1930: CAPO company was founded by former professional rider Otto CAP. Right at the end of his career he claimed the highest success of Austrian road racing athletes in association with his brother Walter and fellow compatriot Max Bulla.

          " I happen to have a bike from Austria called a Capo. As far as I found, these were only imported into California in the late 5190s and early 1960s. They were manufactured by a gentleman named Otto Cap. His son, Harold Cap, still makes bicycles. His web page is www.capo.at 

       

     The only original parts on this bike are the frame, handlebar stem, and possibly the bars. The main tubes, stays and forks are 531 db. There are only a couple of other Capos around that I am aware of. "

Mike Slater

"..(The) son of founder Otto Cap.... told me that Otto shipped several hundred (the quantity is my guess, based on their total production volume of about 5K units per year) full double butted Reynolds 531 / Campy Gran Sport / Weinmann high-end road bikes to California in the early 1960s. (Of course, in 1960 and 1961, Schwinn was test-marketing the road bike concept in California with the original "Varsinentals." My first 10-speed was a Huret Allvit geared bottom-of-the-line 1962 Bianchi Corsa.)....."

"I have owned two Capos, the first of which met an untimely demise in 1976 in my only classic rendezvous with a motor vehicle, although I strongly believe the crumpling of the Reynolds 531 frame absorbed much of the impact energy for me. I had it straightened, but the down tube began to crack six years later during a hill climb that I therefore lost to some kid on a Varsity. I saw my current Capo four years ago at a yard sale for $20 and absolutely had to have it! The soft, long wheel based Capo won't climb or sprint as crisply as my 1982 Bianchi Tre Tubi Campione d' Italia, but it is comfortable, stable, and well-suited to commuting, group rides, classic car cruise nights, and long unloaded touring, and those Campy friction down tube shifters (my all-time favorites) still work as smoothly and positively as ever. 

John Eldon, Encinitas CA

John Eldon's 1959 Modell Campagnolo, serial #40324. Historically accurate two-tone
paint and down tube decals by CyclArt, shift levers and brakeset are original.