When relating high-end "pro" lightweights to the Bike Boom in the USA, is it a valid assumption that a fair number (and considering the market/population, "fair" is pretty considerable) of guys who bought these
bikes didn't really use them?
I ask because eBay (USA) seems chockful recently of minty, original Raleig h Professionals, PX-10s, Cinelli SC's etc. etc. whereas eBay (Europe) ha s far fewer such machines and when they are offered, they seem full of patina (o r just plain beat to death) from hard use or updated with non-original components etc. Or is that eBay Europe isn't the way these bikes are bou ght and sold?? The last place I'd look for a primo French racing bike is e Bay France; you just don't seem them.
Judging from the debris field of the Bike Boom which constitutes the goodies we all covet, it appears that there were a lot of guys who decided
to "get the best", plopped down $240-350 for a top-notch road bike, rode i t until they got their first sew-up puncture and hung it in the garage. It
sure seems the case with a lot of Raleigh Pros and Internationals of late.
Peter Kohler Washington DC USA
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