Has the bar been raised or are we just more aware of it ?
It would seem there's always going to be (and has been) "patrons of the arts" or in this case "crafts" - those who want to support craftsmen such as yourself who provide the top quality products and who can appreciate said products (bikes in this case). I'd be surprised if I went back through history and found no-one building bikes that put pride of craftsmanship into what they did. It may not've always been easy to find these folks as media such as the internet wouldn't be available to search them out. But my guess (and it's only that) would be that they have always been there.
It would seem to me that all through the time of lugged construction, for example, that there would be some frame builders who would take the time to clean up the brazed areas, file lugs, not gouge the tubes...
Does this not seem to be so ?
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your point Curt or perhaps (and is likely) I have a mixed up idea of all of this.
John Price
-----Original Message----- From: goodrichbikes [mailto:goodrichbikes@netzero.net] Sent: Friday, July 26, 2002 1:09 PM To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Who raised the bar?
I had a side conversation with Jim N. regarding comparing the craftsmanship of today to that of the 70's. We agreed that it isn't fair to compare them. I understand this but it also doesn't ring true. I look around my shop and beside this computer there's nothing in it that didn't exist in the 70's or earlier. My drill press is WWII vintage and my mill is from 1952. Metal working is nothing new and it's safe to say that most of the principles that applied in 1970 do so today too. So when did the bar start being raised in regard to craftsmanship? When did it start not being desirable to gouge a tube with a file and leave it or leave a big glop of brazing material around a lug edge. I know the argument that times were different but were they? Was labor more expensive then? Were profit margins even lower then? I don't think so.
When I think about this I think about violin makers. Is it unfair to compare current violins to that of the ones built by Strat? Maybe or maybe not, anyone a violin expert?
I know bikes are about more things than craftsmanship but when did craftsmanship start becoming important?
Curt Goodrich Minneapolis, MN
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