Re: [CR] Restoration

(Example: History)

From: "Dean Kernan" <dkernan@mindspring.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:12:10 -0500
In-Reply-To: <mailman.8396.1258100993.72377.classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: Re: [CR] Restoration


All,

As a newcomer, I have appreciated hearing the many perpectives regarding restoration from list members, and especially appreciate that a framebuilder of Brian's stature would share an insider's view of the difficulty of meeting these conflicting client demands.

For some time, I have been musing over what to do with my original racing bike--a Falcon San Remo Equipe. A bad crash (dropped the front wheel into a road grate) meant the dreaded buckled top tube and down tube. Since I was poor and still riding, our sponsor shop did the equivalent of triage with broom sticks etc. and made it rideable.

Some years later, I was able to have the frame repaired--but information about techniques were not widely available. In the process the top tube was replaced, downtube was left partly because of budget (it has only slight dimpling once straight) & the frame carefully aligned. Taking the head tube area apart meant sacrificing the chrome lugs, & indeed when it came time to paint, the shop knew no good way to mask the chrome, and so the chrome rear stays were also sacrificed.

We also thought to "improve" the bike by adding braze on cable guides, wb & shifter bosses--a common choice I think. Then we painted with Imron, and at the time before the internet and constant travel, no one had any idea where or how to find resto decals.

So like all the houses or antiques you run across--though well used and cared for--the bike is now a different thing, though still beautiful in my eyes...

But when I think about "restoration," I can only imagine how expensive that would be--just imagining the chrome redo, or once again taking the head tube apart to get at the down tube, remove the braze ons--Yikes!

Then I had the idea to just purchase a replacement--I found one in great shape that was virtually bolt-identical with mine, all the chrome intact, all the decals in place. But this is a collector's solution & did nothing for "my" bike that has been my constant companion for well over 30 years...

(And, as someone pointed out regarding a Peugeot resto, this is exactly how we can end up making the choice to do crazy expensive restorations..)

I'm still thinking...

Dean Kernan Pomona, New York

(Oh, and apologies to the list for fat-fingering my attempted reply to the Cinelli "B" vs Cinelli "A" question)