Richard wrote:
> snipped:
> Herb Langston <langston@interaccess.com> writes:
> When did Motobecane stop being a Motobecane? In the early 1980s,
> when they were machine-made and mass-produced in Taiwan (using poor
> technology) and no longer hand-made by artisans who loved their work.
> That was the end of their era.
> Herb Langston
>
>
> not to switch gears here...
> but i think, (I THINK), that this assumption is the root of all
> the disagreement and differing opinions.
> there are folks with way more experience with this than me, but
> i firmly believe it is a misconception to state that the factory made
> bicycles that are the mainstays of the CR timeline, 'are (were) hand-made
> by artisans who loved their work.'
> i wish that were the case. i wanted it to be the case when i was choosing
> role models. but after 5 trips to italy and many years of trying to keep
> my antennae up, i believe the opposite to be true. yes-there are
> exceptions. and even those who come/came to work out of necessity
> rather than passion build/built some excellant bicycles. by and large,
> all these bicycles are made in what would be better thought of as
> industrial rather than artisanal environments.
Richard is very much correct. Almost all teh builders that I know treat their production as simply their livelihood, not an art. Go to any of the industrial bicycle factories in Europe and/or North America and count the percentage of worker's that arrive by bike: they are but a small minority. Go to Asia and of those that don't live in the employee quarters, the large majority arrive by bike. Does this mean they are more passionate about bikes?
Steven Maasland Moorestown, NJ
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