[CR]NAHBS gripes

(Example: Framebuilding:Tubing)

Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:41:49 -0600
From: Tom Hayes <hayesbikes@gmail.com>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]NAHBS gripes

A show which displays the multiple skills of a varied group of tradesmen, craftsmen, artisians--however one views them or they view themselves or what one wants to call them--seems to me to be a good thing. Afterall, not all that long ago, the individual frame builder hardly had an audience or customers. They existed and had a following, but their numbers were limited and their followers were few, especially compared to today.

It hardly matters whether an individual bike appeals to me; more important, I think, is the increase in things bicycles, and especially that there is an increase in the number of persons dedicated to making individual and unique bicycles.

I maintain that all bicycles are good, only that some are better than others. (I used to say that about pizza, until encountering one at a Pizza Hut in Illinois that tasted like Campbell's tomato soup with baloney on it; and it was cold.) That thought about bicycles struck me while walking around the Westminister swap on Sunday (perhaps a report to follow), and I certainly noticed an increase in vendors and attendees as I did at the Madison Swap. Much at either didn't particularly appeal to me, but, if swaps are a barometer of interest in bicycles, I would say it's on the rise, and that's good for those individuals making the frames we all appreciate.

Cheers.

Tom Hayes
Chagrin Falls, Ohio USA