Most persons don't know, or care about what a Dusenberg is. Most persons don't know or care about what a Hans Wegner Danish Modern Ox chair and ottoman are. Most persons don't know or care about anything exceptional. Most persons just have the resources to get intensely interested in one or two exceptional things and so it is not surprising at all that even in the best times "most persons," even most bicyclists, are not interested in classic steel lightweights. Contemporary hitech bicycles are so good in so many ways (including rock bottom cost to produce in mass quantities) that classic steel's virtues are simply not decisive in holding "most person's" interests and devotion. Most persons can't even feel the difference between a steel ride and an aluminum, or ti, or composite, ride; much less prefer it. And even if they can feel it, they are brain washed by advertising and PR and peer pressure to prefer being brutalized by the ride and geometry of these new bikes. Until Alberto Contador swaps his latest Trek for a Richard Sachs steelie and wins the TDF, "most persons" aren't going to switch to steel, or even remember them. Classic steel lightweight ride is like all subtle things, it takes awhile to acquire a taste for it, but when one gets it, there's no substitute. Never fear, there will always be a few of us who love these bikes. Prices are apt to fall drastically for them as mandated "demand destruction" continues to purge the American economy and ready it and our government for subordination into the North American Union via the interim Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. Many people are selling off stocks and real estate and every other kind of asset in anticipation of this wring out. Classic steel bikes are just part of the same cashing out phenomenon that is occurring across the economy right now. All maturing generations have a history of getting out while the getting is good, regardless of the wider consequences for society. Boomers are no different. The good news is that the days of the $5,000-$6,000 Rene Herse will probably soon be behind us. The bad news, is that however much the prices fall, so too will discretionary incomes and IRAs, and so only the very fortunate few of us with huge amounts of coupon driven income will be able to afford the $2000-$3000 Rene Herse. :-( But that's life until leadership and popular opinion arrives that favors broader wealth and income distributions.
Don Wilson
Los Olivos, CA USA
>
> Marcus,
>
> Nice report you gave there. It's good to hear you
> continue to keep your passions for the classic
> bicycles alive and going during a time when
> boat-loads
> of folks appear to be jumping on the bandwagon to
> sell off all of their bikes, parts, and memorabilia
> because "others are doing it."
>
> I did some thinking over a plate of authentic
> Italian
> ravioli at one of the local restaurants lately
> regarding the race to sell everything in a hurry. I
> have deduced that the reason many folks may be
> selling
> all of their vintage bicycles and related parts is
> that 1.) they need money for a plot and/or pay for
> funeral arrangements, or 2.) they feel that with the
> last Cirque held in Greensboro (just recently) their
> "hobby" or "passion" has truly come to an end. This
> is not so. This has nothing to do with Dale and his
> crew (who work tirelessly to put on these great
> events,) but everything to do with fear and a sense
> that "it's over." Dale cannot put on Cirques
> forever;
> he has a family and a shop to run. So pass the
> torch
> and keep the ball (more Cirques) rolling I say.
>
> Keep riding that Richard Sachs and don't let any
> fool
> talk you into buying one of "today's" bicycles.
>
> Ted Baer
> Palo Alto, CA
>
>
>
>
> --- marcus.e.helman@gm.com wrote:
>
> > This past weekend I rode a in three-day, 300 mile
> > charity ride to raise
> > money for the Make A Wish foundation. Thanks to
> > Nick Z for the generous
> > support.
> >
> > There were 700 riders. As far as I could tell, my
> > '77 Richard Sachs was
> > the oldest bike there. I saw no more than a
> handful
> > of steel bikes,
> > almost none with fork crowns. There was an early
> > 80's Colnago, and a mid
> > to late 80's Diamant. Even those people who
> looked
> > twice at my bike, and
> > recognized a fine steel frame, were not familiar
> > with Richard Sachs.
> > "Isn't he the guy who invented the Sachs
> > derailleurs?"
> >
> > I did not see anyone else with a spare tubular
> tire
> > attached to the
> > underside of their saddle. For the record, I had
> > one there, and another
> > in my jersey pocket. I was tempted to wear the
> > extra in a figure 8 over
> > my shoulders, but that seemed too ostentatious. I
> > have generally been
> > lucky with sew-ups, and got no flats.
> >
> > I rode with people who were generally faster than
> > me, staying in the pack,
> > taking a turn up front, and hoping not to embarass
> > myself. Everyone was
> > nice, so I couldn't have been too slow. At one
> > point as I shifted, I said
> > alound that I thought I could use one more gear.
> > The guy next to me asked
> > whether I had 8 or 9 back there. He was deeply
> > surprised when I answered
> > 5. The first day was hilly, and there were
> > headwinds the second day, but
> > the Sachs was a terrific ride, and my Brooks Pro
> was
> > extremely
> > comfortable. The Campy hubs rolled as well as
> > anything out there.
> > Although the recommended equipment list suggested
> > low gears, and possibly
> > a triple, I did it with the traditional 42/52 and
> > 14-24. And toeclips and
> > sneakers.
> >
> > I did get a few "wow you did really well for
> someone
> > with such an old
> > bike" remarks. And "think how much faster you'd
> be
> > on a new bike." The
> > other thing I heard was, "gee, your bike is really
> > quiet."
> >
> > It was striking how far out of the mainstream we
> > have become with our old
> > bikes. I wondered too, how much easier it would
> > have been on a bike that
> > was 5 pound lighter. Still, I wouldn't trade any
> of
> > my old bikes, with
> > their elegance and beauty for a newer one.
> >
> >
> > Almost recovered,
> > Marcus Helman
> > Huntington Woods, MI
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> >
>
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> >
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>
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