At 03:17 PM 2/27/01 -0700, Richard G. Elmendorf wrote:
>I also think that Grant
>Petersen's recollection of the old days as being full of versatile racing
>bikes with wide-range gearing and great shifting is a little off the mark.
Those of us who used Suntour derailleurs and certain French or Japanese cranks enjoyed wide-range gearing, great shifting, and the occasional dismissive leer from a Campy-phile. ;-)
If one looks farther back than 1970s America, he indeed can find a tradition, in England, of bikes that were raced on tubulars at the weekend, and at other times commuted and toured upon, on all surfaces, with wide clinchers and mudguards. See for example in the Letters column of the latest Rivendell Reader a missive from Harold Bridge on club bikes of the 1940s and 50s. Grant has referenced this era and these bikes in his writings. Often it has been the sport-touring bike that he has upheld as an example of good design in the 70s and 80s.
Chris Barbour
Boston, Mass.