At 6:51 AM -0700 8/9/02, John wrote:
>I think Ken's point is: Rare does not necessarily equal desireable. And
>that rarity is only one of the things that determines value.
>
>So, sure, that bike is rare... but, what else is driving the price up?
>
>In the case of Herse, Singer, and others, there is craftsmanship,
>innovation, beauty, reliability, quality of materials, utility, etc.
The bike in question has all the things you've listed above, plus true scarcity. What I'm about to say is annoy a bunch of people on the list but it's true and need to be said. When it comes to bike collecting lightweight collectors are total wankers compared to the balloon tire folks. Those of us on the list that have been in that world know. On this list we talk a lot about how the Japanese collectors are just crazy, but this is just standard operating procedure in the fat-tire world. 95% of the people on this list like old bikes but really aren't collectors.
Also I don't think many on this list can actually see the validity in the ballon-tire bikes. In cars it's like having the horseless carriage people and the souped up Honda guys looking at each others cars. It's a totally different aesthetic and history issue. I'm sure most of the balloon-tire folks look at a the prices paid for Herse's and say, "Why? It's French, modern, and there's a bunch of them. . . . plus those skinny tires." It's all in your viewpoint and what you're willing to do to have truly scarce bikes. enjoy, Brandon"monkeyman"Ives Not a real collector in Santa Barbara, Calif.