Brandon exchanged the following message with Chuck:
> >Whoa Dude! We are not talking about riding wooden draisiennes or hobby
> >horses from the early 1800s. Riding any bike from the 1900s and after
> >does no harm to the bike. We're not talking about riding megga miles
> >here.
>
> Yes, but this is exactly what the owners of draisiennes and hobby horses
said. I agree that most of the bikes we deal with aren't really as rare as
we want to believe. It's the attitude that I want to change, I want to see
people looking at their bikes as historical objects. I know few people are
riding there bikes mega miles. But it's not the miles, it's the cars,
potholes, peds, and going down in general. Also what happens to the bikes
when you die? Do they lake too many before them languish in a barn or get
sold off to someone who doesn't have the same appreciation?
>
> >Display to the public?
>
> There are plenty of displays west of the Ol Miss, just nothing originated
since the Oakland exibit. Would you like to see more? If so where should we
start? Do we start with a preservation attitude or a pile of bikes?
Brandon,
I tend to agree with most of things you post, but this time, I believe that you are missing out on a number of subtle points.
Draisienne and Hobby horses were made almost entirely with wood. Wood has a natural tendency to deteriorate when exposed to the day to day elements inherent to use. To use these vehicles is therefore clearly contrary to the what you are striving for. This is not to say that they cannot be used if following each ride they are properly 'maintained'. They also were built with far more components prone to wear, such as where joints were made of wood on wood.
All steel bicycles, on the other hand, do not suffer the same deterioration and can actually benefit from use. Oxidation occurs much more readily on inanimate objects, therefore all elements prone to oxidation can benefit from use. I used to work in the battery field and can guarantee that a battery dies on old cars that are rarely or never used because the surface oxidation of the plates is such that the ions can no longer leave the plate because of a thick coating of oxidation on the surface. Older steel components and frames were also generally built at a time where all production foresaw 'overspecification' of the metals and thicknesses whenever possible. They are therefore not overly likely to deteriorate from 'careful' use. With modern components and frames made to the limits of acceptability, this may once again become a concern, but not for most bikes or components from the last 100 years.
With regards to the destination of my collection, my spouse is well aware of where I would like to see them go should anything happen to me. I also maintain the spirit by which I feel that I am only a temporary keeper of all of my bikes. I ride them and make sure that they are seen and valued fro what they are. Then I make sure that they go to a deserving person and move on to my next bike. A perfect example of this is a recent concession/sale of a Bianchi Paris-Roubaix. I kept it and rode it for about 10 years. During that time, I was able to savour the bike and learn the joy of shifting a timeless gear mechanism. I received a number of offers for it. I could have received an ungodly sum of money for it from a certain number of wealthy collectors who would have filed it away in their private collection never to be seen or widely enjoyed again. Instead it went to a list member and I know it to already be bringing plenty of smiles to many a person who has seen it. Those who do see it can also finally understand its working, something that is not at all clear-cut when you see a static display of the bike or gear.
Lastly, regarding the display of bikes. In Europe I have seen quite a few nice collections on public display. They are however almost always combined with cars or motorcycles and are always the lesser of the two collections. As car and motorcycles are reasonably common, my vision would be to build a single 'great' collection of bicycles that could tour the various car museums as a moving show. They could stay for perhaps 1 1/2 months per museum and then move on to the next. The collection could be renewed on an annual basis, thereby giving the museum new fodder to show the museum-goers and to further acquaint the visitors with the beauty of the bikes. We do however have to realize that to your general viewer, a bike is a bike and only visibly different styles or bikes with noteworthy history attract any attention.
Steven Maasland Moorestown, NJ
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