on 11/21/02 10:29 AM, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org at
classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org wrote:
> To: mmeison@scubadiving.com
> Cc: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2002 10:58:18 -0500
> Subject: Re: [CR]now:Production vs. custom was: I forget the original topic
> From: Richard M Sachs <richardsachs@juno.com>
>
> snipped:
>> I tend to think that the frame builder imparts
>> more than just labour into a bike.
Ahhhh.......the consumer mind at work with its endless desires is what 'makes the world go around'. We think that a certain item is right for us because it is 'better' and it more appropriately fits our lifestyle and image, and our hopes and dreams, or maybe clicks with our understanding of things (out of respect for CR member Mr Schmidt), and not least of all budget, be it a article from a modern well lit factory utilizing 440 volts from it's own transformer station, or hewed in a 'barn' out back of the house. Could there be another element in the equation, as in when you are paying for the selected goods, what is one giving back to a industry that has offered so much beauty, enjoyment, and utilitarian necessity? Mass production, or at least semi mass production has a way of catching up with the looks and style of the more uniquely made hand made 'real thing', hence Levi Strauss and bell bottom trousers (no trouser threads please!). Technology becomes a tradeoff for experience. With enough money and time, the distinctions can grow fewer, or at least become lost in all the 'noise', and the general public begins to no longer have the ability to differentiate as a result of losing a trained eye. Such has been the fall of many a artisan community within cultures that withdrew their support of the arts. This kind of thing is clearly in evidence where I live, when you look at some of the cr_p they call housing that has replaced the beautiful and superbly executed mortise and tenon construction that was until recently so commonplace. All done without blueprints I might add. The people who have persevered and learned frame building to the extent that they can produce exquisite frames that ride wonderfully, I believe that they deserve our support. Perhaps the riding qualities are not so readily apparent to anyone but the select connoisseur, but these artisans have payed some dues. The mojo is in the sweat! Ask them and they will probably tell you the stories. Even if I can't so well differentiate between their work and that of the company where six semi trained people can produce the whole, I want to 'believe' in the guy who put in the effort to obtain his mastery. This is less so because that maker may be a neat person with perfect pinstripeing, than it is that I want to hope that my money is keeping something alive in cycling that is fundamental that I want to last. This not only speaks well of the person making the frame himself, but is also out of deference to the people who trained him, and so on down the line. Without this connection to tradition, there would perhaps be a even greater proclivity for cycling design and workmanship to spin even further 'off the map'. I wonder to what effect these artisans have a influence on the industry as a whole, but it must be a healthy contribution, and a important legacy to the best within the sport.
Dennis Young
Hotaka, Japan