Marcella: My number one painter

I learned a lot in the fifteen months I worked for Masi, from October 1980 until December 1981. I was hired to assemble and braze frames, and I found by building these in batches of 5 or 10 all the same size, I could build 10 frames a week, 40 a month, quite comfortably.

Other people did the file and finish work, and Masi employed a full time painter. I knew if I opened my own shop I would need to operate in a similar manner. There is a limit to the amount one man can produce, no matter how many hours he may work.

I knew finding a skilled Bicycle painter was not going to be easy. I was actually surrounded by painters, they had all learned their skills working for Masi, People like Brian Baylis, Jim Cunningham, and Jim Alan, but they all had their own established businesses, and would rather have had me subcontract with them to paint my frames.

However, I had always done my own paint, and felt I needed to have my own paint facility, and have complete control over the process. Plus a large chunk of the profit in framebuilding is lost when using a sub-contract painter. I decided I would train my own painter, to do the job the way I preferred, and I could take up the slack during the training process.

I didn’t have to look very far as it happened, the ideal candidate was right under my nose. Marcella Welch was a young girl who delivered the Imron paint to me. She worked for a local Paint Supply Company, drove a little red pickup truck and I would see her almost on a daily basis. If she wasn’t bringing my paint, she would be dropping off supplies for the other above mentioned painters, all working out of the same shop.

Marcella always showed an interest in what we were doing, and one day in quite casual conversation, mentioned that she would “Love to learn a skill like this.” I told her I would be opening my own shop in San Marcos in a few weeks, and there would be a job if she was interested. That is how Marcella Welch became my first full time painter.

The picture at the top of the page was a posed simulation of painting a frame. In reality there was a special device that slid inside the seat tube like a seat post, but with an expanding rubber sleeve to hold it in place. There was a ring on the top were the frame hung securely from the ceiling of the paint booth.

A piece of tube placed though the bottom bracket shell acted as a handle so the frame could be maneuvered with the left hand, while holding the paint gun in the right hand. The painter could rotate the frame, and at the same time twist it in any direction to paint all around every tube.

Painting bicycle frames requires a special set of skills. You can’t paint one side of the frame, the turn it around and paint the other side. The paint where you started would be dry and would not flow out smoothly. Each tube has to be painted separately. This can cause problems as it is easy to get a buildup of paint where the tubes meet at the lugs.

A beginning painter would start by spaying the primer coat. This dries to a matt finish, and has to be sanded anyway before the color coats are applied. Marcella started in 1983 when the new shop opened. The John Howard’s were the frames she would learn on.

The Howard frame had chrome plating to be masked off before the frame is sandblasted and immediately prime coated. The color coat was a single color, then dry fix (Rub on.) decals applied. Followed by eight clear coats over the decals, and after the paint was cured in the paint oven, the clear coats over decals was sanded smooth.

All the steps outlined in the previous paragraph are all procedures that a beginning painter would soon carry out. The final finish clear coat is the most difficult. A wet coat applied quickly so the clear coat flows out smooth with no dry spots. But at the same time not so wet that the paint runs.

With some 300 Howard frames produced in less than a year, Marcella, learned quickly, and within three months was handling all the John Howard painting, including the all-important final clear coat.

Marcella was my number one painter, in that she was the first, in the years 1983 to 1986 when production was at its highest. 300 John Howards, plus all the 1st. Generation Fuso frames, which is probably another 1,000 frames. Add to that the first year’s production of the Recherché.   

I recently spoke to Marcella on the phone and we reminisced some. She said it was a lot of fun. She remembered going to the trade shows and seeing people like Bernard Hinault and Eddy Merckx in person.

However, I got the impression that she didn’t grasp the importance, or the lasting value of the work she did. The frames she painted are still out there. Most with the original paint, many still being ridden and enjoyed by their owners to this day.

In 1986 I moved my business the Temecula, sixty mile north of San Marcos. Marcella didn’t care for the daily commute, and left before the end of 1986. She went to work for Cyclart, and painted a number of Greg LeMond frames.

Jay Denny, who is the younger brother of Russ Denny, my former apprentice, took over as painter. He also had no previous experience, but I trained him. Like Marcella, Jay learned quickly and did some fine work. He left around 1990 to pursue other career goals.

My final painter was Morgan Carlton, who unlike his predecessors, had worked for Cyclart and was already a skilled painter. When I left the business in 1993, Russ Denny took over the shop and Morgan stayed on for a while as a freelance painter.

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Back from the Classic Rendezvous Weekend

It was such a joy to attend the Classic Rendezvous Weekend event in Greensboro, North Carolina.  I always look to these events as an opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones. I did plenty of that.

It was also great to be reunited with many examples of my past work, and to talk with the owners. Most had corresponded via email for years, but this was the first time we had met face to face, and to actually shake hands.

For example, a 1983 custom Criterium bike, #9832. Built for the Interbike Show that year. I had corresponded with at least three different owners for the last 15 years, but last weekend got to meet the current owner John Ames. (Picture above.) Also this was the first time I had laid eyes or hands on this bike since it was picked up by one of my dealers after the Interbike Show some 35 years ago.

John has done a fine job of restoring this bike to its former glory, while keeping the original paint finish. Skillfully mixing paint and touching in the tiny chips with a brush. The result is the bike has character, a story to tell, (Read here.) but still retaining its original beauty.

Contrastingly, 1st. Generation Fuso #171, built in San Marcos, CA. in the first six months of production. Now owned by John Majors, (Above.) who bought the frame with paint and decals in as pristine condition as the day it left my shop. Like going back in time and buying a brand new frame. Makes me wonder, how many more unused gems are still out there waiting to be found.

I had met John Majors and his wife a few years ago when they  visited Charleston. It was nice to reunite with them both again.

Peter Stock (Above.) had traveled from his home in Toronto, Canada, He brought his built in 1989 Fuso FRX #1643. His bike it appears is even more traveled, it has a French Bike Shop sticker on it. This is one of two Fuso bikes owned by Peter. This one he has owned since 2010, the other he picked up in 2013. We had corresponded before, but met for the first time at the CR Weekend.

Thanks to Dale Brown, of Cycles De Oro, Wayne Bingham, and others who make this event happen.

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Success and Fate

Looking back on the United States part of my framebuilding career, although some of my success I created, fate also played a large role.

For example in 1980 I went for a job interview with Trek, in Wisconsin. I didn’t get the position, but later that same year I landed a job with Masi in Southern California.

When I eventually started my own business I was definitely in the right place. California, and in particular the southern part of that state, has a climate where one can ride a bike year round. Had I opened my own framebuilding shop in Wisconsin, business would have definitely been seasonal.

Also when Masi laid me off at the end of 1981 it was due to an overstock of unsold frames coinciding with a recession. It was not because of anything I had done, and it was not necessarily Masi’s doing either.

They were only too pleased to rent me space in their shop to build my own frames, as they also had a drop in income. This got me started back in my own business again, and I was able to resume building custom frames. Something I had not done since leaving England in 1979.

Then when John Howard, ex-Olympic rider and winner of the first Ironman Triathlon approached me in 1983 to build frames under his own name, it gave me a contract to build five frames a week.

This brought in a steady income to supplement what I was already making from my custom frames. It enabled me to open my own framebuilding facility, along with my own paint shop.

The John Howard frame was a short lived project that only lasted a year. Again due to circumstances largely outside of my control, and of which I have outlined in a previous article.

This left me scrambling to find a replacement to fill the void in my production capabilities. Once again fate had played a hand and out of that the Fuso was conceived.

The John Howard frame was always underpriced and profit margins were small. It was competing head on with the Masi and Italian import frames, but was not an established brand at that time, so we had to produce and sell it for less.

With lessons learned from the John Howard frame, the Fuso came into being in 1984. The extreme luxuries like chrome plating were dispensed with, and the Fuso was a well designed, well built product with nice paint and graphics.

No longer having to split profits with a middle man, I now had a frame that was a reasonable price and would compete favorably with the import frames.

The Fuso had a good run for almost ten years, when once again fate took a hand in the form of the Mountain Bike. People stopped buying road bikes. However, this time I did not rise to the challenge and re-invent myself or my business.

Maybe I had been knocked down one too many times. I was thoroughly burned out with the bike business, and no longer wanted to be a part of it.

If someone had offered me a job in the bike business, I would have considered it. But to run my own business again, subject to all the whims of the market and the consumer. No, thank you very much

Looking back I have no regrets, but can't help but wonder what if I had landed that job with Trek back in 1980. Would they have treated me well enough that I stayed?

I might be retired by now with a large pension from some executive position. On the other hand I doubt if it would have been as satisfying as what I did do.

And is money the only consideration when a person looks back on what they have achieved? At some point we die and money has little bearing on anything

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Supply and Demand

 

This week a bike I built, (Pictured above.) a Fuso FRX model, is up for sale on eBay. The asking price is $2,500. That is more than twice what it would sell for if it were offered on open auction. More money than it cost new in 1990, when it was built. See this article here.

It is a nice one I will admit, in almost mint condition, it has obviously had little use, but I built 2,400 Fuso frames between 1984 and 1993. They are not that rare. Maybe one of my custom ‘dave moulton’ bikes, if it were in this condition, might go for over $2,000, but I only built 216 of those. Big difference.

How about “Demand,” the other side of the equation? I have a Registry that has (At the time of writing.) 358 Fuso bikes listed. Some owners have more than one Fuso in their collection, so this is less than 358 owners. Not a large number considering there were over 2,400 built.

These are owners who care enough about the Fuso brand to email me with details so I can add their bike to the list. So let me ask this. Given the relatively small number of true Fuso enthusiasts, how many would be owners are waiting in the wings, on the lookout for a frame or bike to buy? Not many, and not at these outrageous prices.

The problem Is, the bikes on eBay offered at these high prices, rarely sell. They just sit there for weeks on end, then they disappear for a while, only to be relisted again at a later date, at the same high price. So when someone happens to inherit a Fuso, or they find one in a thrift store, or garage sale. (It does happen.) They see these greatly inflated prices on eBay, and think they have struck gold.

The “Supply and Demand” factor came into play when the frames were built. There were more of the mid sizes built, 56, 57, and 58 centimeters. These were in greater demand, because there are more cyclists that fall within these sizes. The next most popular were the sizes above and below these sizes, namely 59, 60, 61, and 53, 54, 55 centimeter.

There were fewer very large and very small sizes built because there were less people needing these sizes. The same supply and demand factor applies today. There will be more demand for the mid-size frames, however, there will be more of these coming up for sale, because there were more of the built.   

Conversely, the very large or very small frames are in less demand, but there were fewer built. This means if an extreme large or small frame comes up for sale, you may get it at a bargain price, because you are the only one needing that size. On the other hand if there are two or more bidders, the price will go higher.

The buyer then has to make a decision. Pay more, or wait for another to come along in this size, knowing it might be a while because of its comparative rarity. Whether you pay more or not, depends a lot on the frame’s condition. If, for example the paint is really nice, pay a little extra. If the paint is rough, let it go.

Educate yourself by following sales on eBay and Craig’s List. Join the “Dave Moulton Bikes” group on Facebook. Members there are always posting and discussing bikes for sale. I have no financial interest on any frames sold online, so I have no interest in influencing prices. I just hate to see anyone get ripped off, whether they are buyer or seller.

I try to maintain interest in the brands I built, John Howard, Fuso, Recherché, etc., with this blog, and my Registry. My loyalty is with the people who own and ride bikes I built, not those who wish to profit unfairly with over-inflated prices.

I will not be building any more frames, so the supply will never increase, but there are still plenty out there in people’s basements and garages, waiting to be discovered. When the list of Fuso owners on my Registry reaches a thousand, I will consider there is a demand.

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Brass Brazing Reynolds 753

When I had my frame business in Worcester, England I was only about 25 miles from the Reynolds tube factory in Birmingham. Over the years I developed a close working relationship with Reynolds.

In time I got to know the engineers and management at the factory, and we exchanged various frame design and material input. I knew about Reynolds 753 long before its introduction in 1975 and always made it clear if I couldn’t brass braze it I wasn’t interested.

Traditional brazing by European framebuilders was done with a large soft oxyacetylene flame that heated the lug and several inches of the tube uniformly which allowed the brass to flow through the joint with a minimum of distortion. This was a hangover from the days when frames were hearth brazed in a forge filled with hot coals.

I had developed my own method of brazing with a smaller much hotter flame, working quickly, and heating the tube no more than a quarter of an inch from the lug. I asked the Reynolds engineers if I could submit a test sample brass brazed in this manner to compare with a silver brazed sample.

The way Reynolds tested these samples was to measure the hardness of the 753 tubing a certain distance from the lug to see how much hardness had been lost or retained. My sample did not officially pass but they were sufficiently impressed to ask if I would build six brass brazed 753 frames to be ridden and tested by the Raleigh Team in the 1976 Tour de France.

The Reynolds Company was a part of the TI (Tube Investments.) Group of companies that included Raleigh and Carlton. When I delivered the finished but unpainted frames to the Raleigh Experimental Facility in Derbyshire where the Raleigh Team bikes were built I felt a slight animosity. Possibly because they felt 753 was their baby and I was an outsider.

However my arrangement was with Reynolds not Raleigh and the frames I built were ridden in the Tour along with the Derbyshire built frames. I never knew who rode what in the Tour but I was told that all the frames performed equally well. The result of this was I was told unofficially that I could brass braze 753 but I was asked not to advertise the fact or tell others.

My working relationship with Reynolds continued when I came to the US in 1979. They invested a considerable amount of money in providing special aerodynamic tubing for the American Team Time Trial bikes. I built these at Vic and Mike Fraysee’s shop in New Jersey with the help of Mike Melton.

When I went to work for Masi in late 1980 it was required that I take the 753 test and I did submit a silver brazed sample which passed. I never built any 753 Masi frames but over the years I did build many custom ‘dave moulton’ and Fuso frames in the material. All brass brazed.

What about my promise to Reynolds not to tell? I have been retired from framebuilding since 1993, and so too are all the management and engineers I worked with at Reynolds. 753 is no longer produced, and it is not a secret that will affect National Security.

The agreement was a verbal one, sealed with a handshake. A kind of “We won’t tell if you don’t.” Over the years I never lied to a customer if they asked me outright. I told them it was brass brazed as was every other frame I built. If they didn’t ask, I didn’t offer that information.

To coin an old phrase, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” There are many 753 frames I built still out there, between 25 and 40 years old, and I have not heard of any that have failed. Any super light frame is not going to last forever, so 40 years or more is a good lifespan.

Reynolds 753 was one of the best frame materials ever produced in my opinion. I always felt that properly done brass brazing annealed the tubing at the joint just enough to take out some of the harsh riding characteristics. And remember I was only annealing the tube a very short distance from the lug and this is the stronger butted portion of the tube.

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