No comment from me about politics. However, I saw a brief description of a new book, THE CRAFTSMAN by Richard Sennet. It said, " As Richard Sennet makes clear in this lucid and compelling book, craftsmanship once connected people to their work by conferring pride and meaning. The loss of craftsmanship-and of a society that values it-has impoverished is in ways w e have long forgotten but Sennett helps us understand."
It's the said "craftmanship" that attracts me to vintage bikes...
Angel Garcia Verona VR Veneto Italy
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Nick March <nicbordeaux@yahoo.fr> Date: Thu, May 1, 2008 at 12:51 PM Subject: [CR]Vintage bike collecting is a political statement. ? To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Seems to me that only wanting lugged, which is labour intensive, and European or American bikes, is a denial of progress. Kind of alterglobalization thing. Bit hippy in a way.
Cut of point at 84 and calling something like a non-lugged but good aero-tech 1980 glued Vitus 979 "KOF" or "off-topic" could be called snobbery, but more likely "nostalgic" and anti-progress. Right, there is a load of hyped carbon junk around nowadays which is non labour intensive, dirt cheap to produce and made in China or some other place. But the real issue appears to be "better back in the old days".
Old days meaning when we could produce stuff locally and the workforce was employed in manufacturing. So as a great fan of antiglobalization, I'm really proud to belong to this vintage bike community, and hope to see many list members on their bikes at forthcoming antiglobalization demonstrations . In a way, this makes Vintage bike collectors left wing, whether they admit to it or not. Maybe back in the old days we'd all have been branded "commies".
OK, this isn't the only reason we collect, but it is a issue.
Nick March, Agen 47000, Lot et Garonne, France (owner of a pre-84 Vitus 979 glue-up)
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? En finir avec le spam? Yahoo! Mail vous offre la meilleure protection possible contre les messages non sollicités http://mail.yahoo.fr Yahoo! Mail