Dale Brown wrote:
"I would love to chat with you and others at the Cirque, either over a beer or at the show, discovering together the fine points of bike frames and noting differences in workmanship and detailing. There are many nuances that do not meet the eye, even to those who have owned and ridden nice bikes. The top builders of today operate in a aesthetic world of refinement that has never been equaled before in all of cycledom."
I am struggling right now to salvage an unusual Zunow (yes, I know that's redundant) I got cheap on eBay recently. Some of you probably saw it - it has a sort of tiger stripe smoke paint job: white, silver and chrome, and is called a "Horn System" whatever that means. It's terribly rusted, though. I've got it upside down, trying to work the stem (clamped in a vise) out of the steerer tube.
All this preamble to comment on the remarkable details that you can only see when the bike is in this position! Tiny little starfish figures engraved in the lugs of the BB shell, miniature cast or engraved hummingbirds, steel B-stay with tiny spearpoint lugs on the yoke, etc. An amazing level of detail and craftsmanship, apparently done more for the joy of doing than for the quick visual effect. That's why I'm trying to save it, BTW.
Dave "thinking in Japanese this time" Ross Portola Vally, CA