I've been thinking some more about restoring historic bikes (bikes with a very individual history). First of all, of course it should be avoided. But sometimes, the old machines have been modified over the years, so you have to restore them to bring them back to what they were.
I feel that if a bike is standard except for its history - say a NR-equipped racing bike - it loses most of its history when it is restored. The history here is in the details - the worn bar tape and such.
If a machine is unique, like Eddy's hour record bike or the Herse tandem that won PBP in 1956, even a restored machine can capture the spirit. There is no other one like it, so it'll never be "just another NR bike." And having it restored is better to not having it at all. I'd even argue that recreating one - if done absolutely correctly, rather than creating a fake look-alike, can be a useful exercise.
Just my 2 cents.
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Jan Heine, Seattle
Editor/Publisher
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
http://www.mindspring.com/