art the Greeks who were masters of classic design had a term for this: "horror vaqui" fear of empty space.
Besides, I don't see how the .com is going to get you any more web traffic when your maps are displayed in people's homes, bike dens.
Still a worthy piece and I applaud your work.
#33
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Good that Dave Moulton is included - my bad I missed it! I edited my post above to reflect this.
#34
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#35
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But since you posted here, I will offer this feedback:
What keeps me from getting this map (and the others in your lineup) is the giant bubble font corsaclassic.com taking up all that space at the bottom. It's visually distracting and takes up so much real estate it leaves no space on that map. No room to breathe.
In visual art the Greeks who were masters of classic design had a term for this: "horror vaqui" fear of empty space.
Besides, I don't see how the .com is going to get you any more web traffic when your maps are displayed in people's homes, bike dens.
Still a worthy piece and I applaud your work.
What keeps me from getting this map (and the others in your lineup) is the giant bubble font corsaclassic.com taking up all that space at the bottom. It's visually distracting and takes up so much real estate it leaves no space on that map. No room to breathe.
In visual art the Greeks who were masters of classic design had a term for this: "horror vaqui" fear of empty space.
Besides, I don't see how the .com is going to get you any more web traffic when your maps are displayed in people's homes, bike dens.
Still a worthy piece and I applaud your work.

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#36
CORSA CLASSIC
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Very interesting map and a great resource! Hunter Cycles in California is missing too. Rick has been building bikes since 1992, awesome handmade frames that are coveted in many bike fields from bike packing to racing. He's won at NAHBS, he's had longtime collaboration with Nitto. My Hunter track is my favorite American made bike.
But since you posted here, I will offer this feedback:
What keeps me from getting this map (and the others in your lineup) is the giant bubble font corsaclassic.com taking up all that space at the bottom. It's visually distracting and takes up so much real estate it leaves no space on that map. No room to breathe.
In visual art the Greeks who were masters of classic design had a term for this: "horror vaqui" fear of empty space.
Besides, I don't see how the .com is going to get you any more web traffic when your maps are displayed in people's homes, bike dens.
Still a worthy piece and I applaud your work.
But since you posted here, I will offer this feedback:
What keeps me from getting this map (and the others in your lineup) is the giant bubble font corsaclassic.com taking up all that space at the bottom. It's visually distracting and takes up so much real estate it leaves no space on that map. No room to breathe.
In visual art the Greeks who were masters of classic design had a term for this: "horror vaqui" fear of empty space.
Besides, I don't see how the .com is going to get you any more web traffic when your maps are displayed in people's homes, bike dens.
Still a worthy piece and I applaud your work.
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#37
CORSA CLASSIC
Thread Starter
Once again Andrea, your research and graphic design have blown me away!
Great to see BF member and C&V enthusiast Doug Fattic on the map, too!
Great to see BF member and C&V enthusiast Doug Fattic on the map, too!
#38
CORSA CLASSIC
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Yes indeed the cut off is around early 90s. And still before that, I made a selection out of the hundreds! Very hard choices! Thanks
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#39
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Lots of little one-man shops not on the map, as already pointed out by their local aficionados, but how about Klein Bicycle of Chehalis, WA (1977 - 2009)? They were a fairly large operation before getting bought out and eventually unbranded by an an even larger one (Trek).
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● 1971 Grandis SL ● 1972 Lambert Grand Prix frankenbike ● 1972 Raleigh Super Course fixie ● 1973 Nishiki Semi-Pro ● 1979 Motobecane Grand Jubile ●1980 Apollo "Legnano" ● 1984 Peugeot Vagabond ● 1985 Shogun Prairie Breaker ● 1986 Merckx Super Corsa ● 1987 Schwinn Tempo ● 1988 Schwinn Voyageur ● 1989 Bottechia Team ADR replica ● 1990 Cannondale ST600 ● 1993 Technium RT600 ● 1996 Kona Lava Dome ●
● 1971 Grandis SL ● 1972 Lambert Grand Prix frankenbike ● 1972 Raleigh Super Course fixie ● 1973 Nishiki Semi-Pro ● 1979 Motobecane Grand Jubile ●1980 Apollo "Legnano" ● 1984 Peugeot Vagabond ● 1985 Shogun Prairie Breaker ● 1986 Merckx Super Corsa ● 1987 Schwinn Tempo ● 1988 Schwinn Voyageur ● 1989 Bottechia Team ADR replica ● 1990 Cannondale ST600 ● 1993 Technium RT600 ● 1996 Kona Lava Dome ●
Last edited by Lascauxcaveman; 05-29-23 at 10:07 AM.
#40
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Bikes: 1946 Holdsworth Cyclone, 1969 Cinelli SC, 1972 Raleigh Pro, 1973 Merz road bike, 1974 Alex Singer Sportif, 1974 Merz track bike, 1975 Teledyne Titan, 1976 Ritchey road bike, 1977 DiNucci built Merz track bike, 1977 (?) Exxon Graftek, many more!
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Gary Klein's first bicycles were (post MIT) were built on his parent's ranch in San Martin California. Ironically, only a few miles from where Specialized Bicycles Morgan Hill headquarters is located. He moved to Chehalis WA sometime around 1980, I was friends with his painter, and became friends with Gary. I built Gary his first MTB! He still has it.

Jim Merz

Jim Merz
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#41
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Gary Klein's first bicycles were (post MIT) were built on his parent's ranch in San Martin California. Ironically, only a few miles from where Specialized Bicycles Morgan Hill headquarters is located. He moved to Chehalis WA sometime around 1980, I was friends with his painter, and became friends with Gary. I built Gary his first MTB! He still has it.
Jim Merz
Jim Merz

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● 1971 Grandis SL ● 1972 Lambert Grand Prix frankenbike ● 1972 Raleigh Super Course fixie ● 1973 Nishiki Semi-Pro ● 1979 Motobecane Grand Jubile ●1980 Apollo "Legnano" ● 1984 Peugeot Vagabond ● 1985 Shogun Prairie Breaker ● 1986 Merckx Super Corsa ● 1987 Schwinn Tempo ● 1988 Schwinn Voyageur ● 1989 Bottechia Team ADR replica ● 1990 Cannondale ST600 ● 1993 Technium RT600 ● 1996 Kona Lava Dome ●
● 1971 Grandis SL ● 1972 Lambert Grand Prix frankenbike ● 1972 Raleigh Super Course fixie ● 1973 Nishiki Semi-Pro ● 1979 Motobecane Grand Jubile ●1980 Apollo "Legnano" ● 1984 Peugeot Vagabond ● 1985 Shogun Prairie Breaker ● 1986 Merckx Super Corsa ● 1987 Schwinn Tempo ● 1988 Schwinn Voyageur ● 1989 Bottechia Team ADR replica ● 1990 Cannondale ST600 ● 1993 Technium RT600 ● 1996 Kona Lava Dome ●
#42
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very interesting, thanks for sharing

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#43
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#44
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Fun map! I was looking and looking for Huffy and Univega but then found Huffman and Italvega. Is Japan on the horizon?
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Montana, where men are men and sheep are lying little tramps.
Montana, where men are men and sheep are lying little tramps.
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#45
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There was a small company called “Schwinn” out of an obscure city known as “Chicago”
Brent Steelman in Palo Alto, CA?
Brent Steelman in Palo Alto, CA?
#47
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#48
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#49
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Gary Klein's first bicycles were (post MIT) were built on his parent's ranch in San Martin California. Ironically, only a few miles from where Specialized Bicycles Morgan Hill headquarters is located. He moved to Chehalis WA sometime around 1980, I was friends with his painter, and became friends with Gary. I built Gary his first MTB! He still has it.

Jim Merz

Jim Merz
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I like that you got Terry Osell and Chris Kvale. Terry Osell was a good family friend back in the day. My dad and grandma rode one of his tandems (new at the time) all the way around Lake Superior, sometime in the '70s.
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Owner & co-founder, Cycles René Hubris. Unfortunately attaching questionable braze-ons to perfectly good frames since about 2015. With style.
Owner & co-founder, Cycles René Hubris. Unfortunately attaching questionable braze-ons to perfectly good frames since about 2015. With style.