[CR]jersey et. al.

(Example: Events:Cirque du Cyclisme:2004)

Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2007 02:01:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Hon Lee" <lejosun@sbcglobal.net>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]jersey et. al.

No sooner had Dale announced hand packing and shipping of the CR jerseys, when mine arrived same day. In praise of this garment and the glimpse I quickly gave to my local crackheads, I will say that the jersey is comfy even for a Stockton mad hatter, and so artfully understated. The colors, a gentle blue on blue with a near maroon CR script, smack of a kind of elderly cool, fitting for a soul in his mid-60's. It's no accident that this CR jersey is understated and functional. Dale's original calling in fine arts reminds me of Saul Marantz whose training in fine arts resulted in offerings of the grandest nature in the way of tube audio amplification in the '50's and '60's, items with huge, often Japanese, collectors' interest and understated in its ochre-grey presentation. Similarly, after stumbling across CR in my efforts to move my closet of old, NIB, bike parts to eBay, I find the discussion of high flange wheels so familiar, as I am one who, like Rip van Winkle, missed the evolution of cycling hardware from 1973 to the present. When I was wrenching in the period 1969 - 1973, high flange, 2 and 3 cross wheels were de rigeur for road racing with all the urban myths by way of hindsight to justify this preference. Reputed superiority in cornering and a perceived superiority in stability and control derived from greater rigidity afforded by high flange hubs meant that serious racing bikes could be recognized by this affectation. Low flange, 4 cross wheels, were similarly designated as touring specialties, citing accepted notions of long range ride qualities and increased load capacity. My store-bought Cinelli bi-valents, sold to me by Sugden and Lynch, were such low flange 4 cross wheels, which I, in turn, aped for myself and those looking for touring wheels, when I built them. Current discussions regarding spoke angles and stresses across the hub are enlightening and quite simply credible, though in the day large flange wheels were built with rigidity and a perceived increase in responsiveness in mind. I and my fellows here in northern California went so far as to build these wheels with 2X and 3X combinations tied and soldered. I have to say that as far as looks were concerned the Phil Wood high flange lacked the sheer buzz of the cutouts in the Campagnolo offerings, so I suspect our own fascination with pseudo engineering superseded aesthetic consideration.

Hon Lee
    Stockton, where we lead the nation in financial distress and should return to cycling, California
    Etats Unis