Well, I don't know Ted. Newer is not always better. And while progres s is not impossible, neither is it inevitable. Most bicycle manufacturer s, like most manufacturers of anything, are not primarily interested in mak ing the best possible product, but in making the most possible money. I believe that in the last 10 to 15 years, bikes have been increasingly drive n towards designs that are cheap to produce rather than designs that maximi ze rider benefit. Carbon fibre frames and even aluminum ones are basical ly throwaway items, impractical to repair, and compact frames compromise fi t to reduce the number of sizes that must be produced. I think the renew ed interest in lugged steel bikes recently is not just nostalgia, but a r ecognition, often by younger people raised in the carbon fibre age, that lu gged steel frames and traditional components really did perform better the functions that most people need a bike to perform than the newer designs that just cut manufacturers costs and try to delude the public that everyo ne can ride just like Lance Armstrong and should have the same type of bike .
Kind of like the fascination with polyester and synthetic fibre clothing in general a couple of decades ago has given way to renewed demand for cotton , wool and other natural fibres, particularly in quality clothing. Somet imes progress consists of deemphasizing recent inovations and reviving thos e things that worked well in the past.
BTW, not to beat up on Lance Armstrong, I really like his recent ads for Tr ek, emphasizing bicycling as an important social factor for all sorts of people, not just racers or poseurs. Trek after all started out making lu gged steel frames and useful gear for the average cyclist. Perhaps they hav e not yet forgotten their roots.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Big Spring, Texas, USA
From: ternst <ternst1@cox.net> Subject: Re: [CR]Was: Ray Dobbin's pictures. Now: interesting comment inVel oSniper.com To: "Edward Albert" <ealbert01@gmail.com>, "Dale Brown" <oroboyz@aol.com> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Friday, September 12, 2008, 6:26 PM
I submit that Eddie has it right. We may like bikes of a certain era, but every generation or so the new stuf f eats it's predecessor and a whole new classic theme begins for someone. High-wheelers gave way to safeties. Hard tires gave way to Pneumatics. Fixed gears started giving way to multi-speed. Wood rims to alloy. Track bikes gave way to road bikes. Steel frames to alloy, alloy to titanium, titanium to carbon fiber. Then the new era clik stuff and all the other nouvelle riche design and function equipment Etc., etc. Each genre of change is a classic in waiting for some seniority to give it
credence and provenance. So don't mock. Enjoy and keep/collect your heart's desire, stay in the "golden age" of your pleasure and have fun. Ted Ernst Palos Verdes Estates CA USA
inVeloSniper.com
> Dale,
> As I am sure you know I respect both you and your "living room"
but the
> notion that the "golden" era of anything, be it bikes, art,
cameras,
> furniture, cars, etc, begins and ends at some arbitrary date is simply,
> sorry for this, absurd. Life and the world change. For better and for
> worse. But, that's life. What Bicycling Magazine said it in July
1982
> means nada, nilch, niente, zero. They also told us to grow sprouts on ou
r
> racks as we ride and have run the same how do do this or that for the las
t
> 25 years.
> Always yours in the Vintage Bike Life, and riding my Cervelo R3 SL
> Edward Albert
> Chappaqua, New York, U.S.A.
> On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 6:41 PM, Dale Brown <oroboyz@aol.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> ? While looking at the coverage in http://velosniper.blogspot.com/
>> Ray
>> Dobbin's wonderful photography, I see?the author reminiscing while
>> looking
>> at a July 1982 issue of Bicycling magazine:,
>>
>> "1982 now seems like the end of
>> the golden era of classic racing bikes. No click shifting, no funny
>> bikes. Brake cables looped upward in the open breeze. Colors and
>> graphics were pure and simple. Wool jerseys, crochet gloves and
leather
>> hairnets proudly appear on the cover of the country's biggest
cycling
>> magazine. Within just a year or so, all of this would be hopelessly
>> passe."
>>
>> Hmm, sound familiar??? :)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Dale Brown
>> Greensboro, North Carolina USA
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----