On 7/3/08, Kurt Sperry <haxixe@gmail.com> wrote:
> Probably the most common and egregious desecration is adding braze-ons
> to a bike that would never have had them. Or repainting over decent
> original paint because of some chips and flaking decals or because one
> simply didn't like the color. Or "upgrading" the equipment and not
> keeping the original parts with the bike.
>
This is exactly what I did in 1977-8 as a teenager to the 1976 Gitane I mentioned above because I did not know any better. Had an opportunity to have it painted, and then while it's being painted why not do the braze-ons for shift levers and cable guides. Didn't do braze-ons for top tube cable guides though, luckily. As a teenager I just wanted it to be a little more like a Masi which is silly. Also, in 1978, a quality steel racing bike was still high tech and "modern" so keeping it modern seemed sensible. Oh well. At least it wasn't a 1960 Cinelli I did it to.
Perhaps we could add this rule to John's list:
4. Know what you have.
When you see a bike hacked up for a conversion you cringe when it's a Hollands or an Ephgrave or something precious but not famous outside of collector's group. The one doing the conversion might just has well have hacked a lugged KHS or lugged DiamondBack road bike and wouldn't see the difference.
Mitch Harris
Little Rock Canyon, Utah, USA