[CR]KOF Builders

(Example: Production Builders:Teledyne)

Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:57:19 +0000 (GMT)
From: <gholl@optonline.net>
To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR]KOF Builders

I was impressed, as were many, by the number, diversity, and talent of KOF builders at the recent Cirque. Some KOF builders are new at the trade, while others finally have derived from longevity the notoriety that was denied them when all builders used steel and lugs. Yet others now hope to carry forward the style and name of makers long deceased. For a market to exist a demand must exist. Obviously, clients for steel bikes of various types are on the increase. Since, at the current time, steel bikes are only used for professional racing in Japan, these KOF bikes are being used for other purposes. Among these are the simple enjoyment of being able to have a bike built to one's exact specifications, fit, and finish-not always possible when buying a bike built for someone else years ago. Furthermore, the latest in bike technology can also be mixed with older, more traditional features. Some of these bikes can be used to tour, or, simply admire. In some cases, the KOF builders have evolved older techniques to a degree beyond that of their predecessors: lugs of almost baroque complexity, color schemes that shock even the most avant- guarde, etc. In any event, as the acronym implies, they carry the flame forward, although perhaps in a fashion no one had conceived. George

George Hollenberg MD
CT, USA