Louis Colella?

[Simon]

Does anyone know what happened to Louis Colella? He cropped up a fair bit in the mid- to late-90s (I remember a yellow scaled-down bike he built for one of his children, and the [in]famous Colella DH tandem.

From memory, wasn't he based in the Slough area? The last time I saw him was at Bike '99 when he turned up with a very intricate DH frame influenced by either / both the Maserati Birdcage, or the Ducati Monster. I'd love to track the frame down...

 

[S8-Tom]

I've often wondered what happened to him. Used to be a couple near me that rode a suspension Colella tandem.
Wasn't the paint he used something that was soft to the touch? You could push your fingernail into it and it'd spring back.

 

[CRIPES_A_MIGHTY]

Hi Guys,

I HAD a Colella Full Sus Tandem...was fantstic to ride...even solo.
Unfortunately we hit a sunken submerged drain cover on the way to work one -morning and it cracked the frame.
Loui had stoped building bike by then and so refused to repair the frame.
So..with great reluctency..I had to ditch the frame.

I should have taken pictures of the frame and the drain once the rain water had subsided so as to claim back the cost of a new bike from the council..
The Council being Portsmouth City Council.....as we lived in Havant back then..now living in Scotland.

Had pace forks, Hope disc brakes Hope Titnaium BB's , Middlebrn Chainset..etc...was just fab to ride....Was in Mango colour...kind of yellow with a hint of orange.

 

[legrandefromage]

tandem bling!

 

[CRIPES_A_MIGHTY]

lol..thank you

The frame broke at where the subframe meets the shock and pivot point.
I had contacted Loui asking him to repair the frame..but he had given up bike building and was somewhat dissolutioned with the buisness.
This was just 2.5 years after we had brought the bike which cost us £4000+. So you can imagine my annoyance and dismay at such a negetive attitude from the builder. I tried getting the frame repaired in London...but the repair was unsuccessful being it was made from aluminium.
I stripped it off all aparts and transfered what i could to a Dawes Bouble Edge frame. I then preceeded to snap 2 sets of Middleburn chainsets..will never buy again!...and snap the folks off....and collaspe a rear wheel.!!!

All this just from traveling to work and back!!!
I then purchased a very cheap tandem just to cover us while I tried to get things sorted....as I dont drive and we needed to get to work!.

We then moved to Scotland!....and I got arthritis..I still have the dawes frame and the cheap tandem....
I had purchased lots of nice goodis to go on the frame..new 6 pothope disc brakes....Dirt Jump sus forks....etc...but now its all gone tits up!!.

 

[jonnyboy666]

a friend of mine had the DH version around 94, then i remember seeing the bikes at the olympia hall in london at bike '95 i do remember seeing the 20"wheel kids bike though, it had hope ti glide hubs, mini middleburn cranks and xt 8speed gearing (single chainring though) with v brakes

check out this thread of mine from a while back, there is a pic of the colella in it. also have you noticed how similar the design is to the modern cannondale rize etc, (note the horst link pivot)

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... all+london

 

[CRIPES_A_MIGHTY]

I was at Colella workshop when he was building the bike for the Show....I wnet to the show also and have pictures of the bike.

It also appeared on the local news..he was asking something like £8000 for it.

He never got to sell it for that...as I meet the guy who DID buy it a few years later in Brighton as I recall.
He was riding along the seafront with a friend.
I stopped him and spoke to him about the bike...I dont recall how much he actually got it for..but it was a fraction of what Loui was after. His buisness took a nose dive and he go so deparate for money..he sold it for something really silly.
He had hoped it would make him renound in the buisness..but infact broke his buisness...it was a bad move to make it.

I have a couple of copies md mags when Loui 1st appeared on the scene. Wioth pictures of the childs bike he built..and the tandem.
Tracy Mosley used to ride his bikes...but he couldn't keep up with demand as he was a one man buiness as he wanted to do everything himself.
This also conspired to his down fall...

 

[S8-Tom]

Used to be a couple near me that rode a suspension Colella tandem.

I grew up in Havant, small world.

 

[CRIPES_A_MIGHTY]

The chance are the folks you saw riding the Colella was me and partner...lol....

If I am correct..he only built 10 Full sus tandems..at least that's what I was told at the time...He may have built more..but not many.
So chances of seeing 1 is slim.

I have a pictures of us riding ti somewhere..but finding individual pictures is rather tricky with so many drives full of stuff.

We rode it to and from from work along the Havant Road..through Bedhampton, Farlington & Cosham and along to Horsea Island where we worked on the naval base.

I sometimes rode it on my own...on given rides..depending on what we were doing that day. and when the roads were wet I could get it to wheel spin from the lights..lol..And then when braking with the Hope dyro disc brakes I could make it fishtail to the lights...lol..probably scaring car drivers behind. But with having the power of hope disc's ( a must on a tandem) it did stop very well.

 

[LeeDevelopment]

I can't remember Tracy on his frames, Emma Guy definitely was though.