In a message dated 2/26/2006 2:16:44 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org writes:
Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2006 20:06:07 -0800 From: Chuck Schmidt <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]Hetchins on eBay
Steve Maas wrote:
>
> I've spent the whole day trying to figure out how to answer this without
> getting myself into a lot of trouble. I know, I'm getting perilously
> close to national stereotyping, which is decidedly un-PC. Unfortunately,
> I do believe that there is such a thing as national personality, which
> is why I do so well with Scandinavians, whose national personality is
> much like mine, and not so well with...well, others. In any case,
> trouble is nothing new for me, for sure, but as I descend into old
> farthood, I do try to mellow out and behave myself. Doesn't always
> work, but I try.
>
> Let's just say this: I don't see anything in my Colnagos, for example,
> that tells me a thing about the charming, easygoing dysfunctionality
> that was Italian society in the 60s and 70s, extending into today. (The
> same dysfunctionality, I might add, that has given Alitalia and Malpensa
> airport a 100% success rate at losing my luggage on flights into Milan.)
> They're nice bikes, of course. But they don't tell me anything about the
> times and people that produced them. British bikes do. French do too,
> although maybe not quite so profoundly.
>
> Do they for you? I'd like to hear how. In fact, I'd like to hear any
> comments on the history and culture of a people, and how it is reflected
> in the bicycles they built. That would be a welcome relief from the
> tiresome stuff about racing, TDF, Paris-Brest-etc., and technobabble
> about frame stiffness.
>
> Uh-oh. I think I got myself into trouble again. Dang! Gotta stop doing
> that.
>
> Or, maybe not....
>
> Steve Maas
> Long Beach, California, US of A
I'm a designer (taught at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena for 10 years). Italians are known worldwide for being unsurpassed as designers and this is what I see in their frames and parts. Unsurpassed industrial design. Giants! That's their history and culture and it's clearly reflected in their bicycles (to me at least). They provided the source of inspiration for most of the US frame builders in the early 1970s I'd add.
Italian passion...
Maybe someone else could explain it better?
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California
Art Link adds:
> "National character" as a valid concept has been debunked long ago. You
should rise above this twaddle.
OK, I know these kinds of generalizations are dangerous, and many no longer apply now that builders from different countries have more access to each other's work. But with apologies to Art, there was indeed a time when national flavors did exist, all one has to do to find evidence of this is to look at any art history text. That these stylistic differences in art should spill over into industrial design would be an obvious assumption and is in fact well-documented.
Industrial design has traditionally been about function. How to design a part to do the job in the most practical way and at the same time allow for cheap and efficient fabrication so as to keep costs down. Making the object pleasing to the eye (with conscious forethought on the part of the designer) was usually low on the list, at least after the mid 20th century. Years before, it was common to design a part look nice, even if it meant more time or more materials. For example, compare these two hand wheels... there's really not much practical purpose behind the curved spokes of the first example, but it is perhaps more visually appealing because of them (at least compared to the second example):
http://demo.physics.uiuc.edu/
_http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/0f/2d/259a260fdc2e385879fbeab26c52e0851-r esized200.jpg_ (http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/0f/2d/259a260fdc2e385879fbeab26c52e0851-resized200.jpg)
When this sort of visual enhancement for its own sake results in a bike with fancy lugs that are heavier (or far more time consuming produce) than is necessary to serve the simple function of holding the tubes together, I tend to think of the British bikes first and foremost. Other countries often seemed (to varying degrees) to be more content to produce an object that fulfilled its function with less concern for its visual impact, other than the clean and neat appearance dictated by careful construction. Of course decorative lugs and fancy lining and striping did appear regularly outside Great Britain, but few would argue that they were as elaborate or as great in number.
With Italian lightweight bike design, one might find that visual appearance was somewhat more of a concern than elsewhere, but not to the extent that it was dominant or self-conscious. Italian bicycle frames and components shared many design qualities with their high-end automobiles... designed to look as pleasing to the eye as possible, with perhaps more attention to both overall appearance and finessed details, but only so far as it did not hamper or complicate the object's functionality to an undue degree. In other words, the design embodied a graceful sparseness. Rather than add "curlies" to a lug, they would be more likely to cut windows in it, thus adding a bit decoration while subtracting weight instead of adding it.
Perhaps one could say that the Italians did for auto and bike design what the Scandinavians and Shakers did for furniture... they pared things down to their essentials, while seeing to it that the object remained visually striking and elegant. An object that functions to the highest level but is also a joy to look at is an irresistible combination, and this may explain why Italian lightweights served as models for so many independent builders in this country, regardless of where they may have learned their trades.
Disclaimer: All this is not to say that there were no bikes from other countries that embodied the qualities I have attributed to Italian lightweights in the above, or that there were no Italian builders who employed elaborate decorative details... nor should the above be considered an endorsement or recommendation of Italian construction methods nor a condemnation of the chosen construction methods of any other builder.
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA