The conversation between Jerry Moos and Mike Kone relates to something I' ve been meaning to write about since Cirque, where there was so much beau tiful stuff. I'll call my approach the pleasure of being a "B" collector. In part because I started 30 years ago, I have a few nice bikes and som e really neat parts (ASC hub, DuPrat cranks,...). But, my heirs will pro bably be disappointed in the worth of my "collection," because almost not hing is NOS or perfectly restored.
I really respect John Barron and others who collect the NOS and the perfe ct. But my head is someplace else: I have used stuff. And most of it I use. And almost nothing has "provenance," or history of who owned it bef ore.
The gem of my collection is surely a '38 Paramount. After owning it since ~73 (bought indirectly from a filling station in Oregon), and riding it for 30 years in rattlecan black over rattlecan green) I had the frame res tored a couple of years ago, and put on the parts that are most appropria te. But, I didn't sweat all the details. Drive train is all Paramount, b ut the cranks are from a '53, and there might have been changes from the '38. The Brooks saddle I use doesn't have the right logo - and I've been resisting spending $200 to have the right one recovered. I have a "major Taylor" stem, but it's not Schwinn, and I just wasn't willing to spend ~ $200 for the right one. The wood rims are certainly post-war, even thoug h the Torrington 15/17 spokes are right. When I ride it, it certainly fe els right. but riding it many times/year has led to some paint chips. Cl early a "B" bike, but one I can in good conscience ride and let others ri de.
My '73 Cinelli SC is fantastic to ride, but would clearly win the prize f or "most abused original paint" with the silver that someone slapped on t o cover scrapes.
The '65 Paramount looks lovely in the thin silver Schwinn used to use. Bu t, that silver hides the fact that this Paramount was originally sold and raced as a chrome bike, and gained its silver when the cracked top tube was replaced under warranty two decades later. Shall we say that the chr ome pattern is not like it was on factory bikes? Still, the essence of P aramount is there, the parts are pretty near right (except for lacking We inmann/Weltmeister wood rims). Nice ride!
I have a dozen or so derailleurs in boxes, but the only NOS one is a Camp y one-pulley Sport, a triumph of theory over experiment which I bought fo r $5. All the rest have beaucoup patina, scrapes, and rust, but work just as well as NOS for showing differences and trends (Being contrarian, I p articularly enjoy a progression of Huret fronts). Shall we say that it is different from the beautiful white-gloves collections? Not better, but a better fit to my personality.
I admire other approaches, but right now I won't have anything I won't ri de or put on a rider. But, Mike Kone said it better: "But Jerry is right in that if you can accept "close but not exact", you can go for the less sought after items and save a fortune. In almost all cases the riding experience will be just the same. There is so much won derful stuff out there that is not super valuable that the budget oriente d enthusiast can have a field day."
harvey sachs mcLean va ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mike Kone wrote:
Not sure I agree with a few things in this post - but I understand where Jerry is coming from. First, the early Campy parts are facinating becaus e many of the early variations reflect significant hand labor. Unlike a coin or a stamp, the items are the result of craftspeople making somethin g of both exceptional function and beauty. If one is to look at the firs t generation Campy calipers, there are differences from the later ones th at reflect a more time-intensive manufacturing process. The early ones h ave barel adjusters that are more highly polished for example and this si mply requires more time. And early parts often show the efforts to perfe ct the design - for either function or ease of manufacture. So there is a lot of history in these early bits.
And to say that Campy is more subject to collector fanatasism than French components is not true in my mind. The highest prices I've ever seen fo r an early deraillieur are for early Simplex Juy Record variations. Cert ain varieties of chainrings for Stronglight 49D cranks can be worth a for tune. And what about the subtle variations that can make one alloy rail Ideale saddle worth a mint and the other sell for a song?
But Jerry is right in that if you can accept "close but not exact", you c an go for the less sought after items and save a fortune. In almost all cases the riding experience will be just the same. There is so much wond erful stuff out there that is not super valuable that the budget oriented enthusiast can have a field day.
Mike Kone in Boulder CO