Folks,
I appreciate the historical significance of the particular racing bikes used in actual races. There is something powerful in seeing the bike that was actually used in a particular Tour, especially if it was ridden by someone who won a race, set a record, or otherwise achieved distinction. And I like seeing that many of these bikes are not in the least "works of art," such as the Peugeots that won the Tour de France. It's reassuring and restores perspective to see that an aesthetically unremarkable bike (ugly lugs, sloppy paint, etc.), not the prettiest or "finest" artisan bike, is the race-winning machine, IMHO. It's also important for me to see the stained handle bar tape or paint chips that show the bike's historic "character."
Whether these bikes are worth the premiums charged for them at times is debatable, but I am of the opinion that truly historic bikes (such as the bikes on which major races, stages, or prizes were won) belong, by and large, in a museum where they are available to everyone as part of the public trust. Locking significant bikes away permanently in a private collection, away from public view, is something I find somewhat bothersome: collectors who are stewards of history or art have a responsibility to share a bike and its story with the wider public. (That is what museums are for. Unfortunately, there are not very many bike museums around like there are art museums. I was heartbroken to learn that Mike's Bikes had sold off many of Wheelsmith's historic "museum" bikes, frames, HPVs, jerseys, and other items that had been carefully collected over the decades.)
Perhaps until there are more and better public venues for sharing historic bikes and the history of cycling overall, it will be up to some of us to be the self-appointed "keepers of the flame" who find, preserve, and (if necessary) restore these historic gems in a semi- private universe of collectors and collections. But preserving and passing on history--as Norm Lockley and others have recently done so eloquently here on this list--is very important work that should not be undervalued, even if some of the items in need of preservation are themselves over-priced.
Regards,
Jon Spangler (the son of a historian) Alameda, CA USA
On Sep 21, 2008, at 4:12 PM, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org
wrote:
> Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2008 14:39:16 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
> To: CLASSIC RENDEZVOUS <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>,
> Angel Garcia <veronaman@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [CR]Collecting ex-Pro bikes
> Message-ID: <946951.39225.qm@web82207.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
> In-Reply-To:
> <70e14d4c0809211403x472e4eb1m4e8e3e25f252580b@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Precedence: list
> Reply-To: jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net
> Message: 7
>
> I don't even get excited about ones owned by famous racers. The
> older I
> get, the less I'm inclined to hero worship. I do admire a rider
> like Edd
> y Merckx, who was the best at his profession, but I've come to see
> that as
> no more important than being the best carpenter or plumber or
> machinist.
> Less important really, as pro athletes are really just
> entertainers who me
> et no real fundamental human need, unlike carpenters or plumbers or
> farmers
> who do. So while it would be kind of neat to have a bike once
> raced by
> Eddy, that doesn't make it a better bike than one of the same model
> and equ
> ipment that he never touched, and I'm certainly not going to pay
> the kind o
> f price that provenance would command. Maybe if I happened to get
> a bike
> that turned out later to have outstanding provenance, I might keep
> it rath
> er than sell for a profit, but I wouldn't pay big money for one
> with known
> provenance. So these phoney pro bike scams are no threat to me, as I
> would never go for one.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Big Spring, Texas, USA
>
>
>
> --- On Sun, 9/21/08, Angel Garcia <veronaman@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> From: Angel Garcia <veronaman@gmail.com>
> Subject: [CR]Collecting ex-Pro bikes
> To: "CLASSIC RENDEZVOUS" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Date: Sunday, September 21, 2008, 4:03 PM
>
> Norris mentioned ex-Pro bikes in the discussion of the (non)
> Colnago track
> bike. I wonder how people on the list feel about ex-pro bikes owned
> by the
> non-famous riders. I just don't get excited about those.
>
> Angel Garcia
> Long Valley, NJ
> snip:
>
>> There seems to be a rash of ex-Pro bikes coming on to the market
>> in Europ
> e
>> these days...particularly from folks claiming they are
>> mechanics..claimin
> g
>> good provenance.
>
> Norris Lockley..Settle
>
Jon Spangler
Writer/Editor
Linda Hudson Writing
510-864-0370/FAX 864-2144
MOBILE 510-846-5356
hudsonspangler@earthlink.net