Greg,
I think that there is plenty of craftsmanship exhibited at the Pacenti website.
http://www.bikelugs.com/
It may not be the same type of work from 100 years ago or 50 years ago or 30 years ago, but these guys are plying their trade today. The platform may have changed but the skill to form pipes and lugs into a quality bicycle frame are very evident to my eye.
The percentage of consumers able to recognize quality goods is a fraction of 1%, and of those; even fewer are willing to pay the price. That's real world economics.
Nick Zatezalo Atlanta,Ga
> [Original Message]
> From: <gpvb1@comcast.net>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Date: 3/7/2005 6:16:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [CR] Masi Article NOW Colnago's Direction
>
> Nick:
> I'm not sure that the quality of Long Shen lugs is relevent to this
discussion. Many things can be had that are made in Taiwan, that are quite
serviceable. That's now the "high end" of the Asian contracting
Manufacturing World. We live in a global Manufacturing "World" - there's no
ignoring that fact....
> However, I think what many of us are somewhat saddened by is the
commoditization of so many things in our lives, the sameness of everything,
and the never-ending search for the lowest-cost, highest-profit widget, to
the point of excluding finely crafted, durable, long-lasting, high-quality
alternatives at nearly any price. Crafstmanship? What's that? You can't get
it all in many cases now - sometimes it's just not there at any price
level.... This is why CR exists, and why we are here....
> I can tell you that I've spent the last four years repairing or replacing
(replacing, mostly, as it's rarely fixable) lots of the Made-in-China junk
that the builder of my "deluxe" home used in 1998. It may look acceptable
under initial scrutiny (and boy, was it ever low-cost for the builder, but
not the original home buyer), but it just doesn't hold up over time.
> Business is business, and Haro et al. can do whatever they wish,
business-plan-wise. I understand how these kinds of decisions can be made.
That doesn't mean we have to like or buy the stuff, though. ;-)
> Greg "still feeling retrogrouchy" Parker
> Ann Arbor, Michigan
> Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 15:39:56 -0500
> From: "nick zatezalo" <nickzz@mindspring.com>
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR]Masi Article NOW Colnago's Direction
>
> If I remember correctly the lugs used today by many of the folks we fondly
> call KOF are made by Long Shen. If memory serves these are highest quality
> castings made in....uuum Asia. Nation of origin seems to have less bearing
> on quality of product these days.
>
> Nick Zatezalo
> Atlanta,Ga.
>
>
> > [Original Message]
> > From: Angel Garcia <veronaman@comcast.net>
> > To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> > Date: 3/7/2005 3:18:37 PM
> > Subject: Re: [CR]Masi Article NOW Colnago's Direction
> >
> > Colnago has issued a statement that low and mid-tier bikes carrying the
> > Colnago name are going to begin to be built in Asia. I believe that none
> of
> > these are destined to the USA market but rather to Europe, etc. But, the
> > writing (or more writing) is on the wall. Maybe things will have to get
> > worse before they can get better.
> >
> > Angel Garcia
> > Long Valley, NJ
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Well, Faliero's got his son to carry on his name and some would argue
he's
> > doing a better job of it than Haro.
> >
> > But my "depression" is not caused specifically by either the US or
Italian
> > Masi but rather the bike industry in general. Faliero came to this
> country
> > and
> > saw to it that the bikes that were built here met his standards of
> > craftsmanship and his basic design philosophy (one tenet of which was
> never
> > to make a
> > "B" model, or "price-point" frame). And when he subcontracted work out
> it
> > was
> > to folks like Confente in the next city, folks he always kept a close
eye
> on
> > ,
> > not a huge factory halfway around the world that makes bikes for them
and
> a
> > dozen other companies at the same time.
> >
> > Everybody does it now (including Alberto) and the situation's probably
> never
> >
> > going to change, but it still makes me sad. The bit of warm fuzzy I
feel
> > when I see something like Alberto's Nuovo Prestige with Sachs lugs, nice
> pai
> > nt
> > and a bit of chrome, or Pegoretti's beautiful lugged frame with the twin
> pla
> > te
> > crown is just not enough to counteract the blue funk I descend into
every
> ti
> > me
> > I walk into a modern bike shop.
> >
> > Which is why I am here.
> >
> > Bob Hovey
> > Columbus, GA