Hi all/Tom, IMO, comparing Confente value to Baylis or others - very simple: Both are/were master framebuilders and artists. Mr Baylis is alive and well, and we hope will stay that way for a long, long time. Mr Confente, is deceased, tragically taken at the prime of his career. That's a major factor in why mystique and value diverge. -Dan Borden, Brookline, MA
At 9:25 AM -0400 9/22/07, Tom Sanders wrote:
>I love that bike! If I could afford it, I'd be on the phone right now to
>enquire as to price. Now I am not quite so sure just why they are so much
>in demand. Other wonderful bikes sell for considerably less. Rarity does
>not really explain it, either. There were 135 Confentes built.there were 75
>Wizards. The ride on my Wizard is superb.the workmanship is at least the
>equal, as far as I can tell. I have had the chance to see some wonderful
>Confentes in the flesh and I doubt that I have judged them too harshly.
>They are wonderful. But so are lots of other bikes.
>
>There are something like fads that sweep the Art World. 75 years ago many
>of us might have been able to afford a Van Gogh, 25 years ago there are some
>20th artists that we might have afforded but now reach 7 figures at auction.
>More rarely someone who was hot in art or music cools down, too.
>
>My hunch is that something like this fad thing is at work on Confentes.
>This is in no way a knock on them.I love them and would love to own one.
>Whether they are really worth 5 times as much as, say, a top level Wizard or
>Rotrax is another matter.I do believe they will hold their value, however.
>Does this mean other top level bikes are under valued? I suspect so.
>
>Tom Sanders
>
>Lansing, Mi USA