> i was surprised to get cc-ed on this, so > i'll ask, "what <do> you think the old > builders had in mind?"
Is it some sort of sacrilege to contend that they were businessmen who sold racing bicycle frames? No doubt, they liked bicycle racing - and may have been passionate about it - but there should not be any doubt they were businessmen.
In any event, I doubt they were building frames/bicycles with the idea that someday those bicycles would be entered in concourses d'elegance. I suspect that even the great French constructeurs like Singer and Herse simply expected the bikes to look good when viewed from a distance of a meter or so. Best regards, Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia
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