It strikes me that the ebay / classic rendezvous bicycle phenomena is a truly transient thing. in the 1970's i believe we had a very inefficient bicycle parts distribution system with suppliers stocking lots of spares, shops stocking lots of spares, etc.
correct me if i'm wrong, but today i think that the bike parts distribution system is not only a lot more "lean", but bike diversity is higher, making it harder to get replacement parts. in 10 or 20 years, it will be a lot harder to rebuild a 2003 bicycle than it was for us to rebuild a 1975 bicycle in 2003 with all NOS parts. we are lucky only now.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA