Re: [CR]Was KOF styles? Now how are Eisentrauts?

(Example: Framebuilders:Richard Moon)

From: <PBridge130@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 14:03:23 EST
Subject: Re: [CR]Was KOF styles? Now how are Eisentrauts?
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org


"Now how are Eisentrauts?"

All due respect, you've got to understand that's kind of like saying, "Is Bach better than Beethoven, and how about Mozart, how's that Mozart guy's work, is he any good?"

As has been discussed, there's quite a few master builders. How is their work? It's all good. It's all excellent. IMO, deciding between them is an emotional process, not a logical one. Eisentrauts "feel" different than Sachs "feel", which in turn "feel" different than Gordons, and I'm referring to emotional "feelings", not ride quality. I have emotional attachments to a few builders. I rode a '75 Traut as my primary bike for 23 years (alongside a parade of maybe thirty others), and it was my best and loyal friend. A heck of a bike, with geometry that was ahead of its time, a tight rear end that's alive but efficient, and a front end that's very, very fast, but still stable. Now in graceful, liesurely semi-retirement. I've got an emotional attachment to Trauts, with good reason.

I sold a few Gordons in the late 70's, including a spectacular tandem, almost three thousand dollars in 1977 -- that was a serious price then. The people I knew who had Gordons were consistently individualists, and hard riders. Gordons absolutely have their own aesthetic character, unique lug treatment, and those great Flash Gordon/deco decals, and I've got an emotional attachment to them. I'll probably order a custom from Bruce in the next few months.

Blah, blah, blah. My point is, there is no best, and asking others "how such-and-such frame is" will elicit responses that are just as much emotional as objective, and the emotions driving those responses aren't YOUR emotions, so what good are they? Do you ask a mailing list what woman to marry? (Perceptions of the way a frame actually rides are often oddly subjective, too.) If you can afford three or four customs, buy them. Get to know them intimately, and see if one captures your heart. Or, if that's not an option, as it usually isn't, figure out which builder and style has the right emotional feel for you, and then, pretty much ignoring lead time and cost, take the plunge. It's a leap of faith, like marriage, and you'll probably second-guess yourself after writing the check, wondering if maybe you should'a gone a different way. That's human nature. However, after a just a few months of hard centuries, long days in the saddle, and endless position adjustments, you'll have bonded with that bike on a molecular level, and everything will be fine. Then, unlike marriage, you can wonder about what to buy next.

The sooner you make a decision, the sooner you can be riding. It's only a bike. Go for a ride.

Peter Bridge Back to remodelling house now, in Sunny San Diego, CA (To self: Do I need a fillet bike? Maybe a fancy lug bike, never had one of those. Hmmn, Brian's just down the road, and I hear his bikes are especially lively, which I like..... maybe one of those? I wonder if Gangl is building, his frames were gorgeous, Italian-style, and rare. Ahh, shut up and go for a ride on one of the bikes already languishing in the garage. Get your mileage back up to 250 a week, and your bodyfat back under 10%, and maybe you can think about indulging yourself, once you've earned it. But, what about a cross bike, I really kind of "need" one of those.......)