A little history of SOMEC, another foto

In 1981 or 82 I was drooling over a somec Air 2000 then shown in the Branford Bike catalog, lo and behold--on my birthday it appeared in my living room. I still have it, a foto detail further down. I went to Italy and met the Gallegatis, father/mother and two kids and learned the history of somec from them: in the 1960's and 70's Oliviero, the father, was a mechanic on the Giro d'Italia, and being a perfectionist, was not satisfied with the standards of the Giro team mechanics, so he started a society that would allow entry if the mechanic passed Oliviero's rigorous testing. The name of course was Societa' Mechanica, and Oliviero loved his group so much he didn't name his new bikes Gallegati (like Colnago did), but SOcieta' MEChanica or SO-MEC. That's why the name doesnt sound Italian, but believe me...it is. His first frames were in 1972, and if you look below you will see a crankset detail of the 25th anniversary bike he built in 1997.