Re: [CR]An Ode To Dingy Cloth - Warning! Long

(Example: Bike Shops)

From: "J.Dunn" <bikehunter@msn.com>
To: "Aldo Ross" <swampmtn@siscom.net>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <07EDD271.66BDFD3E.00211578@netscape.net> <20030121185708.7929.qmail@haw-207-182-248-2.vel.net> <002501c2c185$f3df3d20$6cf9fea9@j4g1x1>
Subject: Re: [CR]An Ode To Dingy Cloth - Warning! Long
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 13:04:32 -0900


Thanks, Aldo. Every forum is not lucky enough to have the benefits provided by a man with the heart of a poet.

John Dunn in Boise, still stuck with worn out Lawrence Ferlinghetti lines


----- Original Message -----
From: Aldo Ross
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 10:47 AM
Subject: [CR]An Ode To Dingy Cloth - Warning! Long



> Cloth tape should show some wear, some dirt, some use. Even black cloth
> fades in the sun, and red turns a lighter shade when ridden regularly. In
> this way cloth tape shows evidence of use, of miles, of the passage of time.
> Like worn leather, it reveals the points of human contact, the place where
> our hands meet our bikes, whether in a casual grasp, or in a desperate grip.
>
> Shellaced cloth will wear with time, sweat and rain. The places where hands
> rest become lighter, the texture of the weave begins to show through.
>
> It's like a baseball glove
>
> A leather-covered steering wheel
>
> An antique tennis racquet
>
> A comfortable pair of shoes
>
> The pros didn't always get new tape every race. Look at photos from the
> 1940s through the 1970s, especially during stage races, especially if the
> rider wasn't a team captain. The tape is dirty and worn.
>
> Look at the rider on the right side of "The Smokers". The tape is ragged
> and torn.
>
> And beautiful.
>
> There's something warm and comfortable about cloth tape. The colors aren't
> always as bright as plastic. There aren't any showy patterns as synthetic
> cork. It isn't shiny.
>
> But you can dye it - you can give it a unique color all your own, any color
> you can imagine.
>
> You can tint shellac, sand between layers, and create a depth of
> transluscent color which cannot be duplicated in any other way. And when
> you ride, your hands will change it again, wearing away small areas, slowly,
> over the years.
>
> I want the thin white Gaslo cloth on the '49 Bianchi to get dingy and worn .
> I want it to show that, yes, this bike is being ridden. I want it to show a
> dropped chain and a dirty street and the greasy sweat of a hot summer's day.
> Visible evidence that I'm enjoying the bike.
>
> I dyed the cloth on my light olive Girardengo to match the paint, then
> shellaced with red tint. As it wears, various shades of color show through,
> giving it a lovely patina of reds and greens.
>
> Aldo Ross
> Middletown, Ohio