Ah, my somewhat tongue-in-cheek posting seems to have drawn the ire of our listmeister - my apologies. I should have made it clear that I do not necessarily agree with the comments (also, I believe, made with a certain tongue-in-cheek) made to me by the former CR lister.
Oh no! No ire from me! (this shows once again that email often doesn't convey what we intend) I understood & identified with your dilemma completely. I didn't mean that you were expressing "sour negativity" but that it was coming from "a recent comment" you had received.? Ha ha! Sorry about that!
Dale Brown Greensboro, North Carolina USA
-----Original Message----- From: Dr. Paul Williams <castell5@sympatico.ca> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 8:16 am Subject: Re: [CR]Rebuild/ restoration: Where do YOU draw the line?
Ah, my somewhat tongue-in-cheek posting seems to have drawn the ire of our listmeister - my apologies. I should have made it clear that I do not necessarily agree with the comments (also, I believe, made with a certain tongue-in-cheek) made to me by the former CR lister. I am getting tremendous enjoyment out of gathering the bits-and-bobs for this rebuild. I might get just as much enjoyment out of restoring a complete vintage bike though.? ?
I suppose I was also simply mulling over a recent query made by my mother (in her 70s) about what I intend to do with the bike when I finish the rebuild "what are you going to do with it," she said "sell it? "No," I replied, "I intend to ride it!" The latter response was met with silence and that disapproving look which suggested that there must be better places to spend my money.? ?
There is some truth, therefore, in the former listers comment when I consider that I would likely never be able to recoup what I have spent on this project if I were to turn around and sell the finished bike. But that was and is not my intent.? ?
There was some truth in my comments about bottles though - what is a solution to this problem? Go with a modern stainless or aluminum bottle in a period cage?? ?
Paul Williams,?
Ottawa, ON, Canada? ?
?
?
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>?
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 12:29 AM?
Subject: Re: [CR]Rebuild/ restoration: Where do YOU draw the line?? ?
>?
> My initial reaction to that sour negativity about restoring an old bike
> is... so if it's not restored, what happens to it? Another piece of
> history goes in the trash bin? I say, hoorah for the restorers and saviors
> of craft works from bygone eras...?
>?
> And as far as How Far To Go? You do the best you can, as faithfully as
> practicality permits. Bikes were constantly being repaired, upgraded,
> "modernized" and fiddled with, so almost anything can be legitimate. Let
> good taste be your guide!?
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?
> Dale Brown?
> Greensboro, North Carolina USA?
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?
> -----Original Message-----?
> From: Dr. Paul Williams <castell5@sympatico.ca>?
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org?
> Sent: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 10:21 pm?
> Subject: [CR]Rebuild/ restoration: Where do YOU draw the line??
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?
> As I continue my enjoyable but increasingly costly rebuild of a 49?
> Carpenter I have been struck by a dilemma which must face many who?
> pursue our hobby: how far does one take a restoration/ rebuild and where?
> does one draw the line??
>?
> A recent comment by a well-known former listmember, that essentially?
> only a wanker would buy an old frameset in need of painting and?
> rebuilding - when it is often more cost effective to buy a complete?
> bike, perhaps resonates with truth. When faced with laying out the?
> equivalent of another two-weeks of grocery money for a ratty old?
> handlebar mounted bottle cage with a set of bottles (or maybe not) which?
> are more than likely unusable - or at least, perhaps not overly healthy?
> - how far is it worth going??
>?
> How far is it worth going to ensure that parts are absolutely period?
> correct - to the year and, in the case of some parts, to the exact?
> month? And will they still be functional? After all isn't this a bike to?
> be ridden??
>?
> I do not have the bottles or the cage(s), but I do have the nicely?
> chromed headlamp and am currently looking for a suitable matching?
> bracket. Yet, I haven't a clue whether I can get the right batteries to?
> run the lamp! Is a fitted lamp which does not work little more than a?
> pretention? And how about the temptation to fit a period cyclometer, a?
> time-trial bell, and a stopwatch!! But, isn't that what would have been?
> fitted on these bikes at the time, I ask myself?! Will they come up on?
> ebay again? How scarce are such items becoming? Will they make the?
> finished product any better? Will their absence really affect that?
> finished product or, even more so, its ride??
>?
> Wanker maybe, but having a hell of a time on the hunt for those often?
> elusive parts which will bring this old machine back to life. My ebay?
> watch list is full and I may never get that Coloral bottle and cage but?
> it is fun to dream.?
>?
> Where do YOU draw the line??
>?
> Paul Williams?
> Ottawa, ON, Canada?
>?
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