[CR]Was: keepers of the Flame. Now: my reality

(Example: Framebuilding:Brazing Technique)

To: Jon3084@aol.com
Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2003 20:46:24 -0500
From: "Richard M Sachs" <richardsachs@juno.com>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Was: keepers of the Flame. Now: my reality

thread drift...

your extrapolating of my point is correct and on the mark. the flame we (all of us) are trying to keep burning is based in emotion and subjectivity. you're right to suggest that it may have never been lit to begin with. this is not cynicism on my part; it's an opinion based on real life experiences within the industry. i cannot speak for brian, but i once used the 'iconoclastic' italian framebuilders as a role model. heck, we all need to find something to aspire to. my aspirations were based on what i read, and what i 'thought', and the fantasys i concocted when i was, uh, new. several years in the biz and 5-6 trips to italy later have exposed me to a reality that has little overlap with what i expected in my earlier days. these points have all been covered before and are in the archives. in essence, tho' we (the 'merican builders...) were trying to emulate and hopefully, one day, catch up to our euro counter- parts, we created something that did not exist over there. one-man shops, or small production artisanal shops were not the norm. they were and are anomalies. i'd say, to a brand, not one shop would fill the description that henry gave of, "a frame handcrafted by 'Luigi'..." the irony, for me at least, is that the products-all through the ensuing years-have been of a high quality, whether it was handmade, or lovingly crafted, or custom-made, or whatdeva! the mythology (bad word choice, but you get my drift) is something that we all attach to it. it is not something that these makers used to market their bicycles. e-RICHIE chester, ct

On Sun, 9 Feb 2003 19:32:30 EST Jon3084@aol.com writes: I'm extrapolating your point that these builders really are just trying to make decisions to grow their businesses, whether they outsouce to an apprentice in house or overseas. Do you think we are trying sometimes to keep a flame that was never really lit for some of these builders in the first place? Are you and Mr. Bayliss and a few others actually pretty rare in the history of frame building in that you are keeping a flame going and seem to intend to?

Jonathan Greene
Maitland FL