With Singers, quality depends, as Dirk said. Even the custom-built, top-of-the-line randonneur bikes vary a bit. Some are finer than others. My 1962 is one of the nicest bikes I have seen anywhere, from any era (see VBQ web site under "Image Archive" or VBQ vol. 1, No. 1 for a full feature). When you consider that the lugs have been built up and filed to shape by hand and that the braze-ons all originated as pieces of tubing and rod, you appreciate it even more. Even today, it is amazing how few parts go into a Singer frame and rack - almost everything is shaped and filed and machined by hand.
That 1962 bike was ordered by a guy who already had 4 Singers - that was his retirement gift. He didn't ride much thereafter, so I am lucky to get it well-preserved. Also, the 1960s were a time when there were very few orders, so more time was spent on each.
The bikes I saw being made in past years for friends and VBQ readers also were top-notch, while at the same time, a frame for a Japanese customer with a lot of very specific requests was, well, I could see Ernest Csuka was getting frustrated with it. As always, I depends who orders them... I have a 1985 bike that was not so great until I sent it back for a repaint, and they spent quite some time filing it, so now it's gorgeous. The original owner was a guy with money, but somehow didn't hit it off with the Csuka brothers... "He was not a rider," Ernest Csuka told me disdainfully.
Comparing a Singer to a modern American frame with investment-cast lugs and ready-made braze-ons is like comparing a 17th century painting with a photograph - it's an entirely different technique. To say that a painting is less art because you see the brush strokes makes little sense to me.
As far as the lugs go - the ones I saw were ready-made lugs, to which longer points had been welded. Then they are built up with brass for the smooth radius (a technique like fillet-brazing). Then they are used to make the frame.
I agree with Richard that a racing Singer doesn't have that much appeal. The appeal lies in the entirety of the randonneur or camping bike, its racks, braze-ons, little pieces and how everything fits together seamlessly. That is something I have not yet seen equaled elsewhere in recent years.
--
Jan Heine, Seattle
Editor/Publisher
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
http://www.mindspring.com/
snipped: "...have not only filed lugs, but lugs that are built up from scratch. "
i was there last summer and spent 2 hours in the store.
the lugs are all made by nikko. and someone - i forgot who
began this thread - was right: the handwork is pretty pedestrian.
as a framebuilder, i would say the the concept of the assembled
bicycle is far more advanced than the level of torch and metalwork.
this is just my observation from being shown subassemblies and
unpainted frames.
the moho in that shop was immeasureable. if i had the benjamins, i
would have caved. the zoot factor equals the bling-blingness. that's
the important ratio.
e-RICHIE®
Richard Sachs Cycles
No.9, North Main Street
Chester, CT 06412 USA
Tel. 860.526.2059
site: http://www.richardsachs.com
pics: http://photos.yahoo.com/
On Wed, 24 Mar 2004 19:19:09 +0100 "Feeken, Dirk" <dirk.feeken@sap.com>
writes:
you're right Singers don't have perfect finish or paint. But you have to
be careful when comparing bikes with Alex Singer labels. In the shop you
also find cheap(?) commuter bikes and even kids bikes that get the same
Singer decals as the high end randonneurs. Such a race Singer with common
lugs is not that different from any other european race bike and has
probably not been built by Ernest Csuka. Olivier Csuka himself rides a
pale yellow carbon(!) bike with Singer decals.
The real Randonneurs have not only filed lugs, but lugs that are built up
from scratch. Anyway, the "art" lies in the overall construction of the
Randonneurs which are built to suit their riders needs perfectly without
any compromise. It's a completely different type of art than the
"stunning finish" attempt of many american frame makers.
(I like both).
Dirk