>that have come through over the years!
>has anybody else looked at these?
>i'm surprised there is no thread started by these
>wonderful sites. any takers?!
>e-RICHIE
The only reason I haven't written anything sooner is between work and looking at these pages I haven't had a spare moment. I took a lot of heat from list members about my saying there were plenty of people that could build in the Herse style and do it better for well under $8000. Well here's the evidence. I am totally blown away from what I see on these pages. A very large number of my friends are professional framebuilders so I know the goods when I see it and these are it. Hirose does it all including making his own brakes and deraileurs. I can't think of one builder in the US, or Europe, who goes this far today.
I think the Japanese collectors take a lot of $#!^ from people on this list. People always bitch about how they're buying up all the good stuff and don't have the real feel for classic bikes. If some "outrageous" price is paid on Ebay "of course it's a japanese collector" is always the mantra. These links just prove this is total bunk. These people are truly dedicated to classic cycling if they can support multiple builders in their country building in this style. Sorry if my words are a bit strong, but these links have really opened my eyes beyond my little western world. I knew quality bikes of interesting design were still built there, but this really is the next step forward while looking backward. I am humble before the images I have seen.
thanks, Brandon"monkeyman"Ives
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nobody can do everything,
but if everybody did something
everything would get done.
-Gil Scott Heron-
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!