Category: vintage

The first time I ever saw a pair of JOSEF BAYER’s wheels was this summer at the Favorit Velodrome in Brno.  They were a 3-spoke and a disc wheel.  They were all black and aggressive looking, but they had a small green symbol on them, very speedy, very romantic.  They made a strong impression on me and I asked the man responsible for the Velodrome about them.  He replied by telling me about a certain JOSEF BAYER, builder of fantastic rims from the south of Moravia, but beyond that he knew little. The more I thought about it the more I realised that I needed to find this Mr. JOSEF BAYER, even if nobody knew how to help me, nobody had an address or contact.

My internet research also yielded no results.  Then one day I decided to ask for some information from the TUFO brand, they could have known him, I reasoned, their base was in the south of the Czech Republic and perhaps some old mechanic there would remember a Mr. JOSEF BAYER. My decision was a lucky one, that very morning Mr. BAYER had visited them and I was able, finally, to get his email address.

I wrote to him immediately, telling him that I would very much like to meet him, that he must certainly be a very interesting person and that a trip to see him would be worth my while.

After about a week I received his response and we fixed a meeting for mid-December.

(more…)