I respond to George R. "Syke" Paczolt's note:
There is a place in the hobby for bikes that were not ever high-zoot, and never will be. Sometimes they are pure nostalgia, like my '65 Sears Ted Williams Sport Racing with seamed tubing and Campy Record derailleurs, etc. Exactly like my first "10-speed."
Others are precursors of important trends, or just good designs with quirks, like the earliest butted-tube Japanese bikes with Suntour parts that really worked, shaking the foundations of the industry. The Schwinn "Sport Touring" also comes to mind. My own example of this is an Austro-Daimler "Vent Noir" with early (black) Dura-Ace on a nice 531 DB touring frame with very peculiar more-or-less flat industrial black finish.
Several of us call these "funk," and proudly show and ride them, battle scars and all. It ain't my taste, but I really admire the chap who did a perfectly beautiful job of restoring a candy-apple red Schwinn Varsity.
Anyone got a mint Huffy "AeroWorld" or whatever it was called? :-) the one with plastic-covered delta brakes and squashed downtube?
Harvey "funkmeister" Sachs mcLean va +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Don't feel put down - there are a few of us amongst this list who would rather own a couple of cheaper bikes in the garage than one Masi. Classic 531 tubed works of art don't get me down the road any better. While I still prefer cheap European to cheap Japanese (it's where I started), my personal tastes run to what I'm currently riding: Straight tube steel (gas pipe rules!), cheap Campanolo (Gran Sport preferred), a cottered crank and sew-up wheels (ok, there I get a bit classy and use Campy Record - easier to find than Normandies).
Don't knock Sun Tour. While it never was anything to preen and be self-important about, it was still good enough to be the first nail in the coffin of all those European manufacturers. And there a growing collection of said branded bits in the shop awaiting a likely frame.
Now, if you can find me a duplicate of that fine machine you've photographed in a 56 or maybe 57cm frame, I could get REAL interested. That's the kind of stuff I'm hoping to find at Waldorf next weekend - something to use on TOSRV this May. Otherwise, the Gran Sport's restoration is on hold for a season while I add fenders and a carrier - maybe even doing the ride on the original steel rims, just for the grins.
Anybody with a couple of bucks can (and will) save a top of the line bicycle. It takes dedication to put the time in to save those bikes that had everybody riding back in the 70's. Just as much work, and you don't get the four figure sale of eBay afterwards, so you have to do it for love.
Montpelier, VA
classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org wrote: Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 12:04:58 -0800 (PST) From: Steve Demchak To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Did Zebrakenko become Zebra? Message: 2
Howdy, I bought a Zebra Comet frame, which is made in Japan by the Zebra Bicycle Co., LTD. with "Chrome Molybdenum Double Butted Tubing". I poked around the hinternet and found some speculation that Zebrakenko become Zebra. Does anyone know if this is true? Does anyone know anything about the Zebra Comet? The frame had Suntour ARX derailleurs and Dia-Compe brakes, so am I sure that this forum considers it junk. Here is a picture of the bike:
http://home.comcast.net/
Any in Seattle have any interest in such a bike? Thanks,
Steve Demchak
Windy and Spritzy Seattle, WA