Re: [CR]Food for thought: peer pressure and value

(Example: Bike Shops)

Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:27:40 -0500
Organization: The Crimson Permanent Assurance
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: Re: [CR]Food for thought: peer pressure and value
References: <664629.62768.qm@web82203.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
In-Reply-To: <664629.62768.qm@web82203.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
From: "John Thompson" <johndthompson@gmail.com>


Jerome & Elizabeth Moos wrote:
> The true contrarian connot be caught conforming, even conforming to
> noncomformity. So occasionally one has to buy an Italian frame or
> all all Campy bike just to prove one can do it. Thus I've got the
> all Campy chrome Paramounts, the likewise all Campy Falcon San Remo
> and the Raleigh Pro MkIV. And a pair on Bianchis, and of Torpados
> and of Gianni Mottas. I even bought a Masi frame not long ago, which
> put me at considerable risk of being excommunicated from the
> International Brotherhood of Contrarians. My only defense is that I
> got it for only a few hundred dollars, as it has a mysterious bulge
> in a tube, which I don't believe is evidence of a crash, but which
> other potential buyers were nervous about. Evidence of cheapness is
> always an admissable defense against charges of conformity.

My contrarian nature expresses itself as "mutt" (or "Frankenbike") bikes. I defend myself against charges of apostasy by building them on one-off frames so no one can accuse me of being non-authentic. Of course, I do have the one all Zeus bike built on the only frame my wife made. :-)

--

-John Thompson (john@os2.dhs.org)
Appleton WI USA