On Jun 15, 2009, at 6:48 PM, Jerome & Elizabeth Moos wrote:
> Sloane was the right person at the right time. His task was not to
> split hairs with the aficionados, but to explain quality bicycles to
> an American public to whom derailleurs were a mystery, and who
> regarded a Schwinn Varsity as the height of sophistication. He did
> his job extraordinarily well. If one knew nothing about quality
> bicycles, but wanted to learn, and could only read one book on the
> subject, his would have been the book to read.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
>
To expand on Jerry's post, I think it's hard for cyclists today to comprehend the dearth of information available in the early 70s. In those days cycling was basically an oral tradition with information passed down by the griots in the clubs and, hard as it may seem today, you learned about the Tour de France from the short wave or a 2 month old Cycling or the late lamented International Cycle Sport. In this vacuum Gene Sloane was like a hurricane of information, followed by Fred Delong's more technical book. And the CONI manual. That was it. Hard to believe today. Phil Brown Bought my CONI manual 1 mile from where I live today in Oakland, Calif.