kimh@tekig1.UUCP (05/07/84)
My hard-core biker brother is going to Italy for six weeks to ride around
and soak up culture. He's trying to decide whether to take the fairly nice
bike he now owns, or try to buy one in Rome upon arrival. He's been told
that people do get ripped off, and he's already experienced losing a treasured
steed once in life (if I remember right, it was the *first* Tom Kellogg frame
that some slug saw fit to relieve him of). Also, the charter flight wants
$70 each way to carry a bike.
So what do you think? Should he take or buy? He has an easy way to unload
a bike (in France) on the way home, should he choose, so that's not an issue.
He doesn't want to spend his whole vacation shopping for bikes, and he's not
too confident about bargaining in Italian. Anyone else try this? Recommended
shops? Advice? He's leaving the 18th of May, so if this takes *that* long
to reach far corners of the net, feel free to disregard.
-- Kim
uucp: {ucbvax,decvax,ihnp4,allegra,uw-beaver,hplabs}!tektronix!tekig1!kimh
CSnet: kimh@tek
ARPAnet: kimh.tek@csnet-relay
--
uucp: {ucbvax,decvax,ihnp4,allegra,uw-beaver,hplabs}!tektronix!tekig1!kimh
CSnet: kimh@tek
ARPAnet: kimh.tek@csnet-relay
US Mail: Kim Hastings, Lab Instruments Engineering, Tektronix, Inc.
Box 500 MS 39-087, Beaverton OR 97077
Phone: 503-627-1128conrad@nbires.UUCP (05/09/84)
I was in Italy in 1979 and wanted to buy a bike. I finally decided on a Guerciotti in Milan. I walked into the Guerciotti shop and paid my ~$1000 for what I thought at the time was a real bargain. I arranged for Paolo Guerciotti to build up the bike and ship it to the U.S. Well six months later after still not receiving the bike and several LONG distance calls to Paolo, I went to the Italian Trade Commission in Houston. The only thing I could get from them was "next time go through a U.S. distributor." If you want a bike in Italy, walk out with a bike when you pay your money. Conrad Geiger NBI Boulder, Colorado
sleat@aat.UUCP (05/13/84)
My brother wandered into Guerciotti's shop one day and asked for a bicycle.
I don't remember the exact details, but I don't think he had any trouble
getting it. The bike he wound up with is a classically beautiful machine,
much nicer than the Guerciottis I've seen brought in by importers. The
source of the difference between his experience and yours is probably that
this happened ca. 1973, before Guerciotti was "discovered" in this country.
Whenever a small builder becomes a fad and demand skyrockets, you can expect
very long delivery times and associated problems.
Michael Sleator
Ann Arbor Terminals
{cbosgd, mb2c, uofm-cv, cosivax}!aat!sleat