Thanks, Steve, for the advice.
As far as the classic bike landscape here....well, I've lived here for 8 years now and as far as I know, it hardly exists. I've seen some steel bikes being ridden around but most are from the 90's at best.
Hong Kong is not a great place for riding, not Hong Kong Island anyway. The roads are narrow and very hilly and full of cars. There is a cycling community here but most are triathletes. They would take their bikes out of the city in a car, ride and drive home.
The other thing about Hong Kong is that 'generally' speaking (I am generalizing here), people here are focussed on making money and are into the latest and newest things. There's really not much of a culture of appreciating older stuff, generally speaking. For example, I have a 1965 Mercedes 230SL and am a member of the Classic Car Club here. But I struggle to find many real enthusiasts that really get down to the details, work on the cars themselves etc. I have a few friends that are like that but they are the exception rather than the norm. Many people here buy expensive classic cars to make a statement but don't bother much beyond driving them.
I know I am generalizing but that's my observation.
There are no more than 5 decent bikes shops in the whole of HK and they only sell the latest and greatest gear. And so, just like my interest in classic cars, the internet and forums like this are all I have to rely on...
Eryck Su Hong Kong, China
Steve Maas <bikestuff@nonlintec.com> 05/30/2008 10:02 AM
To Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> cc Eryck Su/db/dbcom@DBAPAC Subject Re: [CR]Newbie's First Email
Eryck:
Welcome to the list! I think you may be our first participant from Hong Kong. It would be nice to hear about the classic-bike landscape there.
A couple comments---
1. Set up a filter to move the CR email to a different folder in your email client. The [CR] in the subject heading is there so you can do this. It helps a lot--there's a lot of mail on this list. I actually set up a separate email address for it.
2. Re rust. Half the problem is the rust, the other half is the phobia. The real problem is the cosmetic one; lots of people worry that the tubes are going to rust through and fall apart if they see a single flake, but unless there is a pathological problem (like, something that holds water) that's rarely an issue.
The thing to remember about rust is that it requires water. Even if things seem to rust without getting wet, they actually are getting at least a small amount of condensation--dew--on them. So, the main thing is to seal the area where the bikes are kept, and dehumidify it.
The second thing to remember is that dust brings in a lot of corrosives, and dust particles can be condensation nucleii for water. This is why things seem to rust more close to the ocean and why dusty things rust faster. So, keep everything dusted and, generally, clean. Wipe down the bike with a wet cloth after a ride when you are near the ocean, even if you don't see obvious signs of spray on it. Then, of course, dry it off.
Steve Maas Long Beach, California
Eryck Su wrote:
>
> Greetings to all. I am a newbie. Got on the list about 3 weeks ago bu
> t just
> managed to gather enough courage to write - very scary with so many pro
> 's
> around. Was also initially overwhelmed by:
>
> 1. The amount of emails in my inbox (work email) everyday - but now, I'
> m good
> at scanning through them and clearing my inbox; and
> 2. The amount of information that I have been so ignorant of. My exper
> ience
> and interest in bikes are somewhat limited to the 80's and thought I kn
> ew
> quite a bit about bikes but realized that there's so much that I didn't
> know
> esp earlier bikes. A bit like a horse with blinkers on all these years
> .
>
> Now, a few newbie questions:
>
> 1. Is there a rule of thumb or some rough guidelines to tell whether a
> frame
> has been resprayed or whether it still has the original paint? Of cour
> se, no
> issue for battered frames but some close to NOS condition frames, say f
> rom the
> 70's would be a potential concern.
>
> 2. Why is Daccordi not on the Classic Rendezvous site? I don't have a
> Daccordi (I have a Zeus, Masi and Colnago Master) - just thought that t
> hey
> look nice and was a name I saw quite a bit growing up in the 80's.
>
> 3. KOF. Yes, I know it stands for Keeper of the Flame but what does th
> is
> mean? Something to do with a torch flame??
>
> 4. Cinelli Laser - missed one on Ebay not long ago and don't see them v
> ery
> often. Any mint condition frames/bikes out there for sale?
>
> 5. I think I know the answer to this but....is there any way to stop ru
> st? I
> hang my bikes on my wall. HK is very humid but I have dehumidifiers on
> most
> of the time. However, the chrome parts on my bike do show signs of rus
> t. I
> suppose I should be polishing them more often but just wondering if the
> re are
> other preventive methods out there.
>
> In terms of the contentious cut-off date of 1983, well, I would think t
> hat
> steel bikes after that would be worth talking about as well. Personall
> y, I
> don't care about aluminum, titanium or carbon frames (eventhough my eve
> ryday
> ride now is a Colnago C40) because their construction methods are just
> too
> different to the steel lugged frames, which I'm crazy about.
>
> I hope I didn't break any rules by asking so many questions in one emai
> l -
> just didn't want to flood your inbox!
>
> Eryck Su
> Hong Kong, China
>
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