Ricky,
Regarding racers and Tesch; there is everything racing about a Tesch but nowdays most racers are not riding old technology frames that will undoubtedly be expensive and refined. Personally, if I were still racing I would be riding something disposable, like a beer can with wheels or something. Frames made by hand and finely crafted and finished should be your Sunday rider and preserved for future generations to enjoy and appreciate. If you want a good race bike and still have enough sense to ride a steel frame get yourself a Landshark or something like that. The loss of a frame that cost $1200 and was delivered within a month or two of your order is not as difficult to bear as one you waited two years for and cost nearly $4000 and was a one-of-a-kind to boot. Just a practical matter. I felt fine racing a Baylis on the track and I never crashed in 5 years of track racing. On the other hand, criteriums and training races are frought with crasches from my experience. Watched some dodo on a DeRosa (trying to be a hotshot) dig a pedal in a corner and I had to ride over the jerk on my Japanese Schwinn Paramount. Fortunately in that case nothing happened to my bike (unlike the other guys' face) but to lose a exotic frame on a Tuesday nite just ain't happening.
So I'm not saying a Tesch is not racable, far from it; but probably isn't practical. Like I say, it will be interesting to see what Dave has in mind.
Brian Baylis
Never heard anyone call the ride of a Tesch "cushy" before. Most
describe them as like riding a brick with wheels, which I'll explain in
the Tesch story.
>
> the return of the tesch is certainly exciting news! as a proud owner of a 101
> via dale (painted, in his words, "ferrari yellow") I think that this has to
> be one of the zippiest (if not cushiest) bikes that I have ever been happy to
> own.
>
> my interest in tesch was sparked by a (yes) BICYCLING article in '87 ("what
> the editors ride") which I always thought was or should be an ongoing
> concept. my memory, which serves me only upon occasion, is that the other
> bikes included serrotta, redcay, ciooc, erickson (perhaps the dullest-looking
> one ever produced) and cannondale. kind of an odd mix, but the tesch review
> always stuck in my head and stayed there, manifesting itself fully when dale
> was kind enough to part with his 55 cm frame for a very reasonable price.
>
> I am not sure why racers would not be interested in a bike that was, for all
> purposes, identical to the 101. other than clearance for a larger cassette, I
> would be tempted to stay with it in all ways. well, perhaps a small change
> here or there for the sake of marketing. dave could always call it the 102!
>
> ricky garni
> carrboro, nc