Aldo Ross said:
>A correct restoration needs the correct parts, or it's something less.
Brandon Ives <monkeylad@mac.com replied:
> That's a real strong matter of opinion and with all due respect very narrow minded. The "correct" > parts don't necessarily need to be by the catalog stock. First off I've seen, as I'm sure you have, the > catalog and the product delivered to the dealer being quite different. How do you choose what's more > "correct?" Personally I'd be more interested in a bike where the original owner added a little > something to make the bike stand out from the rest of the bikes.
Ya'all are both "right..."
I read a lot of bike magazines to stay on top of what is new and cool and is sold to my customers. Since the only steel road bikes we carry in the store are women's Terrys and one lone modern Raleigh International, (and nothing is lugged) I have to be as enthusiastic and knowledgeable about plastic at work, as I am about steel at home : )
The thing that impressed me the most after reading that 1970s pile of bicycle magazines I got ahold of, was the difference between the attitude of modern cyclists and the bike boom cyclist. Sure both modern and 1970s magazines have reviews on new bikes, books, reports on racing, stories of epic rides and cycling techniques. However, the 1970s magazines had a whole slant towards individuality and self reliance evidenced by the number of articles with do it yourself themes, cycling advocacy, self supported touring, little upgrades and tweaks and outright component mixing to make the bicycle perform better...
When Peter Johnson spoke at Cirque he talked a lot about that time and the do it yourself spirit that led people like him to just make their own frames and modify components. It brought back memories of being 14 and learning how the high-low adjustment screws on my derailleur worked when I replaced it with a better quality model. My chain came off a few times in the process and it never occurred to me that my bicycle was devalued because it no longer was correct. It shifted a lot better under load though!
The new bikes and new bike culture do not lend themselves to modifying and improving at all. I cannot remember the last article I saw in a cycling magazine with a topic on replacing an underspec'd brake part or drilling anything out. Lots of articles on how to ride faster and improve your fitness with heart rate monitors and product comparisons for home altitude tents and ads for *new cars.* I cannot believe the number of customers who come in the shop, totally unable to change a flat on their 2500.00 road machine - and with no interest in learning how to do so. They mostly just get unhappy that they cannot get us to do it instantly and stand around and sigh in their matching lycra, concerned that the hair might be growing out on their legs and reducing their aerodynamic advantage if they have to wait any longer.
How many of us go into a bike shop and ask them to change a flat?
Note the discussions here on finding "O" rings at the hardware store to replace the ones on those campy brake adjusters and all the little tricks discussed in getting an era bike to run low enough gears to be ridden by mortal humans.
IMHO there is some room for interpretation in regards to what is period "correct" within the group, within the guidelines defined by the organizer. I feel confident in saying that we all do have an interest in cycling and bicycles that has more in common with the self sufficient enthusiasts of the past then the cyclists of current times. That is the thing that brings me the most pleasure in my association with the CR gang.
Ann Phillips, Atlanta GA Who doubts the CR police will arrest me for not using the paint to match Silca pump that goes on the Monte, but the Co2 charger in the seat bag : )