EISENTRAUT "A" frame/fork Campagnolo drops flawless!

For auction here an extremely rare beast:  an Albert Eisentraut "A" frame and fork, from 1979.  I had it re-painted a couple of years ago by Joe Bell, and he and Rob did their best work on it.  Paint and clear are both very thin, all details can be seen clearly.    The frame has been in storage since, not built.

Slightly over 57cm center-to-top seat-tube; 56 cm c-c top-tube.  This is very much a criterium-style bike of the time.  It should be very fast, quick-handling in a good way, and in general a joy for someone who is a little taller than I am.  It kills me to sell this one, but it's just too big for me in this style of frame... so, away it goes.  Wah.

The color is a standard imron color, which is what Albert used back then.  It's similar to molteni orange, but a little softer tint.  It's very pretty in the sun.  Down-tube graphic is blue.

Note the beautiful lug-work, typical of Eisentraut.  Also note the special bb shell he was using at that time, that he designed, with integral cable guides.  I forgot to put up a shot of the underside of the shell, which has a stylized *E* cast in, highlighted in blue, as is the serial number, which indicates 1979 as a manufacture date.  I will send that shot to you if you want to see it.

What  you see is what you get:  frame and fork only, from the grand old man of American frame building, who inspired at least two generations of builders, and influenced everyone who is anyone in the business of making custom frames today.  These Eisentraut "A" (that is, full-custom) frames are very tough to come by, as I've found.  I'd never let this go, but it's just not sized right for me.

Reserve is very reasonable for a frame like this.  A fraction of the cost of a new 'traut, or similar quality frame from any other top builder.  And you get a real piece of history in the bargain--not to mention a great bike for that next criterium!  Set up with modern parts, I'm sure you could hang with the carbon boys with no problem.  Built up carefully, I'm sure you could get it down below 20 lbs...  and you'll get plenty of admiring questions about it.  Eisentrauts of this kind and vintage always attract that kind of attention.  A 'traut of the same sort won best-lugs at the 2007 Velo-Rendezvous show, which takes some doing in that company.

Please ask any questions before bidding.  Thanks for lookin'.

NOTE WELL:  I had a question about standover...with vintage wheels and 22mm tires standover is about 82mm, not counting the height of the brake cable housing.  Add that, and it's about 83 mm.  I should note that, in a nice touch, the top-tube cable guides are offset somewhat, so that the cable is not so much in the way.  This frame is definitely in the crit category.  Should be one fast bike.

oooops.  The addition above should have read "standover is about 82 *centimeters*" 

Just a note here about various frames Eisentraut has made over the years.

The *Limited* was a production frame from the 70s.  It's the Eisentraut frame you see most often.  Quite a nice bike, but not in the same league with the custom frames.

The *Rainbow Traut* is, to the best of my knowledge, a semi-custom frame Eisentraut still makes, either fillet-brazed or with lugs.  Again, a very nice frame, but, again, not the same as the *A* frame.

The *A* frame.  This is the full-custom frame.  The frame I'm selling is this frame.  Eisentraut appears to have lavished the most care on these in terms of finish-details.  They are very hard to get, come on the market very seldom, and these 70s *A* frames are virtually impossible to buy on the open market.  They usually sell privately, or not at all.  People keep them for life, it seems, to judge from the dearth of sales in places like Ebay.

So, there you have it.  Any corrections to the above that you may have, please e-mail me.

Note additional picture of bb shell stamping...stylized *E*..