Interesting questions indeed. I suppose that it will be the rare person who admits to being wholly influenced by others, but to some degree, I suspect we all are influenced. In my case, a great deal of the influence came during my formative years - hanging about my uncle's shop during the bike boom and seeing all the beautiful (swallow your drink now and put down any sharp objects you might be holding) Raleighs out on the floor. Every so often he'd get in a few Frejus', but they didn't stick around long. Indeed, four of the nine bicycles I plan to keep are Raleighs, and at some point I wouldn't mind obtaining a Frejus - should the right combination of circumstances ever place one in front of my nose - so I have been influenced by what I saw as a teen-aged boy who always rode bicycles and never drove automobiles.
I grew up thinking my 1977 Raleigh Super Course was the cat's meow, and as I rode nothing better from the time I got it, until when it was stolen - and then fast forward another 20 years until I came back to cycling, I knew of nothing better (first hand) until about four years ago. When I did start back with cycling, that was my "holy grail", but I was soon bitten by the bug, and have since acquired several more bicycles, and have also passed a couple on. Anyone on the list who has seen by small stable will know that I have nothing that's going to be on most folks' top 5 list, or possibly even top 10 list. That said, I am quite content with the modest collection of riders that I have.
I wouldn't turn a Masi, or Cinelli, or Herse, or Singer down if one came my way under inexplicable circumstances, (I could pass up a Hetchins ;)) but acquiring them is not a goal of mine. Perhaps it's because I'm cheap, or perhaps it's because I took to heart a scolding I got from e-Richie a couple years back on April Fool's day, but I refuse to let myself get overwhelmed by the "gotta have it" attitude that one can slip into if one is not careful. Bicycles are fun, and for me the greatest enjoyment comes from the riding, and the act of taking something that wasn't right and making it whole. I definitely appreciate the beautiful bicycles that others have, but I'm content to appreciate them vicariously.
I guess this is a long way of saying, "yes. I am influenced a little, but in the end, I feel I am the master of my decisions".
Cheers,
John Barry
Mechanicsburg, PA, USA
> From: Nick March <nicbordeaux@yahoo.fr>
> Subject: [CR]Food for thought: peer pressure and value
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Date: Thursday, July 24, 2008, 5:29 PM
> Not in the mood for fun at the moment, so a serious subject:
> to what extent
> does peer pressure (as in I will buy this bike because it
> is CR ontopic an
> d everybody else wants one) influence one's collection,
> rather than what on
> e actually loves in a bike or in the way of bikes ? I can
> only give my sill
> y peronal opinion: 80% of us are buying what the experts or
> people we perci
> eve as knowledgeable are talking about in glamorous or
> admiring terms. A pi
> ty, I think many will regret this in a few years. Because
> although there is
> a love of bicycles in almost all bike collections, there
> is money involved
> , and expensive is generally deemed better. As in "if
> it's dirt cheap and n
> obody mentions it on CR, it can't be good and/or
> collectable. The problem i
> s that concentrated demand and limited supply lead to price
> bubbles, and as
> most of us will have discovered through traumatic infancy
> experiences blow
> ing soap bubbles, it is the fate of most bubbles to burst,
> and the
> biggest bubbles are the most fragile.
>
> My second point also pertains to monetary value. What is a
> bike worth ? Nor
> mal answer is "whatever a buyer is prepared to pay for
> it". On a consistent
> basis, in the demand outstripping supply situation
> mentioned above. Howeve
> r, if a load of bikes start hitting the market, how much is
> your bike worth
> ?
>
> Is there a moral to this ? Who knows ? Maybe this:
> don't put all your eggs
> in the same basket, and most definitely, don't count
> your chickens before t
> hey're hatched.
>
> These thoughts occuring to me owing to a few factors,
> amongst which finding
> myself thinking, when offered a beautiful bike for a
> pittance "I don't nee
> d that, nobody is going to like it". Common sense
> prevailed and I bought it
> .
>
> The last issue is that of bikes meaning money, and money
> meaning that the e
> nd justifies the means. I have witnessed on the local scene
> some pretty uns
> avoury events recently, a lot of hatred involved. Collector
> infighting and
> shopping people... Rather spoils the fun of collecting. But
> then, that's hu
> man nature, the meanest monkey get's all the bananas.
>
> Nick March
> Agen, 47000 Lot et Garonne, France
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