Original Message: ----------------- From: rodk3d@comcast.net Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 20:03:36 +0000 To: kohl57@starpower.net, wickedsky@sbcglobal.net, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: RE: [CR]Vintage bicycles and tiers
Hi Peter, I disagree with your analogy of bikes to suits. No one (normally) buys used suits or shoes.
Hmmm... I thought the swish thing to do when you bought a custom made frame was to be "fitted".. the measurements and the questions sure make a framemaker sound an awful lot like a tailor to me! They seemed to take all this very, very seriously indeed. As well they should for I thought a custom made frame would, more than any aspect of finish or workmanship, fit like the proverbial glove.
If you had a bespoke frame maker make say 20 frames in standard sizes, would the workmanship be less than if he made each one to your measurements? I wouldn't think so. Then again, I think the point is that most of the really exceptional frame makers did indeed make frames specifically to order to suit the individual. Or is this a false assumption by moi, as usual? I am, of course, basing this on reading the catalogues of the better British framemakers. It was very much a "menu" rather than a bill of fare and I don't think many offered an "off the peg" frame let alone a complete machine.
Peter Kohler Washington DC USA
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