i agree with greg in general terms. (over the last couple o' decades) across the board, frames have not improved in quality at a high rate of speed. but complete bicycles have. to regurgitate last week's thread from hell, if_you_could_somehow mount today's parts on a "nice" pre-investment cast era frame, it <could> be the best of both worlds, despite the older frame's weight penalty as compared with contemporary models. since i'm mailing this in from the road, that's all i'll say about it, and i hope i haven't offended anyone. thanks! e-RICHIE in new jersey!! ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
On Sat, 18 May 2002 21:05:53 EDT GPVB1@cs.com writes:
> Well.....
>
> I gotta jump in here as a fellow Engineer (but also as a vintage
> lightweight
> bikeaholic) and agree more with Steve than Chuck (but I can see
> Chuck's
> intent I think).
>
> How can we say that the current crop of TIG-welded whatevers made by
> the
> gazillions in the Orient (or a factory in the US for that matter)
> are "equal"
> in style and purpose to the craftsmanship of, oh, I dunno..., a
> Confente for
> example?
>
> There just ain't no comparison. If what you're saying were 100%
> true, Chuck,
> why bother having a CR list at all? That said, it certainly is true
> that each
> generation gets to a point where it may start to see the next one
> and it's
> creations as "young whippersnappers..." and long for the "good old
> days."
> with a slightly rose-colored perspective. ("Why, in my day, we rode
> barefoot
> in the dark in the snow three miles just to buy the old man a pack
> of smokes
> for a nickel...!")
>
> The bicycle has become to many just another throw-away fashion
> statement
> (witness helmets and their pricing - sheesh!), in part due to whose
> money the
> industry is chasing. A lot of the folks in big-bucks mountain bikes
> and to a
> certain extent high-end road bikes today came from motocross
> motorcycles
> where sinking thousands into equipment that will soon be "obsolete"
> is just
> part of playing the game.
>
> I do feel there are fundamental differences in the way society views
> bicycles
> today versus twenty years ago.
>
> Greg "what counterfeit Confente?" Parker
> A2 MI USA