Harvey Sachs wrote:
> 1) Whadday mean (wrt the sociologist), "Of course, this is a
different
> Harvey Sachs." Harvey Sachs (R) is a collective polymath, well known
> in vintage cycling, energy efficiency, radon in buildings,
> micropaleontology, paleoclimatology, sociology, and music criticism
> (see our Toscanini biography).
I so need to learn this trick.
> 2) At least one early Cirque did have a "hot-rod" category, and the
> term would also characterize one focus of Wayne Bingham's interests,
> as he has described them so vividly with some of his lovely and
> disctinctive bikes.
Here is a link to a bike by Fred Yavorsky that I think is a
stunning example of the hot rod category.
http://www.twistcomm.com/
In my mind this build is really made by the use of the threadless stem and modern hubs. This sort of build is, in my opinion, really artistic.
As I said in my other post, I think the core of the category issue is the distinction "frames" and "bikes". Is the core of "vintage" on entire bikes or just the frame?
If you take a hard line and say bike, all sorts of problems crop up quickly. Which parts can be changed on a bike that leave you with the same bike?
If you say none, then vintage can only mean bikes taken out of shipping boxes and then hermetically sealed in a time capsule (or hung in a barn and forgotten). I think this is an important category. Has big historical importance. But I find it rather sterile.
If you say any part can be changed, then you end up with the hot rods. I love that but others might not.
I think the rest of the categories can be defined by the amount of parts (including forks, paint and decals) can be replaced. As you will see, for me, the frame is the core of the matter.
ALL ORIGINAL - Out of the box. Only things changed are wear items like brake pads, tires and tubes but replacements must be period correct. Paint must be original and frame unaltered in any way.
RESTORED - Wear items, paint and decals can be replaced with modern equivalants that maintain the spirit of the original parts.
PERIOD CORRECT - All parts can be replaced with period correct parts (e.g. stems, saddles, drive train). Wear items and paint can be replaced with modern equivalants that maintain the spirit of the original.
HOT-ROD - Frame is vintage and essentially not modified. Spread stays, moved brake stays and studs are ok as are forks. Parts can be anything. Even (gasp) carbon.
> life and vitality." I would also claim to be a friend of Chuck
> Harris, of Gambier, Ohio these last three decades or so. Beloved
> Spouse and I did TOSRV one year on our tandem, passing and being
> passed by Chuck and his two daughters. But, my memories of Chuck,
> dating back to the hostel on the hill, are of the Raleigh Record Ace,
> not the Clubman. :-)
Chuck is one of the best people on earth. I owe the most incredible debt to him. For several years, he moved his main shop to Mt. Vernon and that's where I worked for him.
The last time I talked with Chuck was about 18 months ago? My memory is getting addled with age but I seem to recall he mentioned he was riding a Clubman now. I think he mentioned that he had a Record Ace prior to that.
When I lived in the Mt.Vernon, he was riding a dark blue Fuji frame that had been damaged in shipping. Nice ding in the top tube. A Finest or Newest maybe? Wasn't an America, I do remember that. Same gearing though.
Bonnie "BJ" was in the shop a lot. I was riding next to her when I tagged wheels and crashed out of TOSRV in 81 even. And Louise and my sister where classmates and friends during school. Lots of memories here.
Closing the loop on the categories discussion, Mike Sherman
has pictures of Chuck, Alma and Chucks 51 Raliegh.
http://home.earthlink.net/
Is that bike vintage? I think so. The frame is vintage. And it should be shown and studied.
Pretty sure that's a Clubman.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/
-Dave Mann, Boston, MA
-------------------------
THE BIKE GEOMETRY PROJECT
A community effort to document and compare bike geometries
http://home.comcast.net/