[CR] There's Something about Frejus...

(Example: Framebuilders:Jack Taylor)

Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:33:24 -0700
From: <euromeccanicany@yahoo.com>
To: classic rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR] There's Something about Frejus...


Yeah, what is it about this bike? Apparently I'm not alone in thinking there is an indefinable quality in Frejus frames that creates joy. Why do I go for a ride every evening I can after work, pushing myself harder than I have in years, in spite of the heat and my aging, achy body, loving the effort, really feeling grateful for owning and being able to commune with this machine? This spring I rode it for the first time in two decades. What a bike! It makes me so happy to ride it! What I can talk about is the crisp turn-in, the superb balance, how it is taut without being nervous, springy but not mushy, how easy it is to keep it in line, how intuitive every move feels. I have other bikes that are a joy to ride, that I care for deeply: I don't feel the same way about them. I appreciate them, I enjoy riding them, but not as intensely as the Frejus. Why? In vain I measured the tubes and angles, compared it with other bikes I own, trying to answer this question: why does riding this bike, just this bike, this 50+ year-old assembly of steel sleeves & pipe (Libelulla tubing! Not even Columbus!) make me feel so good? Frejus! What was their secret? Was there a secret?

Michael Shiffer
EuroMeccanica, Inc.
114 Pearl Street
Mount Vernon, NY 10550
(914) 668-1300
euromeccanicany.com