As usual, Bob Reid and Garth Libre's posts seem to be most on target for me. I get tired of the circling of the wagons shtick that goes on when anyone complains about this site. It appears to me Dale can handle himself pretty well, besides, it's his site and he can change it's rules or direction or boot anyone off when he wants to. I think the confusion in Fred's original post is that he saw this site as something that he had a voice in determining how it's run. And he really doesn't. (It's not set up that way and public response obviously didn't support his point). Some of that comes from the format here, which is very open and encourages participation and ownership of the process. I'd like to never read another post about a certain Italian bike or the repeated sales pitch from someone offering a service, but not only is that never going to happen, but it shouldn't. This site isn't about me. But it is about vintage bikes as interpreted by the webmaster, Dale, and we abide by his rules and his artistic direction or we leave. That seems pretty simple to me. I don't make money dealing bikes (buying high and selling low always works for me) and I don't begrudge anyone who makes a living selling stuff for profit. One of the things Fred implied in his inital post is that prices are jockeyed up, that sellers are making a lot on certain vintage bikes and parts. As much as I hate that, gee, not much I can do about it now is there except not buy them. I have felt a false sense of comraderie with vintage sellers at times that has led me to believe that bargains should be passed on to other collectors. That was so naive of me, and I feel that some of that is in Fred's post. I've wanted to feel like I was part of some group with a shared love of bikes and was separate from the e-bay high reserve (attainable only by people with big bucks)mentally but I'm not. For most people money is key. Bang a profit. Send your kid to college. That's the way of most of the world Fred, and except for those people who aren't buying food with the proceeds of there recent Simplex derailleur sale, it doesn't really matter. In the end, for most of us, I think, this is about an interest in bikes. Some reporter on the local news a couple of nights ago talked about BK Kim's pitching in the 4th and 5th games as a real Tragedy. By wife, no baseball guru, offered the opinion that the events of Sept. 11th were a tragedy, not a baseball game. Regardless what Fred spouted off in his later post, the emotion there belies an honest and real concern. No one takking potshots at you can hurt your integrity (unless it's Kim's fastball!) I tried to sell a Masi, a Golden Arrow, and a Paramount tourist in the local newspaper this weekend and got one call from a guy wanting BMX parts.
Art Smith in Phoenix, you might have heard of it, we're playing baseball tonight.