Certainly, the Peter Weigle Randonneur I have been testing for the next issue of Vintage Bicycle Quarterly can keep up with any racing bike, both uphill and downhill.
WOW!!!!!!!!! That's a pretty bold statement. Is it a new design? Using half lugs like some of the Waterfords I've seen? Is it steel?
Rob Dayton
Charlotte, NC
USA
Wave of the future)
> >I keep reading and hearing the bikes referred to as touring or
> >randonneuring bikes and I don't think this is correct. As I
> stated
> >above these started as racing bikes at the core.
>
> I think you raise an interesting and often overlooked point here,
> but
> I'd replace RACING with PERFORMANCE. Indeed, the goal of the
> constructeurs was the optimum in performance. That meant the
> optimum
> in speed, the optimum in reliability, and associated, the optimum
> in
> comfort. It meant challenging preconceptions, such as how light a
> bike could be (1940s randonneur bikes usually were a lot lighter
> than
> the bikes the pros used), what made a good front-end geometry, and
> even how a bike looked ("funny" frames in the British vein and
> even
> recumbents were tried in the 1930s in search of more performance).
> Unbound by rules and convention, the constructeurs searched for
> the
> ultimate tool. The elegance usually came from "What is right
> usually
> looks right," similar to many classic racing cars.
>
> Unfortunately, in recent decades, "touring" bikes often have been
> cheaper, uglier, slower and less fun adaptations of racing bikes.
> The
> constructeur idea is that these caveats do not need to apply.
> Certainly, the Peter Weigle Randonneur I have been testing for the
> next issue of Vintage Bicycle Quarterly can keep up with any
> racing
> bike, both uphill and downhill.
>
> This is not to diminish the history, coolness and fun of
> collecting
> and/or riding historic racing bikes. They are great and I love
> mine
> dearly.
> --
> Jan Heine, Seattle
> Editor/Publisher
> Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
> c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles
> 140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C
> Seattle WA 98122
> http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com