Hello Ken and All,
After rereading my post about Ken Wallace's post on his Miyata find I feel it might be construed as unkind to Ken. If it was I apologize but Ken. For the record Ken and I have known each other for decades. He has been inside and outside the bike industry and sport being one of the first and few International Commissar Super Officials from the USA. I ruthlessly announce this hard fought title to the world as I introduce him to friends as I am very proud of his accomplishment though he is clearly humble himself. As a good friend when he visits we often comment on how we cheated each other and who cheated who the most in a manner of speaking. All good fun but out of context it might sound like Ken was some kind of bad person.
Some of our friendly inside haggling jokes got posted out of context and most people would wonder if I hate him. Frankly Ken is a North Carolina Boy and since he moved to Cowboy Country in Arizona we have missed him and his regular visits a lot. He always added a lot to our day. Ken always finds amazing things that he and I have chided each other back and forth for many years. The bargains seem unreal sometimes in the collectable world as Harvey points out below. Then again if you by something for $50.00 and spend $5000 restoring it it's not always a bargain.
Many times I have benefited from Ken's hard work and I am grateful. Ken Wallace is one of the most charming, knowledgeable, funniest, genuine and thoughtful fellows you will ever meet in the bike game.
When the local pimple faced junior racers talked to Ken in the old days we called him Uncle Kenny but he was only a whisker hair older than we. It was respect in those days and he earned it putting up with us.
Ken Wallace for President, he'd have to burn all the furniture in order to move all of his bikes into the White House so I doubt he'd take the job.
High Regards,
Gilbert Anderson Raleigh, NC USA
In a message dated 12/14/02 6:57:39 AM, sachs@erols.com writes:
<< Ken Wallace raises an interesting topic. He wrote:
"While looking throgh a local Sun City newspaper, I spied a listing for a Miyata Professional racing bike. The owner had bought it from a 75 yr old man, and the new owner had never even straddled it and knew nothing about bikes. All he wanted was $100 which was what he had in it." <after which is a description of a fabulous value"
About 1980, my friend Mel spotted a triple at an upstate NY garage sale. He didn't want it, but we decided to go look at it. It was early Sunday, and the old beast was lying on the grass, incomplete and unloved. 23"/23"/23", fully lugged, 1-3/8 tubing, part of an old head badge, clearly turn of the century. When we roused the homeowner, he wasn't happy, but explained that it was his neighbor's and she wanted (an extremely low sum). I made a couple of perfunctory responses about it being incomplete and rusty, but then paid in full. The bike, a Davis, was restored by folks in Columbus, Ohio, with a grant from the Huffmans -- Huffy was a successor company.
I have never felt any remorse about buying at that price, or any sense that I had taken advantage of him. I met his expectations, and left him feeling good about his negotiating skills. The bike needed complete restoration (rusty cotterless cranks from the 1890s). It took several years just to find 5/16" block chain, wheels, pedals, and other parts.
What I am hearing is that Ken met the seller's asking price. Indeed, since that is what the seller paid for the bike, the seller suffered no harm.
harvey "not a saint" sachs
mcLean va
>>