Wait a minute! I don't think anyone claimed those bikes are all really of lower quality. I think the claim was made that they weren't always as well finished as you would expect. (At last that's my point.) I would expect them all to be properly aligned, strong, reliable and to ride well (at least withing the framework of the builders' philosophies about fit, handling andso forth.) But it seems to me that the cosmetic details could be inconsistent.
As for whether Eddie Merckx's bikes were indicative of normal
production runs, you simply have to bear in mind that he was
the #1 racer in the world. Of course his bikes got special
attention. Similarly, I'm sure those bikes presented to the
Pope were really clean. But I'm also sure that many of the
$5,000 per year domestiques received reliable bikes whose
attention to detail might have been lacking.
Cheers,
Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia
> In a message dated 4/8/2004 3:27:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
>
> tullio@TheRamp.net writes:
>
> << don't get it. If these "racing" frames didn't require
> great attention to
> detail, then why both to regard them as special? If they
> had crappy brazing
> and alignment, then they were crappy frames. If they are
> simply
> "serviceable," then they aren't special.
>
> There is some weird mystique that surrounds certain builders
> that exists to
> this day. Put the right name on a crummy bike and the
> masses will bow down.
> Tell the right marketing story, and people will see flaws as
> "character."
> Yet wheel out another bike with the same flaws but without
> the fancy name,
> and those same people turn up their noses. >>
>
> An important consideration is left out of this line of
> discussion.
>
> Those fancy bikes are supposed to have and presumed to have
> the finest build
> quality and best handling. DeRosa, or all the other artisan
> built frames are
> presumed/ advertised/ presented as having impeccable quality.
> Only the finest.
>
> And a finely built, knowledgeably designed, mitered, tubed,
> brazed, aligned
> and finished bike IS better than a slopped out mass produced
> bike.
>
> When, in fact, it turns out that there is a stinker found
> amongst the fancier
> brands, say a poor example or even a batch of sloppy jobs,
> that occurrence is
> not a reflection upon whether better bikes are better or not,
> but rather
> reflects a lapse in the honesty and integrity of the
> builder/maker/manufacturer.
> For a crazy example, if I learned through experience or
> friend's
> recommendations or reading bike magazines that Richard Sachs
> frames were beautifully built,
> race designed, immaculately joined, and then found one in
> which the BB fell
> out, I would not say "All fancy frames are no better than the
> Schwinns at
> Walmart."
> It would mean that Richard had been kidnapped or worse and an
> incompetent
> impostor was knocking out hack jobs in his place!
>
> But the point is if we find a Masi or a DeRosa or whatever
> that is not up to
> it's billing, then it is a case of breach of contract so to
> speak. We are not
> unreasonable to believe and expect the best from these
> makers. Our
> expectations are not wrong, the supplier just let us down.
>
>
> Dale Brown
> cycles de ORO, Inc.
> 1410 Mill Street
> Greensboro, North Carolina 27408
> 336-274-5959
> fax 336-274-6360
> <A HREF="http://www.cyclesdeoro.com">cyclesdeORO.com</A>
> <A
>
HREF="http://www.classicrendezvous.com./main.htm">ClassicRendezvous.com</A>
>
> _______________________________________________
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