I suspect that it may be a form of modesty, false or not is debatable. I've heard other comments, from writers, concerning the collecting of their books. One writer of fiction just couldn't understand the hubbub about first editions, and said 'All my books are first editions'. Another way to look at things, still from the modesty standpoint, is that the builder may have evolved in their work, and they may view their earlier stuff with some mixed feelings. They may, rightfully, think that newer stuff surpasses the old, but because they are so invested in the minutia of their work their critera may not apply for us.
I think many of us collect bikes or treasure the one bike we have for reasons like these:
We associate the bike with say a particular time in our lives
We appreciate the effort and attention to detail represented in the bikes we have.
Others, sadly or not, it depends, collect bikes simply because others collect them and see only dollar signs when they look at a bike. That may be somewhat silly, as I don't think bikes are the best investment from a stricly financial viewpoint. Still, I think that most of us treasure our bikes for one or both of the first two reasons above.
rob hawks richmond, ca
Brian and John, et al wrote:
Albert has always been down on older frames strictly from a standpoint of there is nothing in it for him. The Italians (Alberto Masi comes to mind) are like this as well. They don't understand what we see in this stuff.
I called Albert when I was persuing my 1962 Masi Special that he gave = to his former wife as a wedding gift, and I had to use a crow bar just to get the smallest bit of information about the past of this bike. We = know each other well, but it doesn't seem to matter to him; he just isn't into it. I mentioned to him the frame of his I had and mentioned I'd like to have another one if he ran into one; and he just laughed at = me. That's just the way Uncle Albert is.
Brian Baylis La Mesa, CA
> "Buying an old bike is no bargin at any price. Any part of the > bike may be ready to fail.
> Albert Eisentraut"
> Jeez, what an optimist. ;-) No bargain at any price?? This is, at
least, the second well known and respected framebuilder that has \
expressed the opinion that collecting their work and putting a
great value on an old bike, just because they made it, is rather
foolish. Truth or false modesty, you think?