The biggest difference that I was able to determine between the Fiamma and
the Paulchen (without having ever actually seen a "live" Fiamma) is that the
Fiamma is made from extruded aluminum, and the Paulchen is powder coated
steel tubing.  The bike carrier on the Fiamma is more of a Yakima-style,
with the trough that the bike fits into, whereas the Paulchen uses a couple
of adjustable ovals that the tires fit into, along with a clamp that swings
out to grip the seatpost.

I am very happy with my Paulchen - the mounts fit perfectly, and after a
year of sitting on the van there is no evidence of any weathering.  When I
remove it from the van (takes about 5 minutes) it does not appear to be
leaving any marks on the paint.

Damned expensive, though.

Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy
Santa Barbara, CA

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Ray [mailto:Mike.Ray@AMMOBILE.COM]
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2000 7:00 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Ken et al... Has anyone discussed a Fiamma bike carrier group
dea l?

I'm a little late on the subject here but I know there was talk before on
the list about the  Fiamma carrier. Has anyone attempted a group purchase
deal with them?

It looks good on the web site and I haven't heard any bad stories about the
rack. It lists on the site for 212$ (U.S.) I'd like to get one for under
200$ maybe they'd go 180$ or so with a small group purchase.

Don't know about ski accessories for the rack but it seems this may be more
in the price range of folks out there.

Mikey
`87 Westy sans rack  :-(

http://www.fiamma.com/catalog/cbvwt4_t2.html

Ken wrote...
Being disappointed over having won & lost the bid on the Paulchen rack
offered earlier...does anyone else have a rack they would like to sell?