i agree with jerry. e-RICHIE ('will try reproducing this weekend...) Richard Sachs Cycles No.9, North Main Street Chester, CT 06412 USA http://www.richardsachs.com Tel. 860.526.2059
On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 20:27:14 -0600 "Jerry & Liz Moos" <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net> writes: I know that I am in a distinct minority, but I hate to see Mark Joynt and Omega pack it in. In my opinion, the Hetchins made by Omega are no more or less "genuine" than those made by David Miller. Neither Joynt nor Miller ever worked at Hetchins, or, so far as I know, have any personal connection to the Hetchins family or Jack Denny. Both "Hetchins" in my opinion are reproductions, and the only issue in determining which is more nearly "genuine" is which better reproduces the features and style of the original. I would gladly buy an Omega-made "Hetchins" if I judged it a better value and a more accurate replica of the "real" Hetchins made while the Hetchins family still controlled the firm.
I am not impressed with the purchasing of the Hetchins name from Alf by the firm Miller now works for. I view the buying and selling of famous names with contempt and believe that while such a purchase may convey legal rights, it cannot convey moral legitimacy. If in fact Miller's employer has legal rights which are being transgressed by Omega, then let him take legal action to enforce those rights and spare us the whining. I also think Joynt has a point about the manner in which Miller has conducted, or mostly not conducted, the business. Miller's attitude toward the commercial aspects of the operation has been somewhere between indifference and gross negligence. I think the point about the Australian licensee is also well taken. I would be much more inclined to buy the current "Motobecanes" and "Merciers" if they were at least made in France rather than Taiwan. I would no more buy an Australian-made Hetchins than I would by the Foster's beer currently sold in the US, which is brewed in Canada.
I currently have under order a new Bates from Martin Coopland. I do not consider this a "genuine" Bates, but a reproduction. Yet it is a good and faithful reproduction, built personally by the great Ron Cooper. This is more than sufficient reason for me to be willing to purchase it. I don't know why we can't view the Hetchins contraversy in the same light.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX