The idea of "tiers" is useful especially for those of us with no real ambition to find our collections fall into the top two or even three "rungs".
A lot of folks here are into handbuilt, custom-made frames etc. and that's obviously "top tier". But I like to ride what I collect and buying someone else's custom-made bike, unless they are a mirror image of me, is like buying and wearing used custom made suits or shoes. It's still quality but the "it's all about me" quality is largely wasted on a second owner in my opinion. Of course one can still admire the tailoring of a custom made suit that's two sizes too small.
So I guess I aspire to second tier which I might define as the real quality, top-of-the-line machine that was still an off the shelf item. I would suppose my '73 Cinelli SC and '48 RRA would qualify for that. But there are intangables too, what some here call "mojo" so maybe my '74-5 TI Raleigh Team Pro gets a notch up for that... I know it was at least owned by a famous pro, if not ridden professionally. Then again what about my '69 PX-10? Not quite in the league as a bike if you just look at it (well I love her!) but loaded with mojo associations of Tommy Simpson et. al. and an off the shelf machine that was a racing champion in its day.
To me, the most aspired to "tier" is when you've got her out on the road and you get "Man, that's a great looking bike". A '77 Sears "Free Spirit" might get that, but I kinda doubt it. We all know what we like in the end...
Peter Kohler Washington DC USA
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