With all this talk about reproduction bikes--implying that someone is "trying" to recreate or match a design from yesteryear, we should remember that there are those in our midst who have never deviated from their classical roots. One such builder is Brian Baylis. While Brian entertains us with his tales from a wheelsucker and trike riding exploits, it is Brian's framebuilding and painting that really sets him apart in our hobby. At Cirque 2001, Brian's explanation of how frame design, followed by a careful mitre of the tube is what defines the frame strength, alignment, and ultimately, the longevity of the frame. He told us how he goes about reducing the stresses at the joints which assures lifetime alignment and frame integrity. He showed us how lugs should have flat (90 deg face)edges to make it easy to paint and to showcase the lugwork. And, if you see what he works with, it is generally the tubesets and lugs that we spend 90% of our time talking about--mostly classic NOS frame material from the classic era defined by the pre-1983 timeline for this group. And, guess what, he uses hacksaws and files to do this work. Yessir, these frames are HAND made. So, before we even talk about Brian's painting, we have a guy who makes EVERY one of his frames a classic, not just those superb eye candy repro-Hetchins and repro-Masi Pista that we all lust after. And, when you see the Baylis decal on a bike, you know that Brian performed the workmanship. I'll not get off into a long winded extension of this post to talk about Brian's painting, other than to say that when it comes to color, nobody in the business has matched his creativity. I'm not trying to slight other framebuilders, but let's face it, sometimes we don't appreciate what is available today until it is no longer available. Lou Deeter, Orlando FL
_______________________________________________
Classicrendezvous mailing list
Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
http://www.bikelist.org/