John Betmanis wrote in amazement of the ignorance of an eBay seller who described a bike as being made of "hand braze welded aluminum". Ted Ernst replied that he was not surprised because "USA, a car and can country, has bred an insular knowledge base by and large." This seems a bit of a reach, to pass summary judgment on American culture because of the disjointed statements of someone on eBay. Knowledge puffs a person up. The real insular knowledge base is right here among bicycle aficionados (I won't say "geeks"). I agree, the case in point is a striking example of ignorance, but let's face it: just because others don't live and breathe bicycles doesn't make them mentally deficient, and in any event, I don't see how one can blame America that more people don't share our rather narrow field.
John Hurley, Austin, Texas, USA