Robert Broderick wrote:
> (cut) However, there are most certainly private individuals, both
> here stateside and abroad, who have NOS collections of those most
> desirable vintage components quietly tucked away for future
> consideration. And while their numbers may not be particularly
> plentiful, every once in a while one of these fine folks (...or
> sometimes their heirs) will set loose upon the vast global trading
> place that is eBay, or in private one-on-one exchange with fellow
> collector / enthusiasts, those very bits and pieces that most of us
> here on this list seem to so covet.
No argument there Robert as I'm one of those guys. When I bought my team bikes new back in the day I also bought spares of what I thought would wear out or get damaged in a crash and would be hard to replace. As an example the two Team Peugeots I got in the late 70s and later in the early 80s had parts that were rare when new. So those spare parts I bought are still NOS and will be sold off at some point. But guys like me selling off the spare parts for their bikes amounts to a trickle and sometimes when they died their heirs dump the stuff in the trash.
Chuck Schmidt
South Pasadena, Southern California
United States of America
http://www.velo-retro.com (reprints, t-shirts & timelines)