In a message dated 1/6/2003 8:05:16 AM Eastern Standard Time, olof.stroh@hem.utfors.se writes:
<< Also bike history, some kind, although the classic spirit is missing. >>
I like that!
"The Classic Spirit".... that is what describes the hard-to-define gray area between on-topic and off-topic here on the CR list!
I just had two correspondences in the last few days that have made me think about this (even more than I already have.)
As you all know, I have the sometimes unhappy responsibility for deciding what topics are within the focus and timeline of the CR list..
The other day one CR member gave me a little cut because I was " the pot calling the kettle black" in asking for an end to the Chevy Nova thread a few days ago..... That comment stung a bit because I thought I personally had avoided straying off topic, and when others have "drifted", I had gently reminded them to come back to being on-track.... I thought I had learned a kinder, more gentle way of prodding of CR members who were off focus. So this guy thought I was a bad offender of being off-topic, violating my own rules... Ouch! Food for thought....!
Then I had another (very considerate) member ask, in advance, if it is appropriate to post to the CR list items for auction on eBay that are out of the time line. I said please no except those items that might be considered "Keepers of the Flames."
Those two messages have me thinking about the "Classic Spirit." So what is the Classic Spirit, at least for our purposes here on the CR list ...? I always like the "Keeper of the Flame" concept. For instance that allows me to include artisan built bikes by modern builders & some CR list members like (alphabetically) Brian Baylis, Dave Bohm, Phil Brown, Glenn Erikson, Curt Goodrich, Peter Johnson, Chris Kvale, Mariposa, Peter Mooney, Tom Oswald, Rivendell, Richard Sachs, Peter Weigle (oh gosh, I am sure to have left out someone I want listed here...) You get the idea...
But what about other stuff like C-Record which is really destined (IMO) to be collectible.. And early MTB stuff? And lugged frames that are production, lower level bikes made all the way up into the early 1990s? Ditto for lugged fancier bikes that were still in manufacturer's lineups (a few still there!)
Of course, routinely the question comes up; "Why 1983"? It was not an exact science in choosing that year , but about that time we had really coming to the forefront mountain bikes, "click shifting", oversized tubing, aluminum and Ti bikes getting a bigger foot hold, cyclo-computers, Aerodynamic AX , new Campag components that were to replace NR and SR, cassette hubs getting more spec, etc., etc. What things can you think about round about 1983 + - that caused a shift in bicycles away from the "Classic Spirit"? (Not saying those happenings are villainous, but nonetheless causal.) And..... 1983 is rather neatly 20 years hence!
So anyway, I still must deal with these decisions one-at-a-time as to what is, and what is not, a CR topic, using my own sense of that "Classic Spirit"... And, because this is not a committee-run affair, nor a democracy, I will make the ultimate decision as to what is "Go" and what is "No". And I am human and will make mistakes..... Thanks for being along for the ride!
Dale Brown List manager Greensboro, North Carolina <A HREF="http://www.classicrendezvous.com/main.htm">Classic Rendezvous</A>