Oh c'mon guys, I'd never buy a Wartburg car made in eastern germany either, but I wouldn't go out of my way to (subtly?) offend Wartburg enthusiasts, let alone East Germans. (note, the intentional flip-flop of "regard by the masses")
My own Calimasi has a degree of finish that is very understated while being dramatically clean, MC61 01 in particular is a gorgeous rider as well as a looker as well as having more than its share of mistique/provenance. My appreciation is spot-on with the (forgotten?) CR mantra of "celebrating" the work that goes into producing, and the resultant workmanship of all our "classic" steel bikes.
http://www.wooljersey.com/
Can others out-ride fat ole me on their PX-10's? Will most folks just walk past my bike at "a show" to go oogle something made east of the Rockies (or 50 years ago in the North of France?) Most certainly!
Don't get me wrong, I have other bikes, from the continent and the Isles as well as the New World, and while I grew up in California I am nowhere near so "ethnocentric" as to think I could only own a Saso or Cary or Baylis or Masi from Carlsbad. Heck when I started riding I had heard of none of these guys! Still, I like bikes, and sometimes wanna ask: don't we all?
But my Masi is MY Masi, almost 30 years after that Stoler feel-good movie I lucked into being its conservator, and its rewarded me with joy while riding, and a twinkle in my eye when I happen to just look at it. Others feel the same way about them, and while I am sure there are other others who don't, I don't understand the need to so regularly (and predictably) crow about the "diss-like". Oh well.
Dale Phelps Montagna lunga Colorado
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