> Hello Peter,
> Why because you could be astride a lethal rust bucket
> that's why. You love talking about death pedals, death
> forks and death stems which lets face it just stupid
> hysteria! But the most important thing the main safety
> issue the frame, what all the components are hanging
> off could have been built at least 50 years ago from
> tubing which might even be pre war.
Hey Mitch don't accuse me of talking about "death components". I'm the one here who said this was "stupid hysteria" long ago. But now we have "death frames" too? Yikes. It's enough to send us all to the bike shop to buy a Litespeed. Riding and collecting this stuff is that dangerous? I think not.
And like you I do indeed RIDE what I collect. And am pretty confident I can ride my '48 RRA as hard and as safely as I can any 2006 built KOF. 'Cause I do. Even with the right colour mudguards. Matter of fact the last time I had a good look at a KOF was riding alongside a lovely Peter Weigle on my '80 Raleigh Team Pro. And I lived to tell the tale.
So is there a market for this stuff? Doubtless. Is it valid. Sure. But "better" than the "real" thing? That's down to preference. But let's be honest: if you rely on 1970s derailleurs and chainsets, brakes or rims, you can't tell me the weak link is the 1970s frame!
Peter Kohler
Washington DC USA