Okay, perhaps I can be more clear on the basic issues I hoped to raise.
First of all, I'm not saying: "old bike good, new bike bad" Also, I do in fact have several bikes with shorter wheel bases, and steeper head and seat tube angles... which is to say they're more "racing" bike in their geometry.
I also did not mean to say that a hand built KOF bike, for example, always "should" have have either more antiquated, or touring or randonneur geometries in order to be considered really swell bikes in my eyes.
I too would agree with Dale that it is certainly not absolutely necessary to have a virtual Easy Rider bicycle with a stretched front end which could allow fender clearance vast enough to even accomodate arctic expeditionary boots. I personally can make do quite comfortably with some overlap as well... and I can easily accept only occasionally becoming stymied (at an abrupt stop and start situation, for example), when on a bike with some shoe or toeclip overlap.
I'm still genuinely curious if there is in fact a real prejudice these days (perhaps subconscious) against relaxed geometries and in favor of something leaning in the direction of what I guess I might call a "criterium" bike, before it would be commonly considered a "Well Handling" bike.
It occurred to me that many KOF builders today, had begun perfecting their art during the waning of the 1970s. By that time so many of the more popular, and admittedly better built bikes, such as Colnago, Masi, Confenti, and basically any of the top-end flagship bikes of any of the the big manufacturers, were ALL truly designed as Racing bikes. ~ So, could this not have had a significant influence on what was perceived as a superior overall design for a bike?
And, no offense intended here to any of the fine modern builders who we all so greatly admire, and who I also happen to think do far better work in general than most of the Pantheon of noted earlier builders.
What I definitely have noticed is that I've seen little to indicate that anyone (in the US, at least) had ever even attempted to follow in the traditions of the French constructeurs, for example. Masi as a style model?... Definitely. But Herse?... Well, not that I know of. And, If I'm wrong here about American builders please excuse my ignorance.
I should modify that last comment by saying: I have not seen this UNTIL rather recently - because I have now seen Velo-Orange's move in that direction, as well as examples of at least one gorgeous Randonneur by Peter Weigle, some bikes by Peter White and also for that matter, Rivendell's plunge toward the realm of 650B cycles... and likely others as well. But, again, that is today.
I think that what had surprised naive little me today was that a bike built with a certain expressed criteria in mind by the purchaser, had been built something frustratingly counter to those wishes.
I think what I was picking up from that older gent today was his frustration that, although he knew he was not at Burger King, he still wanted to have things HIS way - regardless of cost... yet, he was blocked from this by an attitude that his way wouldn't be any good; and that he really should have a faster or better handling/steering bike than he really wanted or needed.
He did mention that his previous bike was considerably heavier. However, it was also a Singer, purchased new in the mid 1960s. He gave it to his son around 1990 - who now still happily rides it somewhere on the West Coast. Maybe this colored the degree of his frustration... and also my own sympathy and empathy.
Bob Hanson, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA