Re: [CR]Re: Collecting ex-Pro bikes (Jerome & Elizabeth Moos) Re: Classicrendezvous Digest, Vol 69, Issue 67

(Example: Framebuilders:Brian Baylis)

Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:09:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: [CR]Re: Collecting ex-Pro bikes (Jerome & Elizabeth Moos) Re: Classicrendezvous Digest, Vol 69, Issue 67
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, Nor Meyer <norbikes@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <430e89320809221046k13da0a4dvcb809a14569c8d94@mail.gmail.com>


Let's see now, this petro-refinery drone had already worked in the Ohio ste el mills as a laborer, crane operator and electrician for about 10 years wh en you started you first day in the masonry trade.  Guilt sticken?  Wha t the hell for?

As for the Lambert, I find it, or say a PX-10, more interesting than some bike attributed to Eddy for the same reason I find an MGTC or Triumph TR-3 more interesting than a Ferrari or Maserati.  The Ferrari was a better c ar, no doubt, but much less important, as only the wealthy few could own it , while the MGTC was within the reach of millions, including steelworkers a nd masons.  The Lambert was an attempt to bring to the average cyclist a high performance, very light bike at a bargain price.  Low price and ligh t weight they did indeed achieve, although high performance, at least if that includes durability, they didn't do so well at.  But it was a bold a ttempt, and Lamberts were widely ridden for a while, and that makes it an important bike, if not an ultimately succesful one.

There is room in the industry for a wide spectrum of products, from the  low-priced mass-produced ones to the price-is-no-object one of a kind hadcrafted masterpieces.  Faliero Masi is legendary for some of the b ikes his produced, perhaps personally, for Merckx and other stars, but Rale igh and Schwinn and Peugeot had a much larger impact on the history of the sport and the industry, as, for a time, did Lambert.

Just a matter of viewpoint.  Do you care about the doings of celebritie s, or about things that affect significant portions of society?  I think I've made it clear which I care more about, but everyone is entitled to his own point of view.

Regards,

Jerry Moos
Big Spring, Texas, USA


--- On Mon, 9/22/08, Nor Meyer wrote:


From: Nor Meyer <norbikes@gmail.com> Subject: [CR]Re: Collecting ex-Pro bikes (Jerome & Elizabeth Moos) Re: Clas sicrendezvous Digest, Vol 69, Issue 67 To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Monday, September 22, 2008, 12:46 PM
> Wow!! As a retired *bricklayer* I would *LOVE* to own a bike once raced b y
> Eddy! How to explain someone who can obsess over a Lambert (!! go figure! )
> rear derailleur but profess to be utterly uninterested in one of Eddy's
> bikes....? That attitude defies reason.

As someone who spent 20+ yrs. in the masonry trade and has bee n riding the bike for half again as long as that, I can assure you that we tradespeople don't need guilt-stricken petro-refinery drones to stoke us with this kind of nonsense. My (hard)hat's off to any and all bike racers because it's an incredibly demanding profession that demands dedication the likes of which very few other "professions" ask. And I for one am thrilled to be the proud owner of the tool of one of them, Hans Kaenel, whose Puch bike ridden in the '82 Tour gives me a vicarious thrill every time I throw a leg over it.
>
> 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