-----Original Message----- From: Jon Bridges <jon@icetv.co.nz> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Date: Monday, December 04, 2000 12:04 AM Subject: {ClassicRend]To Ride or Not to Ride
Here is the question which I have been pondering lately. Say you had a classic bicycle which had never been ridden, would you ride it or not ride it? How many of you guys do ride some or all of your really pristeen bikes? Are there some bikes you would ride, some you would keep nice?
The reason I ask is that I am just about to finish making up my first classic bike - Colnago Mexico 1982 with Super Record. It is all NOS, so it has never been ridden, and I am really divided between keeping it perfectly mint, or taking it for the occassional ride. I am certainly not planning to sell it ever, but it seems odd taking all this stuff out of the boxes and sitting on it on a dirty road!
I guess there is the 'made to be ridden' school and the 'preserve history' school. Any comments would be appreciated.
Jon Bridges. Auckland, New Zealand.
Well, there certainly isn't a right answer to this. I should be getting a restored Raleigh back, and I've had great fun picking up new/old parts for it, but it's not a period correct restoration by any means. I will certainly have a pang the first time I scratch the paint. Not riding the bike would permanently postpone that pain.
But I have more affection for my bikes that have honorable scars of hard use. My Raleigh Pro kind of looks like beavers have chewed it all over, but I tend to classify these scratchs and scuffs as "patina" rather than "disfigurement".
If it were a regular Colnago Super, I'd say ride it. Mexico's however are rarer, and would warrant more consideration. I suppose the main point is whether enough persons would see the Mexico to justify the cost, your effort and depriving yourself of a good ride. It would be better to ride it than to let it sit unseen in storage. But if you have other bikes to ride and have a good spot to hang it on the wall, I might display it. (Theoretically; assuming I could get my wife's permission to hang a bike in the living room!)
Thomas R. Adams, Jr.
Chilly Kansas City